Mt. Pleasant music students earn with all-state honors

MT. PLEASANT - Seven Mt. Pleasant High School students were recently named all-state musicians.

Ethan Sexaur, Erub Abdrease, Jackie Tansey, Kade Welcher, Andrew Rauenbuehler, Payton Lovan and Logan Lee were all recognized as all-state musicians.

Even though the Iowa High School Music Association and the Iowa Music Educators Association voted in early October to cancel the annual All-State Music Festival scheduled for Nov. 19-21 in Ames in light of health and safety concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the associations decided to move forward with virtual auditions for the honors.

More than 3,400 students auditioned by region, representing 263 high schools across the state. 1,081 student were recognized for 2020 all-state honors - 268 band students, 211 orchestra students and 601 chorus students. The honorees represent the top 1.7 percent of all Iowa high school musicians.