Earlier this fall, hundreds of high school music students from around the Chicago metro area auditioned for the ILMEA District 1 Festival, which will be held this Saturday, November 19, at Elmhurst University. We are proud that several of our band, orchestra, and choir students took on the challenge of preparing auditions, and we are pleased to announce the students who were selected to participate in the festival. Henry Schueler (cello) will perform Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture” among other pieces under the direction of Taka Matsunaga, orchestra director and chair of the string department at Elmhurst University.

Maggie Crichton (percussion) will provide important parts to a program of music conducted by Roxanne Stevenson from Chicago State University. Three choir students, Kayla Holley (soprano), Jordan Wilson (alto), and Abby Tameling (alto), will be singing harmonies in Handel’s “Hallelujah Amen” and other choral works under the direction of Lisa Fredenburgh from Aurora University. Congratulations to all of these students for earning this wonderful honor!