District 99 Strong Presence at pending IMEC in Peoria, IL #99Learns #WeAreDGN #peoriaorbust

On January 27-30, 2016, the annual Illinois Music Education Conference will take place in Peoria, Illinois. In addition to the 31 student musicians at Downers Grove North High and Downers Grove South High who have been selected to participate in All-State ensembles, South High’s Madrigal Singers and North High’s Wind Ensemble will be featured performers during the conference, which is attended by thousands of student musicians and educators statewide.

The DGS Madrigal singers were selected through a competitive taped submission process to participate. National Certified Board Teacher Laura Coster conducts the DGS Madrigal Singers. Click here to watch a video of them practicing for the conference.

"Performing at the prestigious IMEC is a tremendous honor for us," says Fine Arts Department Chairman Glenn Williams. “It's a credit to our student musicians that the South High Madrigal Singers have been selected to perform.” The Madrigal Singers will perform at both the ILMEA All State Convention as well as the American Choral Directors Association Regional Convention in Chicago later in February.

“DGN senior and composer Jeremy Pike, an All-State composition contest award winner, will have his composition performed live by the DGN Wind Ensemble on Thursday, January 28, during the Composer Showcase at the 2016 IMEC,” says Teague.

In addition to student representation at the conference, District 99 faculty members also have leadership roles in the organization, including:

DGS - Joy Belt-Roselieb, All-State Honors Choir Organizational Chair

DGN/DGS - Jennifer Mullen, District 1 Orchestra Division Representative

DGN - Beth O'Riordan, District 1 Choral Division Representative

DGS - Craig Roselieb, Jazz Division President

DGN - Brayer Teague, ILMEA President-Elect

Also at the conference, South High music teacher Greg Hensel and English teacher Amy Stoops will present to other educators about the benefits of implementing literacy coaching techniques in music classes.

“Professional organizations run on the spirit of volunteerism, and District 99 is among the leaders in the state of Illinois with staff involvement in their professional

organization,” says Williams.

“You would be hard pressed to find another district in Illinois that has so many student musicians honored or so many faculty contributing to the professional leadership of the association,” notes Teague.