Three Greene County High School seniors will have the opportunity to sing with 557 other students across Iowa on Saturday.

Carter Petterson, Lucy Vander Linden and William Graham qualified for the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) All-State Choir. Vander Linden describes her initial reaction when she had made it to the distinguished ensemble.

“I cried. I’ve been doing this for four years and I haven’t made it before this year. And so, I was so, so excited, I still am. It’s a very big achievement.”

Graham was part of the recall list last year, where a group of students made it past the initial audition but then were vying for a limited chair for All-State, and he didn’t make it. He expresses his thoughts on going through that experience and making it this year.

“And to not get it last year was kind of heart throbbing. But, to make it my senior year and to not have a year after this was really, really nice because I knew I could do it, and I’m glad I did it before the end of my high school career.”

Petterson is returning to All-State for a second consecutive year. According to IHSMA, the 79th Annual All-State Music Festival takes place this week, with the concert happening Saturday evening at Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa State University.