Nearly 1,000 of the top high school vocal and instrumental musicians will gather next week in Sioux Falls, for the annual All-State Chorus and Orchestra. Two days of rehearsal will culminate at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Denny Sanford PREMIERE Center and will highlight the best and brightest in the states musical talents.
High schools conduct tryouts and each school sends at least one vocal quartet and is eligible to have instrumentalists try out separately for the valued spots in the elite orchestra.
This years choral director is Michael Hanawalt, an Associate Professor of Choral Conducting and Music Education at Florida State University, where he conducts the Chamber Choir, teaches graduate courses in conducting and choral literature, and serves as Artistic Director for the Tallahassee Community Chorus.
Dr. Hanawalt was a founding member of the professional male vocal ensemble Cantus, serving as both its Executive Director and singing as part of the touring ensemble. Throughout his tenure with the organization, he recorded 12 CDs and performed in or oversaw the booking of over 500 concerts, including collaborations with the Kings Singers, the Boston Pops, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. Dr. Hanawalt is active as a tenor soloist and has won competitions sponsored by the Schubert Club and Thursday Musical.
He regularly serves as guest conductor for honor choirs, and his choral arrangements are published by Boosey & Hawkes, the Niel A. Kjos Music Company, and Colla Voce. One of his joint arrangements Auld Lang Syne, is on the program for Saturday evenings concert. Dr. Hanawalt holds the BM in Vocal Performance from St. Olaf College, the MM in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and the PhD in Choral Music Education from Florida State University.
The All-State Orchestra director is Latin Grammy-nominated and American Prize winner artist Luis Viquez, who continues to gain attention as one of the most influential Central American musicians of his generation with his versatile career as a clarinetist and orchestral, opera, and wind band conductor.
A native of Costa Rica, he currently serves as the Director of Orchestral Studies and Assistant Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the University of Rhode Island. Prior to this, he held an acclaimed seven-year tenure as the Director of Orchestral Activities Endowed Chair and Music Director of the University of South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, as well as the conductor of the University of South Dakota Opera from 2016 to 2023.
Under Dr. Viquezs guidance, the orchestral program at the University of South Dakota earned both national and international acclaim as one of the most vibrant institutions for orchestral studies in the Midwest region. He also served as USDs Associate Professor of Clarinet, leading a successful studio comprising both graduate and undergraduate Music Education and Music Performance students, several of them winning prestigious awards at the state and regional level.
Parallel to his career as a conductor, Dr. Viquez is an accomplished clarinetist. He has appeared as a soloist with the South Dakota Symphony, the Cherokee Symphony, the Sioux City Municipal Band, and the Heredia Symphony.
Tickets to Saturday nights grand concert are available in advance on the Denny Sanford PREMIERE Centers website or at the box office on the day of the concert.
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