Six Uni students made the cut for the All-State Music Festival this year. So what exactly did they do there?

By Daisy Hassani
Gargoyle assistant editor
Posted Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006, The OG, features & arts

IF YOU were in the first-floor hallway during seventh period on Wednesday, Jan. 25, you were probably a bit confused. My five fellow musicians and I looked conspicuously out of place as we lugged our suitcases down the hall and awaited a ride to Peoria.

The occasion? The Illinois Music Educators Association's annual All-State Music Festival, which would be held for the next three days.

As I got into the carryall van that was to transport us, I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement. I wasn't really sure what to expect, besides tons and tons of rehearsal. But the anxiety soon faded when fine arts executive teacher Rick Murphy, our chaperone for the trip, blasted a recording of Mozart's “Requiem” in the van's CD player as we sped down the interstate.

Soon, we were singing along and air-conducting the orchestra. I love how nerdy Uni students can be.

Our group consisted of sophomore Lucy Zhiang (violin II); juniors Alex Cahill (string bass), Nicole Gong (soprano I), and me (soprano II); and seniors Stephen Buzard (tenor I) and Josie Chambers (soprano II). Both Buzard and Chambers were in the honors chorus, which is sort of like all-state chorus to the extreme.

Only the top few members from each voice part make the honors chorus, while the rest are in the all-state chorus. Orchestra members had to audition again in Peoria to get placement in either the honors or all-state orchestras.

We got to the hotel (which, by the way, was adjacent to a strip club called “Big Al's”), and after a group dinner at Bennigan's and a viewing in Murphy's swanky hotel suite of the Fighting Illini's 77-53 rout of Minnesota, it was off to bed. After all, we were up for a grueling day of rehearsals and (for the orchestra members) auditions the next day.

At 11 the next morning, I walked into the United Methodist Church, which was the all-state chorus rehearsal area. As soon as I started talking to fellow chorus members, it was obvious that Uni students were not the only music nerds in the area.

At least a quarter of the choir had perfect pitch, and a majority of the people I spoke to planned on becoming music majors in college. It was a really refreshing experience to meet people who were so passionate about music.

That night, rehearsal ended at 10:30, leaving us all tired and starving. But the good news was that Alex made 10th chair in the honors orchestra and Lucy got third chair in the all-state orchestra. We ordered a pizza, which didn't arrive at our hotel room until 12:30 (we pushed the midnight curfew just a bit …), and then went to bed for another busy day.

So the rehearsals continued, and I started to hear a significant improvement in the sound of the choir. Several chorus members had gotten their music only a few days before coming to the conference, and it struck me how amazing it was that the group was able to pull everything together in time for the concert on Saturday afternoon.

The concert went off without any major hitches. However, during our grand finale, a particularly flamboyant rendition of “America the Beautiful,” the flag that was supposed to come down behind the choir unfurled only part way. One corner of it got stuck, which slightly ruined the effect of the piece. But at least the music was still great.

As we got together for a final group photo after the concert, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that the trip was over, although I'm sure my voice was dying for a break.