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The student news site of Atlantic High School

AHSneedle

The student news site of Atlantic High School

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2012 Iowa All-State Music Festival

by Mikayla Somers

Atlantic High School had three students perform in the 2012 All-State Music Festival this weekend. Shelby Cooper played the clarinet in the All-State Band; Hannah Jespersen sang Soprano 1 and Mikayla Somers sang Soprano 2 in the All-State Chorus. The concert was held in Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State University on November 17 at 7:30 p.m. The concert was also broadcast on Iowa Public Television on Thursday, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m., and again on Sunday, Nov. 30, at 5 p.m. Auditions for All-State were held back on Oct. 27.

Mr. O’Donnell drove Cooper, Jespersen, and Somers up to Ames around 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning, Nov 15. Band members were required to audition the Thursday before the performance to receive chair placements or, if a student didn’t appear to know their music well enough, be sent home. Mrs. Gaesser was the 2012 Girls OPUS Chair and was already in Ames. The All-State Band, Chorus, and Orchestra practiced all day Friday and most of Saturday to prepare for the concert on Saturday night. Practices started around 8:30 a.m. and ended around 7 or 8 at night with lunch and supper breaks and a few short breaks in between. The choir practiced during the day in Stephens Auditorium, and the band and orchestra practice in different parts of Hilton Coliseum.

Director of the chorus was Dr. Jerry O. Blackstone from Ann Arbor, Michigan; directing the band was Dr. Linda Moorhouse from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Joseph Guinta from West Des Moines, Iowa directed the Orchestra. Cooper said her experience working with Dr. Moorhouse was a “unique experience” and it was “fun listening to her stories about how she got started doing what she’s doing. I took away from valuable advice from that.” Mr. O’Donnell said “You can tell the kids were having fun because of the energy of their conductors. It was a great experience for all involved.” Mrs. Gaesser said during rehearsals, “choir directors can listen to rehearsals with the guest conductor and attend educational sessions provided by the Iowa Music Educators Association.”

Allison Richter, a senior from Des Moines Lincoln, was a second year All-Stater and sang Alto 1 in the All-State Chorus. She said it’s an “awesome opportunity to sing with 601 other amazing singers at one time.” The All-State Chorus chair, Jackie Burk, told jokes while the choir was waiting to rehearse. One of her jokes was: “How many sopranos does it take to change a lightbulb? One, because she only needs to hold it up and the world will revolve around her.”

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