KDSN RADIO News
Three Denison High School Musicians Earn Prestigious All-State Honors, Including Rare Four-Year Achievement
PICTURED ABOVE (L-R): Cooper Gehlsen, Lazaro Rivera Acosta, Grant Olsen, and Owen Reisz
(Atlantic, IA) Three Denison High School students have attained the highest individual honor available to Iowa high school musicians by being selected as members of the 2026 All-State Music Festival. Auditions were held on Saturday, October 24 in Atlantic, Iowa. Musicians from all over Southwest Iowa auditioned for coveted spots in the three All-State ensembles.
Selected for the Iowa All-State Band were Grant Olsen (tenor saxophone), Lazaro Rivera Acosta (trumpet), and Cooper Gehlsen (bass trombone). Grant, a senior, is the son of Andy and Laurel Olsen; Lazaro is also a senior, and the son of J. Lazaro Rivera and Maria Acosta. This is the second time Lazaro has been selected for the Iowa All-State Band. Cooper, a senior, is the son of Troy and Deb Gehlsen. This is the fourth time that Cooper has been named an All-State musician, making him the newest “four-year all-state” member from Denison High School. Cooper will be recognized at the 2026 Iowa All-State Music Festival Concert as a four-year member. All three musicians are students of DHS band director, Ruben Newell.
Also receiving recognition on Saturday from the band was Owen Reisz (senior, alto saxophone), who was selected for a second-round audition.
In total, 16 band and vocal musicians from DHS auditioned for the All-State ensembles on Saturday. The three accepted students will be traveling to Ames on Thursday, November 19 to participate in rehearsals for the 80th Annual Iowa All-State concert, which will be held in Hilton Coliseum on Saturday, November 21. The concert will also air on IPTV during the Thanksgiving weekend.
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