Over 1,000 of South Dakota’s best high school vocal and instrumental musicians will gather in Rapid City for the 60th 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 in Rapid City beginning at 7:00 p.m. (MT) on Saturday evening, October 27. Concert tickets can be purchased at www.gotmine.com, by calling 1-800-468-6463, or at the box office in the Rushmore Plaza. The doors of the Barnett Arena will open for the Concert at 5:30 on Saturday evening.
The annual All-State Chorus & Orchestra, co-sponsored by South Dakota High School Activities Association and the South Dakota Music Educators Association, is the largest interscholastic high school music activity held in South Dakota. The 2012 All-State Chorus includes 932 singers representing 150 South Dakota high schools. The All-State Orchestra is comprised of 155 musicians from 30 schools.
Theresa Duffy (4-year award winner), Rachel Scholten, Alex Eulberg, and Matt Farmer will be representing Dell Rapids St Mary. Two quartets will be sent from Dell Rapids High School. They include Jordan Stone, Nicole Rice, Ben Hinricher, Jackson Gleason, Darrian Grassi, Chelsey Huffman, Austen Hof, and Dylan Damm.
The guest conductors for the 2012 All-State Chorus & Orchestra Concert are Dr. Anna Hamre from University of California, Fresno and Brian Cole from Moorhead, MN. Dr. Hamre will conduct the All-State Chorus while Mr. Cole will lead the 2012 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 South Dakota High School Activities Association will present its “SDHSAA Distinguished Service Award” to Hans Peterson, Huron, Dr. Alan Lafave, Aberdeen, and Diane Ketel, from Rapid City.
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 web site (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. Concert Music Program – a listing of the musical selections that will be performed by the Chorus & Orchestra during the All-State Concert, including award recipients, students, schools, and directors.
3. All-State Chorus & Orchestra Rehearsal Schedule – as the title suggests, 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: James Weaver, SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director (605/224-9261)