High school musicians from all corners of the state will congregate in Sioux Falls this week for the annual All-State Chorus and Orchestra concert.
Students begin practice at 8 a.m. on Friday and practice until 8:30 p.m. with two two-hour meal breaks and one morning and afternoon break during the day. Theyll continue practicing until mid-afternoon on Saturday before the 7 p.m. concert.
The time can be hectic, but the opportunity to join with more than 1,000 fellow high school musicians is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Those blessed to be selected two, three, or all four years of their high school journey still rave each year.
This years guest conductor for the chorus is Dr. Jeffery Redding, the director of choral activities at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Redding is a highly sought-after director, conducting multiple honor choirs each year. In his career, hes conducted All-State or honors choirs in more than forty states.
Dr. Redding received the 2019 GRAMMY Music Educator Award. He will bring a high amount of energy to the choir with a very modern set list.
The music for the choir this year is almost all written in the last 25 years, Sunshine Bible Academy choral director Kevin Waller observed. While some of the pieces have some tie-ins to events that happened before the turn of the century, they are mostly representative of modern choral music writing.
The guest conductor for the orchestra is Joel Neves from Michigan Tech. Neves currently works as an assistant professor of music and director of orchestral activities at Michigan Tech.
Hes conducted orchestras throughout the world, conducting in China, Argentina, Spain and throughout the United States. Hes also a fan of theatre, conducting music theatre and ballet productions, including the Nutcracker with the Minnesota Ballet.
While each high school in the state of South Dakota has the opportunity to send at least one quartet (more determined by school size) to All-State chorus, member of All-State orchestra work through a grueling audition process. Huron has six All-State orchestra members.
Dr. Beth Neitzert, Huron High Schools orchestra director, says that in contrast to the modern focus of the selections for the chorus, Neves selections for the orchestra emphasize the best of orchestra musics traditional stylings.
This years repertoire showcases the brilliance and diversity of the orchestral tradition, Dr. Neitzert expressed. Rimsky-Korsakovs Russian Easter Overture bursts with dazzling colors and grandeur, reflecting the spirit and ritual of a sacred celebration. Glinkas Ruslan and Ludmila Overtureis a whirlwind of energy and virtuosity, challenging players with lightning-fast passages and tight ensemble precision. Liszts Hungarian Rhapsodybrings passion and flair, blending lyrical beauty with fiery dance rhythms rooted in Hungarian folk tradition.
She concluded, Together, these pieces push students to new levels of musicianship while immersing them in the drama, brilliance, and expressive power of great orchestral music.
One of the honors of being selected for All-State comes Saturday afternoon, when those students who have been selected all four years of their high school time are recognized in front of their fellow students.
The Plainsman reached out to all the directors in the Heartland area, and from the responses received back, two students will be recognized for four years of All-State this year: Hurons Karly Knippling, who impressively made All-State Orchestra four years on viola, and bass vocalist Jarrett Maynard of Clark.
Hurons Cooper Bischoff will be one of eight across the state who will audition for a solo in the piece, Fever Dreams.
The choral pieces this year are It Takes a Village, by Joan Szymko, Plaudite, Psallite, by Kestutis Daugirdas, Measure Me, Sky! by Elaine Hagenberg, Fever Dreams, by Erich Eastman, and Let Me Listen, by Dan Forrest.
Orchestral selections are Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka, Hungarian Rhapsody, by Franz Liszt, and Russian Easter Festival Overture, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korksakow.
The combined chorus and orchestra songs this year are Star-Spangled Banner, Battle Hymn of the Republic, and Until I Reach My Home, arranged by Brandon A. Boyd.
Tickets for Saturdays concert are available online at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center website or at the box office. Reserved tickets are $20, adult general admission tickets are $15, and student general admission tickets are $10.
The concert will be rebroadcast by South Dakota Public Broadcasting over Thanksgiving weekend.
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