State’s best musicians gather for All- State Chorus and Orchestra
In the first photo, at the top, the following Huron High School students are participants and alternates at this weekend’s All-State Chorus and Orchestra event in Sioux Falls. Front row, from left: Bethany Larson, soprano alternate; Anna Kruse, soprano; Jamee Kattner, soprano; Morgan Rathjen, soprano; Karlie Bigelow, alto; Regan Hamilton, alto; Noelle Nemmers, alto; Nightingale Tun, alto alternate. Back row: Sebastian Cardona, bass; Peyton Williams-Morrison, bass alternate; Noah Beck, bass; Jake Holforty, bass; Will Smith, bass alternate; Malachi Mann, tenor alternate; Mason Davis, tenor; Jackson Trandall, tenor and Tristan Cardona, tenor. In the lower photo, De Smet students attending All-State Chorus and Orchestra are, from left: Andrew Holland, Bass; Autumn Wilkinson, Soprano; Cori Birkel, Soprano alternate; MacKenzie Zell, Alto alternate; Aria Gruenhagen, Alto and Owen Kerkvliet, Tenor.
In the next photo, attending from Iroquois High School are, from left, in the front: Bass, Shawn Diehl and Tenor, Josh Pohl. In the back are Alto, Abigail Pohl, IHS Director Teresa Decker and Soprano Hayley Geyer. Next, Wolsey-Wessington students attending All-State Chorus are: Corbin Haameyer, Bass; Abbigail Nickels, Soprano; Faith Nelson, Alto and Kaleb Cleveland, Tenor. Next, representing Miller High school are Sara Jessen, Soprano; Kaden Sivertsen, Bass; Sydney Jessen, Alto; and Aaron Castonguay, Tenor. And next, Clark High School participants include Martyna Shape, Chad Kolden, Jessica Temple and Heath Hemmingson.
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The top high school musicians from the four corners of South Dakota will convene in Sioux Falls, for the 67th annual S.D. All-State Chorus and Orchestra event at the Denny Sanford Premiere Center, culminating in a 7 p.m. grand concert Saturday evening.
Nearly all the high schools in the state will send at least one four-person quartet to the All-State Chorus. Larger schools send more than one quartet. Most of the members of the All-State Orchestra come from the state’s larger schools.
Timothy Dixon, the Director of Orchestral Studies at Messiah College of Pennsylvania will lead the orchestra. Dixon is the Music Director/Conductor of the American Youth Philharmonic and the Conductor Laureate of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra (PA). He is active nationally as an inspiring conductor, an engaging communicator, and a committed educator.
Timothy Dixon holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Iowa, the M.M. in Orchestral Conducting from Michigan State University, and a B.A. and B.M. in Music and Music Education, respectively, from Miami University of Ohio.
The All-State Chorus will be under the baton of Dr. Andrew Last, an Associate Professor of Music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he conducts the Nordic Choir and teaches conducting. He also serves as the Director of Choral Activities at Luther and as Director of Dorian Summer Camps. Dr. Last is part of a vibrant choral program at Luther College that includes four choral faculty and more than 500 singers in six choral ensembles. Luther choirs participate in the annual Christmas at Luther celebration, perform in biennial oratorios, and are featured at regional and national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conventions.
Last will lead the mass chorus in five selections —”Portones Abiertos y Rostros Brillantes,” (Paul Basler, Walton Music); “The Pasture” (Z. Randall Stroope, Colla Voce); “The Creation” (Willy Richter Shawnee Press), “Sing My Child” (Sarah Quartel, Oxford University Press) and “Great God Almighty,” (Stacey Gibbs, Gentry Publications). He will also conduct the combined Chorus and Orchestra on the Star Spangled Banner; and arrangement of “A Mighty Fortress,” and “Five Mystical Songs - Antiphon.”