On Jan. 21-23, select members from Robinson’s orchestra and band participated in All-County. The All-County band and orchestra is selected through auditions that pick the top musicians in Hillsborough County.

All-County members endured long hours of practice during the days leading up to the concert.

“We got the music a few weeks ahead of time and then had a total of 9 to 10 hours rehearsal, two days before the concert,” Analise Arciniega (’18) said.

About a thousand students from Hillsborough County audition for All-County each year, and at least one student from each school is picked to join. This year, 12 band and 10 orchestra students were chosen from Robinson.

Participating students must meet a minimum score requirement based on their audition, which varies year by year.

“I really like playing in All-County and honor bands in particular because it’s nice to play in a band where I feel like everyone is on a higher level,” Hana Yankowitz (’18) said. “You’re not as worried about being the best in the band.”

Although All-County requires students to put in time preparing out of class, both for the audition and for the concert, there are benefits to being selected as one of the best high school musicians in Hillsborough County.

“[All-County] pushes them to work hard and gives them the opportunity and the practice of going into an audition setting, they just have to work on playing under pressure,” band director Christopher Revett said. “They get to play with the greatest students in the county, learning from new people, learning from new students, and the goal is that hopefully they’ll come back and bring those things back to our band program to make us better.”