LMHS All-State Orchestra Information

2023 All-State Information

If you would like to audition for the 2023 All-State Orchestra please sign-up HERE using this online form.  The district auditions will be in-person auditions and will take place at Independence HS on Saturday, October 21st 2023.

Items to note:

1) if you have not been accepted into the All-State Orchestra in the past you will be required to perform a "local" audition for your LMHS directors in mid September.  Individual times will be scheduled.

2) If you have already been selected to the All-State Orchestra in the past you will not be required to perform a "local" audition and will automatically move on to the district auditions. 

3) "Local" LMHS audition requirements can be found below

4) To help in the process your directors will set-up individual lessons each week.  Other opportunities will also be available for you throughout the process.

5) All Audition materials and guidelines for the All-State Orchestra can be found HERE on this link

2023 All-State "local" audition Results

Congrats to all that will be trying out in

Independence, Iowa on

Saturday, October 21st 

 For those involved in the next phase (including “play-in” and alternates) we will have a meeting this Tuesday, September 12th @ 8:30 a.m. in the orchestra room.  Please make every effort to attend as we will review the various events and procedures for your All-State journey.  If you cannot attend please communicate with Mr. Reznicow or Mr. Sentman ASAP so they can relay the info to you. 

#Eligible for “play-in” Spot

#Students that were listed as Eligible for the “play-in” spot will have the opportunity to re-audition for the remaining spots on Thursday, October 5th with exact times TBD.  

Audition materials will include two (2) scales and two (2) excerpts chosen by the directors and posted the day before this audition. 

Please note that this audition will be a “blind” audition format.

Students are encouraged to participate in ALL clinics and 

All-State related activities including all practice auditions leading up to audition day.    

*Alternates

(*if you were selected as an alternate you are invited and encouraged to participate in ALL clinics and All-State related activities including all practice auditions leading up to audition day.  If someone within your section needs to drop out for any reason you will be eligible to re-audition for the vacated spot.)

Violins

Lucas Ernie Senior

Sutra Iyer Senior

Melissa Wang Senior

Rashaan Bryant Junior

Jackson Haro Junior

Eric Liang Junior

Caden Delecki   Sophomore

Ellie Kim Sophomore

Sophia Phan Sophomore

Isabella Telisak Sophomore

Sahana Nagarajan   Freshman

Grace Luo   Freshman

*Alternates

Priyanka Onteru

Violas

Ava Macek Senior

Amy Miller Senior

Andrea Reznicow Senior

Charlotte Masters Junior

Kathryn Delsing Sophomore

Erich Nguyen Sophomore

*Alternates

Pranav Pradeep

Cellos

 Krishna Modha Senior

 Lucie Scott Senior

Clara Haker       Junior

  Maddie Barnidge       Freshman

Eligible to “play in”

Landon Niemi

Olivia Peters

Simon Vieira

Angela Westman

*Alternates

TBD

Basses

Emily Greiner Senior

Andras Haugen Senior

Henry Granger Junior

 Jordyn Puffer   Sophomore

#Eligible to “play in”

Ezra Crandall

Mustafa Hamad

*Alternate

TBD

#Eligible for “play-in” Spot

#Students that were listed as Eligible for the “play-in” spot will have the opportunity to re-audition for the remaining spots on Thursday, October 5th with exact times TBD.  

Audition materials will include two (2) scales and two (2) excerpts chosen by the directors and posted the day before this audition. 

Please note that this audition will be a “blind” audition format.

Students are encouraged to participate in ALL clinics and 

All-State related activities including all practice auditions leading up to audition day.       

*Alternates

(*if you were selected as an alternate you are invited and encouraged to participate in ALL clinics and All-State related activities including all practice auditions leading up to audition day.  If someone within your section needs to drop out for any reason you will be eligible to re-audition for the vacated spot.)

A few All-State Orchestra Audition “do’s and don’ts”

The “gamesmanship” of the All-State Orchestra prep!

Scales:

-The goal is to be nearly perfect when playing the scales in this audition.  Think of them as “free” points on the All-State ballot.  They represent about 1/3 of your total score…why mess with losing these points.

-If you can play them slurred (NA for basses) that’s best, but they don’t need to be slurred.  You can play them all separate. However, the slurring sounds “smoother” to a judge and overall makes for a better impression.  

-don’t play them too fast…the tempo is only quarter note = 60 (8th notes = 120) while playing them all 16ths.  A little “trick” is to play them around quarter note = 63 or (8th notes = 126).  The slightly faster tempo, when slurring, for a lot of students is easier to play and makes for a smoother performance.  However, if you can’t play it at quarter note = 63 don’t…you always want to play everything at a tempo that you can handle. 

-play the scale with some musical flow.  If you’re slurring the scale, give the scale a slight, gentle accent or emphasis on the bow change.  This will give the scale a chance to sound musical.  If you can make a scale (which is by nature a little “boring”) a musical event for the judge, they will really be impressed.  Assuming all other factors are present such as having wonderful pitch, tone, & technique.

-take a nice breath when starting your scale.  There’s a good chance that you “hold your breath” while playing the scales.  If you take a deep breath as you’re starting the scale, you have a better chance to stay relaxed and will have more success playing it smoother throughout.

-finish the scale strong and if possible, add vibrato to the ending.  When playing the scale, crescendo up the scale AND down the scale.  This is a trick of the mind and body.  You won’t actually crescendo up and down the scale.  This trick will keep the tone of the scale strong throughout.  Many students when moving up the scale, will naturally decrescendo and as a result will lose energy and tone quality and likely intonation.  This trick helps to counter this bad habit and allows the scale to sound strong.  Remember, if you can make a scale sound musical, it will leave a better impression on the judge.  

-Violas – you do not need to play F, F#/Gb, G, Ab, A, Bb, B 3-8va. If you do, you are giving the judge more information than they need.  If you play these scales perfectly it’s impressive, but if you don’t you can lose points on material you did not need to play. 

Excerpts:

-ALWAYS play the excerpts at a tempo that you can handle!  “slow and clean” is a better showcase of your playing than “fast and messy”.   

-DON’T be concerned about other students that are playing the excerpts faster than you.  Most judges want to hear clean, beautiful playing.  Stay within the confines of the tempos you can play cleanly! 

-Remember, in most centers, there are a few to several “seats” available within your instrument grouping.  You only need to grab one of those seats.  You just need to show the judge that you can play the excerpt.  If several other people play it just as well as you do, but up to tempo then you just got beat, and that’s fine.  But, if you play fast, messy, and out of control you will most likely hurt your chances and your performance. You will have defeated yourself - this you want to avoid.

-Practice the “difficult sections” of the excerpts.  Chances are, if a passage is “easy” for you then it’s easy for others.

-When prepping the excerpts, look for “separating” passages.  Examples are musical & technical passages that are difficult to play as opposed to “easy” sections of the excerpt.  In a lot of cases, a judge will be looking to see if the player can accurately play a difficult passage or two.  If an excerpt has some easy measures within it, it’s a good bet that the judge isn’t really listening to that part.  

-ADD musicality to your performance!  Assuming your tone, intonation, and technique are all set and ready to go…ADD the musicality to the performance!  Many students forget this step.  If your performance has musical flow, energy, dynamics, and articulations, the judge WILL notice, and this can help separate you in a positive way from other auditionees.

-KNOW the piece that the excerpt is coming from.  If you regularly listen to (on YouTube, Spotify, etc.) and know the piece well, the excerpt will make more sense to you.  This will equate to a performance that will likely be more musical, and the judge will appreciate and notice this within your performance.    

Solos:

-Like the Scales…The goal is to be nearly perfect when playing your solo in this audition.  Think of your solo as “free” points on the All-State ballot.  They represent about 1/3 of your total score…why mess with losing these points.

Play the solo with a lot of musicality!  The judge will notice if you play with musical intent and add a lot of the dynamics, articulations, and general phrasing of the piece.

If your solo has some bowings or small items within it that are difficult to play well (i.e. double stops, etc) cut them out or cleverly omit them.  Remember the judge does NOT have a score to read off of so they (assuming they even know your solo) may not notice it or care.  All they really want is for the solo to sound amazing!  

-There’s no SPECIAL points for difficulty of solo on the ballot.  If the solo is too difficult for you, don't select it.  If you play a solo that is “appropriate” for your skillset and play is WELL, you will put yourself in a much better situation with regards to earning points on the ballot.  Yes, a judge can use their discretion on the “level” or difficulty of your solo compared to someone else’s solo.  But, you don’t have control over that, so only worry about your performance and skillset.

BEST OF LUCK, THANKS for ALL YOUR TIME and EFFORTS, and of course,

Happy PRACTICING 🙂

LMHS Orchestra Students Lists selected to the Iowa All-State Orchestra by year: