On October 21st, choral bounds were broken for Pleasant Valley High School. The All-State Music Festival is a state musical competition geared toward higher members of choirs, bands, and orchestras all around Iowa. Select members from the three musical groups are chosen every year to audition in front of a panel of judges. For choir, the students are placed into quartet groups to learn and master a piece. The individual quartets practice for months in advance and audition altogether at a host high school. All All-State members have since been chosen and presented for musicians to find out if they have been chosen to receive an All-State title.

This year, senior choir member Bailey Connors has been chosen as the first ever four-time All-State member selected from Pleasant Valley. Since his freshman year, making All-State has been a goal for Connors. Not fully expecting to receive an All-State title his first year auditioning, Connors says, “I just tried my hardest.” Making All-State as a freshman is nearly unheard of, but making All-State all four years of high school is even more so an unlikely chance. Connors shares, “To prepare, I went to the Wartburg college All-State camp to learn the basics of the songs. After that, my quartet and I worked with Mrs. Byrne for two and a half months on intricate and picky details of the music and we auditioned.” While being a very nerve-wracking and stressful time, Connors believes it is well worth it to see hard work pay off.

While many audition year after year, the audition process for Connors “has been the same every year.” He says, “this year there just seemed to be more pressure than years past.” Pressure and dedication show a remarkable place in a musician’s life. For senior Bailey Connors an accomplishment as great as a four time All-State member is a high school memory he will never forget.