The 2017 DGN Band Banquet was the first to be held at the Esplanade Lakes Ballroom in Downers Grove, as 425 members of our band family celebrated another extremely successful year.
Special thanks are extended to the many parent volunteers who created a spectacular event, most notably Ms. Julie Brethauer & Ms. Julie Thompson (Banquet Co-Chairs), Ms. Diana Heppner & Ms. Christiana Kowal (Raffle/Auction Co-Chairs), and Ms. Andrea Banke (Decorations Chair).
The students and faculty of the DGN Bands gratefully acknowledge the participation by families in the 2017 Raffle/Silent Auction. $5,500 was raised in support of the DGN Bands at this year's Banquet!
Tonight we honor the incredible students of the North High
Band. They are a diverse group of learners who, through a myriad of
musical and social experiences, are growing up right in front of our very
eyes. I'm old enough to know and understand that "time is
relative." For some of our seniors, the four-year journey through
DGN seemed to take an eternity. Parents and guardians are thinking:
"Wasn't it just yesterday when I dropped my child off at Band Camp as they
started their Freshman year?"
Among us tonight are musicians who have traveled – or will travel – all over the world to perform with the DGN Bands. Many of the juniors and seniors here tonight performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. 40 of our students performed with the D99 Honors Band in Europe last summer … and this year's Marching Band had a spectacular performance at the Disney Thanksgiving Day Parade.
In our midst tonight are some very accomplished instrumentalists … including All-District musicians, and Illinois All-State musicians. Dozens of the students in our program received Division I ratings at Solo & Ensemble Contest this year. Members of the band performed in an amazing forty-five public performances this year, including curricular band concerts, football games, parades, jazz festivals, honors recitals and the school musical. Add to this the many volunteer performances by our students and we have easily presented our musical gifts in over sixty Chicago metro-area performances this year alone.
And – to prove that we are a well-rounded type, members of the North High Band are involved in nearly every other activity, club and athletic team at North High. Be it an honor society, or any level of athletics … North High Band members are truly involved and engaged students.
We're a smart bunch as well. A very high percentage of our students rank in the top 20% of their class academically, and when one reads the Honor Rolls at North High they might inadvertently mistake the list as a roster of the DGN Band.
The past four years have been some of the most successful in the history of our band.
Consider these highlights from the past four years …
· The Jazz Ensemble has been invited four times to perform at Fitzgeralds, the legendary Chicago jazz club … as well as the famed "Jazz Showcase" in Chicago.
