On Friday, June 12th Mark Valenzuela competed in the final round of the high school competition at the Texas Clarinet Colloquium in Dallas, Texas. He was selected as a finalist in May, competing against high school clarinetists from across the country. He was selected as the winner by a panel of esteemed clarinetists. As the winner, he performed in a recital on Saturday, June 13th in Dallas, and received a Yamaha CSVR Professional clarinet.