October 26, 2019 was a great day for the Southeast Polk High School Music Department at the Iowa All-State Band, Choir, and Orchestra Auditions held at Indianola High School.
Five instrumentalists and one vocalist from Southeast Polk gained acceptance to the All-State Band, Orchestra or Choir. Their performances will fill Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum with music on Saturday, November 23.
Like thousands of other high school musicians across the state, Southeast Polk music students worked very hard for this audition. The All-State audition process is intense, and just to audition takes months of dedicated effort. The resulting musical growth young Iowa musicians undergo is enormous.
Accepted to the Iowa All-State Orchestra was Emily Paul, flute. Hannah Ortega, flute, Katherine Meredith, bass clarinet, Spencer O’Riley, trombone, and Westin Nelson, bass trombone were selected for the Band. Accepted to the All-State Choir was Spencer Clifton, bass. Chosen as an Alternate to the All-State Band was Nolan Larsen.
The 2019 All-State Music Festival will celebrate the 73rd anniversary of this prestigious event. District Auditions for the 279 piece All-State Band, 227 piece All-State Orchestra and 601-member All-State Chorus were held at Le Mars, Hampton, Independence, Atlantic, Indianola and Washington. Approximately 17% of the students who audition are selected for membership in the All-State ensembles.
Participants will rehearse in Ames on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23, and the Festival Concert will be presented to the public at 7:30 P.M. in Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State University, Ames, on Saturday evening, November 23, 2019. Iowa Public Television will record the concert for rebroadcast. Please check the IPTV website (www.iptv.org) for the exact dates and times. This program is under the auspices of the Iowa High School Music Association and the Iowa Music Educators Association.
