Senior Jake Lemonds made it to state choir last year but having to audition online gave him a bit of the blues.
Lemonds said he’s looking forward to performing in-person this year during the All-State concerts Feb. 24-27 in Wichita.
“I think it’d be really, really nice to get around those people and actually sing with them this year, instead of it being virtual,” he said.
Lemonds and senior Maizey Orr are two local students invited to All-State choir this year. Ireland Lewis, Maya Garrett and Natalie Karten made the All-District choir list.
Five other students were also selected to participate in this year’s Kansas Music Educators Association All-State concerts:
All-State 1234A Band
Eliana Isenburg – Tuba
Ellie Barnard – Clarinet
Emiri White – Trombone
Sara Schieferecke – Baritone saxophone
All-State Orchestra
Simon Walrod – Percussion
Band director Damian Johnson said the school district is supportive of its music students.
“We’re very blessed to be where we’re at, school district wise, where they support us musically. And, you know, where our kids are on the marquee outside because they made state, which is good,” Johnson said.
Band, orchestra and choir students begin the selection process by auditioning at the annual district mini-convention. Douglas County is one of 10 counties included in the northeast district of Kansas. Eudora High School has hosted the Northeast District Mini-Convention for the past four years.
“It is quite a day,” vocal music director Allison Enneking said. “It is a lot of preparation and it’s a lot of work on the day of, but it almost gives you like a home field advantage.”
The Choir Process
Eudora students are able to audition for two choirs: treble and mixed.
During the district mini-convention, choir students perform two pieces of music during a blind audition.
One piece of music the students are given months prior to the audition. A week before the audition, the district chooses a part of the song, also known as a cut, for students to perform.
The other music piece the students do not know before the audition. The students have less than a minute to sight read and memorize this piece of music before performing it to the audition judges.
“For me, it was really nerve racking,” Orr said. “I mean, I was more nervous about the sight reading than the cuts themselves because I am very bad at sight reading, but I prepped for the cuts for a while, and I felt pretty confident in them.”
From this audition, choir students are chosen for All-District and All-State concerts. The All-District concert was in December at Topeka High School.
The Band and Orchestra Process
Eudora students are able to audition for three instrumental ensembles: jazz, 1234A and full orchestra. Band and orchestra students can audition on multiple instruments during the district mini-convention.
Band and orchestra students performed four pieces of music during the blind audition, including one piece of music given prior to the audition, two scales and a sight-reading piece.
“I was expecting the sight reading to be worse than it actually was, so it wasn’t that bad,” Schieferecke said.
After All-District sections were made for band and orchestra, those students who received All-District honors auditioned for the All-State concert earlier this month.
All-State auditions include three of the same music pieces from the All-District mini-convention, but a different sight-reading piece.
“I thought there were a lot of people here for the district audition, and then it was just so many more people. It was fun though, I got to stay in a hotel with my friends,” White said.
Enneking said she’s grateful the All-State concerts are able to be performed in-person this year.
“I’m really looking forward to this experience for them,” Enneking said. “And there really is just no other experience like being part of an All-State ensemble.”
For concert times and tickets, visit WichitaTix.com.
Reach reporter Hannah Nystrom at [email protected].
