ALL-STATE ORCHESTRA PHOTOS THROUGH THE YEARS!
LMHS Orchestra 2023 All-State Participants
2022 All-State Orchestra Photos
2021 All-State Orchestra Photos
2020 All-State Orchestra Photos
2019 All-State Orchestra Photos
2018 All-State Orchestra Photos
2017 All-State Orchestra Photo
2016 All-State Orchestra Photos
2015 All-State Orchestra Photos
2014 All-State Orchestra Photos
2013 All-State Orchestra Photos
2012 All-State Orchestra Photos
2010 All-State Orchestra Photos
2009 All-State Orchestra Photos
2008 All-State Orchestra Photo
2007 All-State Orchestra Photo
2006 All-State Orchestra Photo
2005 All-State Orchestra Photos
2004 All-State Orchestra Photo
2003 All-State Orchestra Photo
2001 All-State Instrumental Photo
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
1) 1st round of individual “class-room” mock auditions
Individual Dates September-October (see sign-up sheet in orchestra room)
We also have two mock auditions that our All-State students are required to participate in.
The first mock audition takes place within their orchestra class, and they are asked to play two scales and their solo.
*Alternates are encouraged to participate in this mock audition but are not required.
*clinics are not required but your directors highly encourage students to participate in at least one or more of the following opportunities.
Meet in Orchestra room @ 7:00 a.m.
Clinic 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m…Lunch (bring $12.00 to LM Cashiers office) – 12:30ish
Leave for Cedar Rapids – 2:00ish
We WILL provide transportation and the clinic is FREE
UNI Orchestra program is sponsoring their annual All-state Clinic. The clinic allows our students to receive a group coaching session from the UNI string faculty and concludes with a reading session of the All-State literature alongside the UNI Orchestra.
We will have a sign-up for this clinic in the orchestra room.
This clinic is “free” for the students, but they will need some money to cover lunch.
You are welcome to click on the link below to register yourself.
The University of Iowa String Area is pleased to offer an All-State Workshop to help students and directors! Our annual workshop offers an opportunity to play through and receive tips on the All-State excerpts in a group setting, perform your solo in a masterclass (optional), and play a mock audition and receive feedback from a member of our string faculty. Our workshop takes place in the fall, ahead of All-State auditions, to prepare students for success in their auditions.
Click below for information regarding this clinic:
U of Iowa Strings All-State Registration
Schedule is subject to change
9 am- 12 pm: All-State excerpt clinic and masterclasses with UI faculty
12-1 pm: Lunch with faculty
1-3 pm: Mock auditions
Event is free and open to all high school students preparing to take the Iowa All-State audition
(Students can opt out of afternoon auditions, but are highly encouraged to participate as this event is less than a week before the official auditions, and individual feedback is provided to practice your audition skills and hone your performance)
3) “Play-in” auditions for pre-assigned Students…Friday, October 17th 2025
-Audition times and materials TBD...general timeframe will be during RTI and after school.
-Audition materials will include two scales and two excerpts chosen by the directors and posted the day before this audition.
-Additional info will be announced as we get closer.
4) All-State 2nd Mock-Auditions
Wednesday, October 15th
Individual Audition times ranging from:
4:30-6:30 p.m. (sign-up sheet TBA)
The music department has set-up this round of mock auditions to offer our students an example of the audition experience that they’ll see at the district auditions. Students will be allowed to sign-up for a time in the next week or so.
*Alternates are encouraged to participate in this mock audition but are not required.
6) Mandatory All-State meeting (for students) to select their audition times
TBD in Orchestra room.
General information and a review of procedures, events, and selecting audition times will be discussed.
7) Annual All-State Party!! @ Mr. Rezz’s House
Friday, October 24th 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Each year during the evening before the district audition I like to extend a “thank you” for all our student’s hard work, by sponsoring a spaghetti dinner/party at our home.
I will provide the students directions and more details in the near future.
8) All-State Audition Day
Saturday, October 26th @ Independence High School in Independence, Iowa (more info to come)
Please prepare the following:
1) Three 3 8va (basses 2 8va) scales of your choosing
2) your prepared solo (1 minute max)
3) Choose two (2) excerpts to perform for your directors
Congrats to all that will be trying out in
Independence, Iowa on
Saturday, October 25th
For those involved in the next phase (including “play-in” and alternates) we will have a meeting this Tuesday, September 16th @ 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
Play-in's will happen during the week of October 6th. More information will be released...
*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
Caden Delecki Senior
Ethan Hofer Senior
Ellie Kim Senior
Sophia Phan Senior
Isabella Telisak Senior
Sahana Nagarajan Junior
Grace Anderson Sophomore
Adithi Jenigiri Sophomore
Neha Onteru Sophomore
Vasudha Sakolkar Sophomore
Charlotte Schultz Sophomore
Addie Winn Sophomore
Hazel Hansen Freshman
Suhani Nagarajan Freshman
Danielle Slater Freshman
Open
Open
Open
#Eligible to “play in”
Eshaal Hassan
Anagha Kulkarni
Courtlyn Morrissey
Ashlyn Novak
Priyanka Onteru
Arya Ravikumar
Amelia Schloemer
Maia Seeley
Saisha Virwani
Ethan Weng
Violas
Kathryn Delsing Senior
Erich Nguyen Senior
Sophia Chavez Sophomore
*Alternates
Lily Fisher
Grace Scholl
Sophia Weber
Cellos
Landon Niemi Senior
Wesley Owen Senior
Maddie Barnidge Junior
Simon Vieira Junior
Jensen Rickels Freshman
#Eligible to “play in”
Evan Kim
Remy Walker
Basses
Jordyn Puffer Senior
Caleb Delay Junior
Calvin Taylor Freshman
*Alternate
Gus Masters
#Eligible for “play-in” Spot
Play-in's will happen during the week of October 6th. More information will be released...
*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 🙂