Singer John Denver once said, “…People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit. No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves: We are the same.” High school choir and band members across Iowa auditioned for a spot in All- State on Saturday October 23. All-State’s 75th year of hosting will run from November 18 to November 20. Choir students auditioned for one of the 600 available spots and band members for one of the 276. Judges select a certain number of students from each of the six districts in Iowa every year. All students auditioned with the same music, which is the selection performed at All- State. Auditions took place at Independence High school for Xavier students. Xavier senior band members Faith Karl and Isabella Anderson, as well as junior Tim Lesink all received a spot in the All-State Band, with senior Randall Kinner being selected as an alternate. For choir, seniors Greta Schaub, Braedon Roling and junior Jacob Sires were selected, with sophomore Leah Ambrosy being chosen as an alternate. Junior Alicia Mutasingwa and sophomore Bryant Norris also received recalls for choir. These students prepared for their auditions in many different ways. “My sophomore year I was an alternate, and my junior year I won the Orchestra spot. I usually spent anywhere from 10- 21 hours a week practicing my instruments until auditioning,” Kinner said. “To make All-State takes a lot of resilience and a very high level of self-accountability. I took lessons privately and I have attended clinics to be prepared for All-State auditions.” There are many factors that make All-State very difficult. If a student is selected one year, this does not guarantee that they will make All-State in the years that follow. Mutasingwa, who auditioned as a Soprano 1 communicated, “I decided to audition for All-State choir this year so that I could better myself vocally. We’ve been practicing and learning the audition music for a couple months now, and it’s been a really fun but sometimes difficult process. It’s been cool getting to dissect each piece of music and learn the small details to make it sound amazing,” Mutasingwa said. Even if a person only had the opportunity to audition for All-State, it is still a good learning experience. All-State is a very competitive process and being selected is considered an immense honor by many. These Xavier Students have risen to the challenge and pushed themselves to greatness through their hard work and dedication