Evergreen Park Community High School students Suzy Summers and Diego Toledo were selected for All-State Chorus and Matthew Dever was named to the All-State Honors Chorus for the second consecutive year. It’s the first time since 2010 EPCHS has had three All-State selections.
Statewide, more than 10,000 students from elementary, junior high and high schools around Illinois participated in a virtual audition process and of those auditions, more than 7,000 students were selected to participate in district festivals celebrating student musicians in bands, orchestras, choruses and jazz ensembles.
Students in grades 9-12 who participated in the ILMEA District Festivals are also eligible to be selected into ILMEA’s All-State Student Programs.
This year, 1,500 students were selected to participate in the Illinois Music Education Association’s 2023 All-State Student Programs in Peoria from January 24-27. In addition to the performing ensembles, this group also includes students who applied for and were accepted into the Future Music Educators Seminar for those students interested in pursuing careers as professional music educators, and students who entered the ILMEA Composition Contest and were selected to participate in the Composition Track. This is a unique and exciting track of events designed for exceptional students who are working in the areas of traditional composition, remix, singer/songwriter and other areas of music writing and production.
Students in the performing ensembles represent the best student musicians in Illinois and came together to present a series of All-State Concerts.
On Friday, January 26, the 2024 Jazz Night Concert will feature a night of music performed by the student vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles. The All-State Elementary Chorus Concert, the All-State Concert and the Honors Concerts will be presented on Saturday, January 27. Each of these ensembles will be led by distinguished conductors and educators from across the country.
The All-State Student Programs run concurrently with the Illinois Music Education Conference, the premier professional development opportunity for music educators in Illinois. This event brings over 12,000 students, educators, parents and music education industry vendors to the Peoria Civic Center to celebrate and promote music education in Illinois.