2001 All-State Festival Participants

The 2001 All-State Festival celebrated the 55th anniversary of this prestigious event.  District auditions for the 277 piece All-State Band, 190 piece All-State Orchestra, and the 600 voice All-State Chorus were held October 20 in Hampton, Storm Lake, Oelwein, Atlantic, Indianola, and Washington.

South Hamilton School was fortunate to have three students selected to participate in this year's All-State Festival. Vocalists B.J. Smith and Jenny Hill took part in the All-State Chorus, and instrumentalist Melanie Wilson performed with the All-State Band on the oboe.  These students were awarded this honor because of their superior auditions at the Hampton center.

The All-State Band, under the direction of Colonel John R. Bourgeois, performed John Philip Sousa's Looking Upward, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, and Pieter Leeman's March of the Belgian Parachutists.  Colonel Bourgeois was the 25th director of The President's Own United States Marine Band.

The All-State Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Peter Bagley, performed My God is a Rock, by Robert Shaw, Untraveled Worlds by Halley, and Achieved is the Glorious Work by Haydn, .  The girls' chorus presented Holst's Ave Maria. The boys' chorus performed The Long Day Closes by Sullivan. Dr. Bagley is Professor of Music at the University of Connecticut.

The All-State ensembles also performed America the Beautiful and the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

The All-State Festival was held in Ames in Hilton Coliseum on Saturday, November 17 at 7:30 PM. The program was recorded by Iowa Public Television for broadcast on Wednesday, November 21 at 8 PM, and again on Thursday, November 22 at 1 PM.

All-State Festival Photos