At 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning, most kids would be sleeping in, but for the group of orchestra and band students who were heading to the All-State auditions, they had to do their sleeping on a bus. On December 1, the select group of ninth through twelfth grade musicians was off to Columbia to audition for the All-State Band and Orchestra.
“All-State Orchestra is an orchestra composed of the best high school musicians in the state of Missouri,” junior Beth Hemmenway said.
The same concept applies for band as well. In fact, much of the same aspects apply. For both groups, they had to have first made the All-District orchestra before moving on to State. Both are very prestigious and getting into them is difficult.
“The All-State Band differs from the All-District band because there’s a lot more pressure to get into the band, and they ask for more complex audition material,” senior Richard Adger said.
Once the best in each district are selected, they are admitted into the All-District Orchestra or Band and given the opportunity to audition for All-State as well. Musicians from all over Missouri attended the auditions, held on the Missouri State campus for orchestra and Hickman High School for band.
“The atmosphere was intimidating; they were all so good,” sophomore Robert Trout said.
The competition was intense, but after a long day of auditions, and callbacks for those in band, Liberty came out with a few victories of its own. Liberty North students Richard Adger, David Roelofsz, and Matt Hudson all made the All-District Band.
“The reason I do it is because I love music; it’s kinda the best thing I do in school, and it’s not only a time to improve my skills as a percussion player, it’s also a time to have a lot of awesome experiences with friends as well,” sophomore Matt Hudson said.
The All-District and All-State Bands and Orchestras are like the musical equivalent to athletic State and District competitions. It takes hard work, skill, and dedication to get in, and each year provides a new opportunity for ninth through twelfth graders to make it.
“Last year I got an honorable mention, so I pretty much jumped around eighth place to first in a year,” Hudson said.