all state band

The All State Band is a prestigious honor for those chosen. Out of the 667 students that auditioned, Deuel High School Senior Ross Effling was chosen for his great work with his euphonium. He was picked out of 667 students and now gets to go to the South Dakota Bandmasters Association (SDBA). Band Instructor Jolene Krause said, “Ross is going to use this experience to audition for a music scholarship at SDSU.”

Photo by: Cyanthia Tongen

Ross during band.

The audition process involves learning and performing in front of a panel of four judges a prepared solo, selected chromatic, major and minor scales, and sight-reading. A written terminology test by each is also done on the same day. Auditions are held across the state at five different sites: Aberdeen, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Watertown. The two independent bands are called the Lewis band and the Clark band. The songs being preformed are: Mother “Earth” by Maslanka, “Fantasia in G major” by Leist, and “Easter Monday” on the White House Lawn by John Philip Sousa” by John Philip Sousa, “Elegy” by Shelto, “Dusk” by Bryant, and “Basque Rhapsody” by Shelton.