After hours of practice, eight Edwardsville High School orchestra members will travel to Peoria to audition for the All-State Orchestra.

To be eligible for All-State, a member of orchestra has to be a sophomore or older and has to attend the All-District Festival on Nov. 18. This year, 28 students qualified for the All-District festival and performed March slave by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky.

Senior Amber Schwertman looks forward the All-District Festival and all its challenges each year.

“I most enjoy the concert at the end of the day because it shows how much work can be done and how well students from different schools can come together in just a day,” she said.

Illinois is split into nine districts. Each district sends their top musicians to Peoria for the All-State Conference each year. Edwardsville is in District 6, which is the majority of southern Illinois.

Eight upperclassmen are now preparing to audition for placement in either the All-State Orchestra or the Honors All-State Orchestra. Junior Jared Wright, violinists, is readying himself for the audition.

“I am practicing the excerpts and scales I have received and I am listening to the songs we will perform,” he said.

The All-State Orchestra will be playing “Nimrod” from Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar, Huapango by Jose Moncayo, and and the first movement Symphony No. 8 in G major by Antonin Dvorak. The Honors All-State Orchestra will just be playing Symphonic Dances from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein.

While junior Noah Eagle is looking forward to playing “more advanced repertoire,” there’s more than music to look forward to at the All-State Conference. There will be college fairs, instrument booths, and new friends.

“I’m looking forward to getting to meet new people and play challenging music alongside many talented musicians my age (and) spending the weekend with my friends,” junior Katrina Agustin said.

Last year, Noah Eagle was the only student qualify for for Honors All-State Orchestra. Even though the honors repertoire is difficult, the students are up for it.

“It’s quite a challenge,” Agustin said. “I try to practice and listen to the pieces as much as possible to prepare myself for the audition.”