Five students were selected into the All-State choir on Oct. 21. Seniors Madeline Johnson, Maggie Millenkamp, Liz Sleper, and Zachary Wenger and junior Gil Johnson will perform at the All-State Festival, in Ames, along with 600 other students from around Iowa on Nov. 18.
This year, 14 West Delaware students auditioned for the All-State Music Festival. Ten vocal and four instrumental students have been learning pieces that the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) selected since before the school year started. These pieces included “Ama Namin,” “I am Loved,” “Through Love to Light,” “Regina Caeli,” and “Stomp on the Fire.”
Junior Gil Johnson was shocked to find out he had been accepted into the choir. The All-State process is a lot of work, but for Johnson, it was worth it no matter the outcome.
“Getting in? It’s not why I put in the work,” Johnson said. “There was enough reward while doing the work to learn the music to satisfy me, but getting in definitely felt good.”
This is the second year in a row that Maggie Millenkamp (12) and Liz Sleper (12) have been accepted into the All-State choir. Millenkamp felt as though this year was different from years past.
“The music was a lot easier this year than last year,” Millenkamp said. “Last year, you just had to be able to execute the music because it was so difficult, but this year you had to be almost perfect.”
Students learned early on that if the music was easy for them, it would also be easy for others around the state. Technique was vital in order to do well and stand out.
All five students who made it into the choir were selected during the first round of auditions including a vocal quartet involving Gil Johnson (11), Maggie Millenkamp (12), Liz Sleper (12), and Zachary Wenger (12).
“I was happy that all the work that we put in together as a group paid off,” Millenkamp said.
Four students took part in auditioning for All-State band. Senior Landon Then has auditioned on the Alto Saxophone for the past three years. Preparing for auditions takes a lot of time and work outside of school.
“I spent many hours in the practice rooms,” Then said. “On the band side, you have all of these Études and scales to learn. There are a lot of finger movements to learn as well.”
Jackie Hawkins-Keck, the choir director, feels the All-State process pays off for her as a director when she sees the reactions of her students after they audition. “That’s what makes me so excited,” Hawkins-Keck said.
