Congratulations to alumnus Annie Kennedy

Annie Kennedy advances to Round 2 of the Capitol Records "The Road to Nashville"

North High alumnus (and former Fine Arts student) Annie Kennedy of Woodridge, IL has advanced to the second round of the Capitol Records "The Road to Nashville" competition. The online singing contest is sponsored by Bix, a division of Yahoo. The first round of competition ended in June with over 1300 entries from across the United States. Ms. Kennedy is one of 50 semi-finalists advancing to the second round.

The top 10 finalists will be flown to Nashville for the final round of competition, which will consist of live auditions in front of an expert panel of judges, who will determine the grand prize winner. The winner will receive $50,000 and a three song demo deal through Capitol Records.

The second round of voting is taking place now through August 7, 2007. If you would like to see and hear Ms. Kennedy, and consider casting a vote for her, you may click here.

North High School congratulates Annie Kennedy for her accomplishments to date.

Rusty Jehangir - Honors Jazz Band of America

Senior (and as of this evening graduate) Rusty Jehangir performed earlier this spring with the Honors Jazz Band of America. We are pleased to post this recently released video excerpt of the concert, which included soloist Wynton Marsalis. In this clip Rusty can be seen playing lead-trombone in the trombone section.

Guest Conductor Don Owens

Professor Emeritus, Don Owens, from Northwestern University, will lead the Wind Ensemble in his work, Three Movements for Symphonic Band, tonight at North High's annual Graduation Concert.

German Band Arrives

District 99 Fine Arts welcomes students and staff from the Bietigheim-Bissingen Musikschule. 70+ Band students from Germany are staying with over 50 host families from North and South High School through May 30.

The German Band will present a free concert at 2:30 PM - Sunday, May 27, at North High.

John Svoboda - Welcome Back!

District 99 welcomed back John Svoboda, Orchestra Director from 1950 - 1977, at the Spring Orchestra Concert held Thursday, May 24, 2007. Mr. Svoboda, and his wife Doris - now residents of Naples, Florida - are visiting their children and grandchildren this week. Mr. Svoboda was honored at the District 99 concert, and will guest conduct at the Herrick Middle School Orchestra concert on Wednesday, May 30th.

Footloose!

The North High Choirs provided over 1000 audience members with a memorable evening of music from the Broadway stage. Congratulations to the choral music students, led by Mrs. Guter, Dr. Pierkarz, and Mrs. Barnes.

Spring Art Show - Opening Reception

Tonight over one-hundred visual art students and parents enjoyed the art work on display in the North High School Spring Art Show. Congratulations to all of our visual art students for their tremendous work!

District 99 Orchestra Honors Recital

The 2007 District 99 Orchestra Honors Reciatal was held on Monday, April 23, and featured tremendous performances by a variety of students from both Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South High School.


Viola Concerto No. 1 in D major.....Carl Stamitz (1745-1801)
I. Allegro
Christopher Mihelich, viola
Belford Hernandez, piano

String Quartet in D minor, Op. 10, No. 2.....Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
I. Grave, Allegro
Haylie Choi and Jillian Oury, violin
Rahul Kamath, viola
Michael Salazar, violoncello

Primmo Guitar Concerto, Op. 30.....Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829)
II. Siciliana
Sebastian Garcia, guitar
Rachel Edwards and Lauren Marino, Violin I
Conner Bernardin and Rudy Rendek, Violin II
Justine Stukas and Victoria Nogle, Viola
Nicholas Rudy and Anita Maurer, Violoncello
Michael Benning, Double Bass

Concerto Grosso, Opus 6, No. 1, in G major.....George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
I. A tiempo jiusto
II. Allegro
Brittany Childs and Ayden Zarkhah, violin
Katrina Garland, viola
Margaux Leja, violoncello

Concerto in C minor.....Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)
I. Allegro molto ma maestoso
Renée Douglas, viola
Nancy Michalek, piano

Symphonie Espagnole.....Édouard Lalo (1823-1892)
I. Allegro non troppo
Haylie Choi, violin
Belford Hernandez, piano

String Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96, B. 179 "American".....Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
IV. Finale: vivace ma non troppo
Rachel Edwards and Joseph Beckmann, violin
Rahul Kamath, violaMichael Salazar, violoncello

Welcome Home Mike Svoboda

This week the Fine Arts Department enjoyed a surprise visit from Mike Svoboda (DGN Class of '78) who is visiting Downers Grove from his home in Germany. Mr. Svoboda is a professional instrumentalist and composer, with many performances and works to his credit. While at North High School Mr. Svoboda listened to a rehearsal by the Wind Ensemble and offered senior Rusty Jehangir a private lesson as he prepares for his concerto performance with the band on May 31.

Thank you Mr. Svoboda!

Michael Kocour - Artist in Residence

North High welcomes Prof. Michael Kocour to District 99 as our April Jazz Artist in Residence. Tonight's concert begins at 7 PM in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium.

Michael Kocour is an Associate Professor and the Director of Jazz Studies in the School of Music at Arizona State University’s Herberger College of Fine Arts. Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “one of the most sophisticated pianists in jazz,” Kocour has performed at the 1992 World’s Fair in Seville, the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, the Blue Note in New York, and the Chicago, Montreal and Quebec City Jazz festivals. Among the many artists and ensembles with whom he has appeared are Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Harris, James Moody, Eddie Daniels, Randy Brecker, Benny Golson, Ira Sullivan, Carl Fontana, Dewey Redman, Lew Tebackin, and the Chicago Symphony.
His recorded work as a studio musician includes soundtracks to two major motion pictures, and numerous television commercials. He has eight works published by Warner Brothers, which include collections of original compositions and arrangements for piano.

Kocour holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from University of Illinois and a Master of Music in Music Theory from Northwestern University. He was awarded National Endowment for the Arts study grants in 1988 and 1990 and from 1991-94 he was a visiting lecturer in Jazz Studies and Piano Pedagogy at the University of Illinois.

In recognition of excellence in teaching, Mr. Kocour was awarded the Herberger College of Fine Arts Distinguished Teacher Award for the academic year 2004-2005.

Children's Concert

The North High Wind Ensemble presented two community outreach concerts for over 2000 elementary school children from Downers Grove and Woodridge, IL. The concert feature music of the Silver Screen, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Star Wars, and The Lion King.

Ben Miller - Guest Artist

North High School welcomes Prof. Ben Miller of Marshall University. Dr. Miller will perform a solo on the March 15th Band Concert that features an authentic replica of a Revolutionary War drum, as well as guest conduct the Wind Ensemble.

2007 IHSA State Solo & Ensemble Contest Scores

Please follow this link for scores.

Scholastic Art Awards Opening

Student artists from Downers Grove North High School received regional visual art recognition through The 2007 Scholastic Art Awards. In all, North High visual artists garnered 94 awards in the juried exhibition.
Now in its 84^th year, the Scholastic Art Awards is a national competition devoted to recognizing outstanding art and writing created by middle school and high school students. It is the most prestigious visual art competition in the nation.

The 2007 regional show, sponsored by the Elmhurst Art Museum, received 1,800 entries from 22 local high schools. “The Elmhurst Art Museum has been a tremendous partner to our schools in the effort to showcase this outstanding student artwork,” said Brayer Teague, Fine Arts Department Chairperson at North High School. “We are so pleased that our visual art students have this opportunity to exhibit their work and be recognized in such a meaningful way.”

The regional show opened on Sunday, February 4, 2007 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Elmhurst Art Museum and runs through February 16, 2007. For information on museum times and directions, please go to http://www.elmhurstartmuseum.org.

At the close of the show, all individual Gold Key and Gold Key Portfolio winners will have their work shipped to New York City for the national adjudication, in which thousands of works from across the United States will be vying for a select number of awards.

Thank you Donna Zabinski!

The Fine Arts Department wishes Mrs. Donna Zabinski a happy and restful retirement! Today is her last day at North High School checking-in visitors to the building. We hope she will come back as the "visitor" in the near future!

Pictured here with music faculty Bill Miller and Brayer Teague, Mrs. Zabinski is presented with a copy of the Marching Band's latest CD, Eyes With Pride.

All State 2007

Congratulations to the 2007 North High School All-State Musicians, who are off to Peoria, IL this week to participate in the IMEA Convention.

All-State Band:
Mark Dortwegt - Clarinet (Junior)
Emily Kirkegaard – Oboe (Junior)

All-State Choir:
Rania El-Kareh – Soprano (Junior)
Natalie Sanders – Alto (Senior)

All-State Orchestra:
Joseph Beckmann - Violin (Senior)
Renee Douglas – Viola (Senior)
Shannon Drobney – Violin (Junior)
Rachel Edwards – Violin (Senior)
Katie Schranz - Viola (Junior)
Natalie Stawarski – Violin (Junior)

All-State Jazz Band:
Jamshed Jehangir - Drums (Junior)
Rusty Jehangir - Trombone (Senior)

All-State Music Composition:
Rusty Jehangir – First Place, Jazz Improvisation Composition (Senior)
Nicholas Reinhart – First Place, Vocal Ensemble Composition (Senior)

Future Music Educators Symposium:
Mary Brandenstein (Senior)

DGN Jazz - Great success at 2007 Purdue University Jazz Festival

The North High School Jazz Program enjoyed great success at the 2007 Purdue University Jazz Festival. For the first time in the school's history, all three performing ensembles garnered "Division I" recognition in the same year.

Awards included:

The DGN Jazz Combo won 1st place "honor band" status. The Combo also won the "Judges Award" for their competition room. JJ Jehangir (drums) and Rusty Jehangir (trombone) garnered outstanding solo recognition, and Rusty Jehangir was named Outstanding Soloist for the day in the Combo division.

The DGN Jazz Lab Band won 1st place "honor band" status as well, in their particular competition room. Outstanding solo recognition included Michael Walser (saxophone), Ben Tullis (flute), Sebastian Garcia (bass), Rudy Rendek (guitar) and Hannah Shatzer (piano). Additionally, Sebastian Garcia was one of two students recognized as "Outstanding Soloist" for the entire day.

The DGN Jazz Ensemble received the "Outstanding Performance" award in the Loeb Playhouse competition venue. Their average score of 95 was the highest score the band has ever attained at this prestigious Midwest festival. Outstanding solo recognition included Zach Wetta (flute), David Musselman (saxophone), Alex Binek (trumpet), and Rusty Jehangir (trombone). Additionally, Rusty Jehangir was one of two students recognized as"Outstanding Soloist" for the entire day.

Congratulations to all the DGN Jazz musicians for an outstanding weekend of jazz and many great musical accomplishments.

Wind Ensemble performs at 2006 Midwest Clinic

Congratulations to the members of the North High Wind Ensemble who participated in the 2006 Midwest Clinic as a Rehearsal Lab Ensemble. The Midwest Clinic is the largest gathering of instrumental music teachers, conductors, composers, bands, orchestras, professional musicians and music industry representatives in the world. Held every December in Chicago, the Midwest Clinic annually draws in excess of 12,000 conference attendees from all 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries. 2006 is the 60th Annual Midwest Clinic, and the conference features over 30 concerts and 50 instructional clinics.

Thank you to Dr. Stephen Peterson, Director of Bands at Ithaca College, for working with our Wind Ensemble this week, and for including us in his clinic. It was a great honor for our students and the North High Band program.

Mosaic Concert - An Acclaimed Success!

Congratulations to the nearly 400+ student musicians who performed beautifully in four separate Mosaic Concerts on December 19 and 20. Over 4,500 people gathered in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium for the 2006 Mosaic programs.

Thank you Pat Roth!

The Fine Arts Department honored CMG staff member Pat Roth for his service and dedication to North High School. Mr. Roth has been a tremendous contributor to the arts at North High, crafting beautiful wood display cases for two-dimensional art, building storage devices for music equipment, creating rolling carts for percussion equimpment, designing special commemorative plaques, and countless other projects.

Mr. Roth will, beginning January 8, 2007, assume a staff position at Downers Grove South High School, where he will be able to put newly aquired skills in HVAC systems to use.

The Fine Arts Department presented Mr. Roth with commemorative art work by teacher Marty Voelker (pictured above). The rendering of North High School commemorates Mr. Roth's nearly ten years of service to our school.

We will certainly miss Mr. Roth, his friendly smile, warm personality, and willingness to contribute in so many meaningful ways. Best wishes Pat!