Two St. Francis Choral Students Named to the ILMEA All-State Chorus

Krystal LaMantia
During a typical school year, the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) invites junior high and senior high school students from all areas of the state to prepare for and attend auditions to be selected into District Band, Chorus, Jazz and Orchestra ensembles. In the Fall of 2020, the Illinois Music Education Association wanted to offer this experience despite remote learning and changes in teaching environments and launched the first-ever digital audition opportunity for music students in Illinois. Over 8500 students submitted auditions in these different areas of music education and of those submissions, over 6500 students were selected for participation in the 2020 Virtual District Festival, to take the place of an in-person performance festival. This virtual event featured masterclasses presented by expert practitioners from around the country offering performance advice, tips and techniques to participating students, as well as a keynote address presented by Professor Barry Hauser of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
 
Students in grades 10-12 are eligible to be selected into ILMEA All-State Student Programs for Band, Chorus, Jazz and Orchestra; of the 6,000 high school students who auditioned and the 4,700 students who were selected into District Festivals, ILMEA is pleased to announce that approximately 1,500 students have been named into the 2021 ILMEA All-State Student Programs. 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 the students who entered the ILMEA Composition Contest and were selected to participate in the Composition Track, a workshop geared towards those students who are working in the areas of traditional composition, remix, singer/songwriter and other areas of music writing and production.
 
St. Francis High School would like to congratulate Sam C. ’22 and Linda C. ’22 for their nomination to the ILMEA All-State Chorus. At St. Francis High School, Sam is a member of the Chamber Choir and Linda is a member of the Concert Choir.
 
The ILMEA Student Programs have been developed to encourage musical performance and creative expression and the many forms that may take for student musicians. Ensembles include symphonic orchestras, wind bands, choral ensembles, jazz bands and combos, and vocal jazz ensembles. The students named into these ensembles represent the best and brightest student musicians and the high-quality music education provided by music educators across Illinois.

St. Francis High School