The journey for the Adel-DeSoto-Minburn Speech Team’s choral reading group will continue, as they were announced Monday as All-State performers.

According to ADM Speech Coach Jacque Seidl, this is the second straight All-State honor for the choral reading group, though they were non-performing in 2017. Seidl says after last year, the team set a goal for themselves to perform this year, and she couldn’t be happier that the 15 students will get to do so. The piece they performed is titled “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” which is adapted from a children’s book. Seidl says though she picked the piece, it was in the students’ hands that it really took off.

“They are just a great choral group. I didn’t have to spend a whole lot of time teaching them, or coaching them on how to read chorally. They just do this beautiful job of blending all their voices. One of the ballots said, ‘I couldn’t even tell how many people were in your group, and that’s a really good thing.’ And I think that that’s testament to how beautiful they are at taking all 15 of their voices and sounding like one, strong force.”

Seidl adds, they also incorporated instruments and singing, which showcased their musical talents. The choral reading group was one of eleven groups that competed for ADM at state, and one of nine to receive “I” ratings, though they were the only entry to make it to All-State. The All-State Festival will be held on February 17th at Iowa State University. See below for a full list of results from the State Large Group Speech Competition for both ADM and Perry.

ADM- Readers Theatre: “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street”- I, I, I (I)
Choral Reading: “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”- I, I, I (I) — All-State
Musical Theatre: “Sweeney Todd”- II, I, I (I)
Musical Theatre: “Into the Woods”- II, I, II (II)
Group Improv: “Goos”- I, II, I (I)
Group Improv: “Richardson”- I, I, I (I)
Group Mime: “I Had to Shoot”- I, I, I (I)
Short Film: “Murder at Midnight”- II, II, II (II)
Ensemble Acting: “Elevator Games”- II, I, I (I)
Ensemble Acting: “The Boy Book”- I, I, I (I)
Ensemble Acting: “Abbot and Costello”- I, I, I (I)

Perry- Readers Theatre: “Stand Up”- I, II, I (I)
Short Film: “PHS 2”- I, I, II (I)
Ensemble Acting: “Prom”- I, II, I (I)
Ensemble Acting: “The Elevator”- I, I, I (I)