All-state: the rest of the story

While Dan's All-State Orchestra weekend started Thursday, it started for the rest of us at 3:00 pm Saturday, when we met the Valley Hich all-state orchestra members and their parents for an early dinner at Hickory Park. Sure, that's early, but that place gets mobbed, and it turned out to be good timing. Our table included the four of us and Dorothy, and the head of the Valley orchestra and his wife. Phil is also a bassist with the Des Moines Symphony, where his wife plays cello.



Dan ate like a high school boy, devouring a plate of ribs. It made him pensive...



...perhaps he was pondering the ice cream dessert.

After dinner we retired to the nearby Borders book store to kill time until the concert. Dan caught up with some homeork, and then kicked back. Here Vickie investigates homework progress.



As showtime approached, the kids started going into the bathroom to change into their formalwear. It must have been very strange for the Borders help to suddenly see the place fill with high schoolers in tuxes and black dresses, when nobody walked into the store like that. Here Dan stands ready to go to Hilton Coliseum.




Hilton is a basketball barn where the Iowa State University basketball team plays. It has the delicate sound system you associate with a basketball barn, but there aren't many places that can hold that many musicians and their families.




The music was beautiful. The Orchestra played very well, and the chorus, with over 500 voices, was incredible.

I figured out how to get my whole seven-minute excerpt of the Orchestra up. Here it is:




But the whole thing is available on DVD. Don't worry, Mom, we'll get you one! It will also be on TV.