Over 1,000 of South Dakota’s best high school vocal and instrumental musicians will gather in Rapid City for the 66th Annual South Dakota All-State Chorus and Orchestra on Friday and Saturday, October 26 & 27. The All-State activities will culminate with a Grand Concert at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center beginning at 7:00 p.m. (MT) on Saturday evening, October 27th. Concert tickets can be purchased at www.gotmine.com, or at the box office in the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The doors of the Civic Center will open for the Concert at 5:30 on Saturday evening.
Four students from Dell Rapids St Mary and eight from Dell Rapids will be among those that will be performing. Courtney Geraets, a 4-year All-State Choir Award recipient, Paige Bunkers, Jon Bares, and Noah Dennis will be representing Dell Rapids St Mary. Kat Fletcher, Amy Meyer, Mercedes Lodmell, Abby Stauffenecker, Alex Saxon, Andrew Weiland, Peyton Gleason, and Thomas Petrik will be representing Dell Rapids.
The annual All-State Chorus & Orchestra, sponsored by South Dakota High School Activities Association, is the largest interscholastic high school music activity held in South Dakota. The 2018 All-State Chorus includes 928 singers representing 145 South Dakota high schools. The All-State Orchestra is comprised of 156 musicians from 22 schools.
The guest conductors for the 2018 All-State Chorus & Orchestra Concert are Dr. Phillip Swan from Wisconsin, and Dr. Anthony Elliott from Michigan. Dr. Swan will conduct the All-State Chorus while Dr. Elliott will lead the 2018 All-State Orchestra.
During the All-State Grand Concert, the South Dakota Music Educators Association will recognize several high schools and individuals for their contributions to music in South Dakota. The SDHSAA will also recognize one of its 2018-19 Distinguished Service Award winners.
Additional information which might assist with other news or feature stories about the All-State Chorus & Orchestra are available at the South Dakota High School Activities Association website (www.sdhsaa.com). Once on the SDHSAA home page, please go to “Fine Arts”, then “Music”, then “All-State Chorus and Orchestra, and the following information can be found at this site:
1. Guest Conductor Biographical Information about this year’s All-State conductors
2. All-State Chorus & Orchestra Rehearsal Schedule – this is the schedule that will be followed during the two days of All-State rehearsal and concert performance
4. All-State Chorus & Orchestra Concert Ticket Information
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Media Contact: Brooks Bowman, SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director (605-224-9261)