A&E
October 11, 2012
The road to All-State Xavier is participating in All-State again this year with 26 students going through the process. All-State is an experience in which high school musicians, vocal and instrumental, prepare musical pieces and compete against students from all over the state of Iowa for a spot in the choir, orchestra, or band. The vocal All-State participants began learning their music early. Students taking part in All-State attended a retreat in July at Mount Mercy University. Xavier and other participating high schools learned the music they use for their audition. On Saturday, September 8, Xavier students had auditions to sort them into ensembles. Each quartet consists of one vocalist from each voice part: soprano, alto, bass, and tenor. These four students practice and then audition together. This year there are three quartets, one trio, and three duets. The groups sign up to practice their music anytime before or after school, Monday through Thursday. “It is very difficult. The music is very challenging and everything is sung a capella. They don’t know what the audition excerpts are until that day and the amount of independence they have on their part is very high,” choir director Mr. Walker said. The groups prepared seven music pieces: “Sure on this Shining Night,” “Dominus Vobiscum” (a French Creole piece), “Ave Maria” (a Victorian piece), “Veni Sancte Spiritus” by Mozart, an arrangement of “Skip to my Lou,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and “America, the Beautiful.” “It’s Adam and Colleen Andrews Tim & Denise Bandel Doug & Janelle Banowetz Ron & Duetta Banowetz Mark & Janice Brady Tammie & Scott Brady John & Lora Breitbach Frank & Marge Breya Hannah Brown Rick & Heidi Brown Robert & Janet Brown Doug & Sheri Brunner Eric & Lisa Busch Larry & Marjory Bushaw Jeff & Michele Busse Lavern & Audrey Busse Colleen Camp Boba & Stacy Cataldo Ken & Janet Cave Austin Chute Mark & Sheryl Chute Matt & Tracie Chute Mr. & Mrs. Robert Chute Joe & Lisha Coffey Kelly Collins Patrick & Elaine Collins First Federal Credit Union Sandy Cummings Clark & Kathy Cunningham Cathy D’ Mello Jack Daubitz Luke De Ga Mike & Karen Delaney Mobile Demand David & Laura Diebold Brian & Terry Donnelly Mary Donovan Dave & Polly Draker
a pretty big honor. Over 3,000 kids throughout the state tryout and only 600 make it,” Walker said. There are five band members auditioning for the instrumental part of All-State: seniors Bryan Banowetz on piano, Noah Hagen on French horn, and Chris Williams on baritone saxophone; junior Katie Goldsmith on clarinet; and sophomore Lucy Liu also on clarinet. Their All-State process began a year or more before the audition date. They need to memorize 12 major and chromatic scales at a certain tempo and range. They also prepare a one minute solo of their choice. The audition is only five minutes long. Thousands of high school musicians try out, but only between 10-20% of them make it in. “It’s the hardest thing to do as a high school student. It’s a prestigious honor and you have to be very motivated,” band director Ms. Swehla said. The top instrumental musicians make orchestra while others selected make the band. Last year, Banowetz made All-State as the pianist for the All-State orchestra. On Thursday, October 18, the participants will have a “mock audition”. This is when they practice going through the entire audition process. All-State auditions will be held on Saturday, October 20 in Manchester for both vocal and instrumental. The All-State Music Festival will take place at Iowa State University on October 15-17.
Reviews by
John &Con:
Babel by Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons’ follow-up album, “Babel,” is projected to go gold (at least 500,000 sales) in its first week; it’s a rare rockband commercial success story in an era dominated by pop, R&B, and hip-hop. With its debut album “Sigh No More” being a Grammy Nominee back in 2010, there was a lot of hype going into the release of “Babel”. Some were disappointed. There’s nothing wrong with a rousing sing-along. The real issue with Mumford & Sons is its pedestrian song writing and predictable delivery. The singing veers between a strained roar and a whisper, and the music shares a similar loud-quiet-loud dynamic that becomes repetitive. If you compare “Sigh No More” and “Babel” you may not be able to tell the difference because the tracks sound so much alike. Is this a bad thing? Maybe. They bash away on banjos and fiddles like a string band on steroids. This is especially relevant in the
Lauren Van Hoeck A&E Writer
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tracks “Hopeless Wanderer,” and “I Will Wait.” It is almost a relief when the two-minute “Reminder” arrives. A short, quiet, latenight respite from the attack the other songs may put on people. In conclusion, we suggest that you buy at least one of the Mumford albums and get a taste of the “one of a kind” sound and see if you enjoy it. If so, then buy both but don’t expect to hear the difference.
Favorite Tracks: Connor -“Babel” John-“Lover of the Light” Special guest Megan Lynch“Below My Feet” Tunes to look forward to: Halcyon-Ellie Goulding Numbers-Mellowhype Quality Street Music-DJ Drama Exclusive singles by Taylor Swift
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