Elise Cismesia - ACDA National High School Honors Choir

Congratulations to @dgnchoirs senior Elise Cismesia who was selected by competitive audition to perform this weekend with the American Choral Directors Association "2017 National High School Honors Choir" in Minneapolis, MN. Sining under the direction of GRAMMY-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre, Elise joined an elite ensemble made up of the most talented high school vocalists from across the United States.  This prestigious event culminated with two performances at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.  

Congratulations, Elise!  #WeAreDGN!

The Addams Family Opens Tonight!

They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're all together ooky,
The Addams Family!

DGN Musicians Find Success at 2017 State Contest

Downers Grove North High School student musicians participated in the Illinois High School Association State Solo and Ensemble Contest on March 4, 2017.

68 students from Downers Grove North High School performed Solos and Ensembles that earned a Division I rating of SUPERIOR.  A Division I score is categorized as “A Superior Performance – outstanding in nearly every detail.”  In addition, 32 students from Downers Grove North High School performed Solos and Ensembles that garnered a Division II rating of OUTSTANDING.  A Division II score is categorized as “An excellent performance – only minor defects.”

“Preparing for a Solo and Ensemble contest is a great opportunity for our students to express their individualism as soloists and to develop team-work skills with small ensembles,” said Brayer Teague, Fine Arts Department Chair at North High.  “We’re very proud of all our students who entered the state contest this year.  They did a terrific job representing North High with their musicianship.”

Nineteen North High student musicians received perfect scores at the State Contest.  Emily Blanchard, Jennifer Casey, Elise Cismesia, Luc Collo, Becky Donnelly, Kathleen Donnelly, Rebecca Edmundson, Amelia Korbitz, Emma Krause, Hannah Kutchek, Matthew McCoy, Brian Monk, Lauren O’Neil, and Brendan Quealy earned perfect marks from the judges for their solo work.  The DGN Woodwind Quintet comprised of Michelle Cotten, Maria D’Ambrose, Emma Krause, Julia Rhodes and Miles Teague also received a perfect score.    

Four North High events received a “Best in Room Citation” for garnering the highest achievement score in their event room.  Euphonium soloist Jennifer Casey, Flute soloist Emma Krause, Violin Soloist Rebecca Edmundson, and the String Duet of Lucie Boyd and Amelia Korbitz were each recognized by judges to be the most outstanding performers of the day in their performance venues. 

The following North High Music Events received a “Division I—Superior” rating:

Jozie Arenz – Euphonium

Daniel Atwater – Trumpet

David Atwater – French Horn

Eva Bednard – Violin

Tim Berberich – Voice

Emily Blanchard – Flute

Emily Blanchard – Piccolo – Perfect Score

Lucie Boyd – Viola

Daniel Brethauer – Trombone

Allison Burke – Alto Saxophone

Jennifer Casey – Euphonium – Perfect Score / Best in Room Citation

Elise Cismesia – Voice – Perfect Score

Fiona Cismesia – Violin

Luc Collo – Alto Saxophone – Perfect Score

Maria D’Ambrose – Oboe

Becky Donnelly – Flute – Perfect Score

Kathleen Donnelly – Alto Saxophone – Perfect Score

Patrick Doyle – Trumpet

Rebecca Edmundson – Violin – Perfect Score / Best in Room Citation

Jeannie Hansen – Bassoon

Gavin Harker – Trumpet

Emilija Irvin – Bassoon

Tatiana Jordan – Violin

Amelia Korbitz – Violin – Perfect Score

Helen Kosowski – Flute

Ryan Knezevich – Trombone

Emma Krause – Flute – Perfect Score / Best in Room Citation

Megan Krause – Violin

Hannah Kutchek – Flute – Perfect Score

Jack Langan – Voice

Katherine Lyda – Violin

Margaret Lyons – Flute

Kaylee McCarthy – Trombone  

Matthew McCoy – Alto Saxophone – Perfect Score

Zachary McCoy – Timpani

Parker McGuire – Violin

Elizabeth McNamara – Voice

Maggie Miller – Violin

Chloe Mason – Oboe

Brian Monk – Violin – Perfect Score

Lauren O’Neil – Viloin – Perfect Score

Andi Ohk – Flute

Kaleb Pfotenhauer – Violin

Brendan Quealy – Voice – Perfect Score

Olga Sretenovic – Violin

Sharon Stagaman – Voice

Miles Teague – French Horn

Alex Teng – Violin

Daniel Atwater, David Atater, Brian Hsu, Michael Price, Caleb Schmurr – Brass Quintet

Jack Barkei, Bryan Monk, Kaleb Pfotenhauer, Chris Wilford – String Quartet

Lucie Boyd, Amelia Korbitz – String Duet – Best in Room Citation

Michelle Cotten, Maria D’Ambrose, Emma Krause, Julia Rhodes, Miles Teague – Woodwind Quintet – Perfect Score

Emma Duncan, Tatiana Jordan, Katie Lyda, Brady Moore – String Quartet

The following North High Music Events received a “Division II—Excellent” rating:

Shelby Berghorst – Viloa

Josie Bondarowicz – String Bass

Joe Delorto – Viola

Ben Goedert – Voice

Aaron Heppner – Flute

Daniel Igoe – Trumpet

Bilal Khurshid – Snare Drum

Aidan Lyons – Alto Saxophone

Zachary McDermott – French Horn  

Jonathan Orjala – Trumpet

Abby Pfeiffer – Viola

Caleb Schmurr – Trombone

David Schmurr – Violin

Catherine Ramsey – Harp

Rebecca Waden – French Horn

Joe Delorto, Megan Krause, Olga Sretenovic, James Vranas – String Quartet

Emma Duncan, Katherine Gross, Nick Saba, Mia Scott – String Quartet

Sotis Gouriotis, Alex Teng – String Duet

Ben Hodonicky, Tushar Mitra, Max Ourada, David Schmurr – String Quartet

Xanthe Huspen, Sean Ryan, Shea Tillotson – String Trio

“Spring Is In The Air” - 2017 Flower & Plant Sale Kick Off

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." - Claude Monet

The 2017 DGN Fine Arts Boosters Flower & Plant Sale kicks off on Wednesday, March 8th with classroom presentations to the Band, Choir and Orchestra students.  Visual Arts students will receive information packets via email.  Order forms and additional information about this fundraiser are available by accessing the DGN Fine Arts Booster Blog or by clicking on the following link directly:

http://tinyurl.com/DGNFineArtsPlantSale17

Students will receive 25% of individual total sales deposited into their student accounts.  The funds may be used to offset music / visual arts expenses.

Orders are due by Wednesday, April 5^th.  Checks are payable to DGN Fine Arts Boosters (no cash please).  

Pick-up day is Saturday, May 6th, the weekend before Mother’s Day.  We need many volunteers to assist with the sorting and distribution of the flowers on May 6th.  Please sign up on the forms posted outside of the Fine Arts office or on Sign-Up.com. http://tinyurl.com/DGNFineArtsVolunteerSpot

Winter Guard Sweeps Schaumburg Contest

Congratulations to the DGN Winter Guard on their 1st Place finish at the Schaumburg High School Winter Guard Contest this past weekend. The team's score of a 73.73 was an eight point increase over last week's score, and placed the team first in all adjudicated captions.

The 2016-17 DGN Winter Guard is clearly working with purpose determination and perseverance, making weekly improvements to the competitive show. We are proud of you Winter Guard!

Rotary Scholarships for Seniors in Music now being accepted!

Rotary Music Scholarship applications now being accepted!

The Rotary Club of Downers Grove is now accepting applications for their annual Charles Dickerman Music Scholarship. Each year the Rotary Club of Downers Grove presents a $2,000 scholarship check to a deserving high school senior who resides in Downers Grove or the District 99 attendance area.

Charles Dickerman was a founding member of the Rotary Club of Downers Grove.  He was a nuclear physicist at Argonne National Laboratory who had undergraduate degrees in both physics and music. Charles stayed involved in music throughout his life and was an avid bagpiper. 

A scholarship application can be downloaded at www.dgrotary.com or by CLICKING HERE.

Applicants must have their forms postmarked by Wednesday, April 5, 2017. If selected as a finalist, candidates must be available for an interview and audition on the evening of Monday, May 1, 2017.

The qualifications to apply for this scholarship are:

• Be a graduating senior attending a public, private, parochial or home school, and reside in Downers Grove or the High School District 99 attendance area. 
• Plan to pursue a post-secondary education program.
• Have participated in high school curricular music activities and/or extracurricular music activities. 
• Composers and/or arrangers qualify for this scholarship. 
• Pursuit of an undergraduate music major or minor is not required.
• Financial need is not a criterion for selection.

Vocal Festival

Over 65 North High singers participated in our annual Vocal Festival today. Many thanks to our three clinicians, Mr. Lee Kesselman, Ms. Janet Reynolds and Ms. Michelle Wrighte, for providing our students with many amazing learning moments. It was a tremendous day of music sharing and growth.