This past weekend, Hingham High School sent excellent musicians to the Massachusetts Music Educators Association All-State Music Festival, a highly elite music competition that is just the next step after completing Southeastern Massachusetts Senior Districts. Five of Hingham High Schools’ students were accepted: Olivia Barbuto, soprano singer, Julian Gilmartin, brass singer, Michael Hill trumpet, Kelley Osterberg, oboe, and Margaret Strehle, french horn.

However, the auditions for All-States dates back months before with Southeastern Massachusetts Senior Districts Festival: a two all-day preparation for a concert put on that weekend. Simply acquiring an All-State recommendation in and of itself is a huge accomplishment. Joe Marwill, bass singer, Lydia Gross, flute, Elisabeth Heissener, flute, Franco Cacciuttolo bass singer, Shaun Collins tenor singer, Shea Kushnir alto singer, and Christopher Warneck, harp all received recommendations and made this year the most recommendations in a single year ever acquired from Hingham High. Junior Lydia Gross said “It was an interesting and exciting experience that was pretty new to me. Although it was very intimidating, it was great to see some of the best players in the state. Hopefully I get to audition next year again!”

In order to be eligible for auditioning for All-States, a musician must reach a certain cut-off score. He or she will spend months preparing a selected piece that the conductor has specifically asked to be prepped. On a given day, the musician will demonstrate in a snapshot of his or her capabilities, how well he or she can play the exerts judges will choose to listen from the piece. However, that is simply one check mark to the many steps to making it to All-States. A musician must prepare a multitude of scales and sight-reading: sing or play the music without ever having seen it before.

Once this audition is completed and the musician accepted into Senior Districts, he or she must again do this process of auditioning. This time with a new piece and even more advanced scales, but the rewards for making it are worth it. Senior Kelley Osterberg was completing her third All-States audition, and though an extraordinary experience said“Well, I think it’s a really grueling experience, actually. Good, but very difficult. It makes you realize how many other great players are out there, but even more, it forces you to pinpoint and understand the flaws in your own playing.” A skill that even professional musicians work on every day and try to perfect.

The All-State Music festival is a three day event in Boston that puts up a concert in Symphony Hall. It starts on a Thursday and ends with a big concert Saturday. Students stay at the Marriott Hotel in Boston and stay there for about 72 hours rehearsing, eating, sleeping, and some more rehearsing. The closing of the extravagant concert ends a spectacular experience that family, friends, and fellow musicians come to listen and appreciate all the hard work put in, in a matter of three days.