2013 Mustang All-State Musicians

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15 student musicians from Downers Grove South High School were selected, by competitive audition, to the 2013 Illinois Music Educator’s Association All-State Band, Choir, Orchestra, and Jazz Band.  The extremely competitive performance auditions were held in October at Carl Sandburg.

 “This is a tremendous honor for these students,” said Glenn Williams, Fine Arts Department Chairman at South High.  “All-State selection represents the pinnacle of musical achievement for a high school student musician.  We are very proud of the continued success of our student musicians at the All-State level, and look forward to hearing their performances in January.”

 The All-State Band, Choir, Orchestra and Jazz Band will convene for a series of rehearsals with nationally renowned guest conductors during the 2013 Illinois Music Education Conference in Peoria, IL, from January 24-26, 2013.  Their concerts will be held at the Peoria Civic Center on the evening of January 25, and the afternoon of January 26, 2013.

 All-State Band

Marjorie Fera – senior – trumpet

Zak Paskvan – senior – tuba

Dan Reeter – senior – clarinet
Kelsey Richardson - junior - bass clarinet

Josiah Williams – senior - trombone

All-State Choir

Caitlin Carr – junior – soprano I

Andrew Mahlan – junior – bass II

Savannah Reimer – senior – soprano I

Christian Siki – senior – bass I

All-State Honors Choir

Mara Alvarez – junior – alto I

Dan Leahy – senior – tenor I

Ashley Maghirang – senior – alto II

All-State Orchestra

Andrew Molina – junior – cello

Rachel Wydra – junior - bassoon

 All-State Jazz Band

Ian Williams – senior - piano

D99 Orchestra Preps for December Concerts

DGS & DGN instrumentalists in the District 99 Orchestra are hard at work this morning preparing for the 2012 Holiday Mosaic (North High - December 11) and 2012 Holiday Concert (South High - December 13).

2012 Bonfield Express

Several Mustang musicians joined over 6,000 participants at the 2012 Bonfield Express Turkey Trot in downtown Downers Grove today.  In addition to senior Savannah Reimer singing the National Anthem to kick-off the race, members from the DGS Jazz Ensemble provided spirited sonic support at the finish line.  Great weather, great turn-out, and great day to be a Mustang musician in Downers Grove.

Muriel Anderson @ DGS

Internationally acclaimed guitarist, musician and composer Muriel Anderson  spent time at South High School this afternoon, giving a recital/master class to students from Guitar I and Digital Music.  Ms. Anderson provided insight into developed guitar performance techniques, and, discussed with the students her career pathway as a performer.

Ms. Anderson will appear on Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 8 PM in the Johnson Auditorium at North High School for her annual homecoming concert in Downers Grove.  Tickets are available at the door for this concert.   In addition to the amazing home made treats during intermission, harmonica player Howard Levy will appear as a guest artist.  Ms. Anderson will also lead a guitar workshop on Sunday, November 25th at 2:00 PM at the Two Way Street Coffee House in Downers Grove.  Special thanks to Ms. Anderson for sharing her passion and performance with the student musicians at DGS today!

Mustang Musicians at the IMEA DIstrict 1 Festival

The 2012 IMEA District I Festival was held at West Leyden High School on Saturday, November 17, 2012.  It was a great day to celebrate the arts and music performance, but, it was also an absolutely great day to be a Mustang.  38 musicians from South High School represented in the band, choir and orchestra.  In addition to nearly 8% of the performing musicians being from DGS, Mustangs were featured prominently in principal chairs and as soloists during the day.  Well done you Mustang musicians - we are proud of you!  We are also excited to witness on a daily basis how your recent festival experience will contribute to the sonic success in the music suite on a daily basis!

WINDS/PERCUSSION

Marjorie Fera (12) – trumpet (orch)

Bridget Moroney (9) – clarinet (band)

Zak Paskvan (12) – tuba (orchestra)

Julia Poska (9) – clarinet (band)

Dan Reeter (12) – clarinet (band)

Kelsey Richardson (11) – bass clarinet (band)

John Shimanek (11) – trumpet (band)

Kayleigh Stewart (11) – flute – (band)

Sam Tedeschi (10) – tuba (orchestra)

Josiah Williams (12) – trombone (orchestra)

Rachel Wydra (11) – bassoon – (orch)

ORCHESTRA

Andrew Molina (11) – cello

Sean Hux (12) – cello

Allison Williams (10) - cello

CHOIR

Mara Alvarez (11) – Alto I

Caitlin Carlson (11) – Alto I

Caitlin Carr (11) – Soprano I

Scott Conger (11) – Tenor II

Mariah Copeland (11) – Alto I

Olivia Germann (12) – Soprano I

Maddie Kuerschner (12) – Alto II

Dan Leahy (12) – Tenor I

Lian Lucansky (11) – Alto II

Ashley Maghirang (12) – Alto II

Andrew Mahlan (11) – Bass II

Taylor Meek (12) – Alto II

Brian Moroney (11) – Bass I

Rose Murphy (11) – Soprano I

Natasha Prosek (11) – Alto II

Ruth Reeve (12) – Alto I

Savannah Riemer (12) – Soprano I

Taylor Roberts (12) – Alto II

Christian Siki (12) – Bass I

Shannon Snyder (11) – Alto I

Cody Strolia (12) – Bass I

Kaitlyn Trevor (12) – Alto II

Elly Walsh-Rock (12) – Alto I

Chris Yaneza – (12) Tenor II

This is your brain on improvisation........

Important research being done on the creative process and the brain.  This great TED talk begins to unveil the important of the arts and creativity and how it interfaces with brain developments and activity.

South HS Fall Jazz Concert

Tonight the Jazz Workshop, Jazz Lab Band, and Jazz Ensemble presented a fabulous fall concert.  In total, the three bands performed 17 selections, ranging from Ellington to Basie, from Mobley to Golson.      

Just over 60 jazz musicians performed tonight, with close to half of them taking an improvised solo during the course of the evening.  Special congratulations and kudos to Jazz Workshop conductor Scott Oliver for doing such a great job on his first concert as a director in District 99.  

D99 Jazz Musicians team up to support the D99 Foundation

Students from the North and South Jazz Combos joined forces on Monday night at Tom & Eddie's to perform at a District 99 Education Foundation fundraiser.  The students coordinated their performance collaboratively, and demonstrated through their music the great spirit of District 99.

Thanks are extended to each of these students for their volunteerism in support of District 99!

South High School Fall Jazz Concert

The auditorium will be swinging tonight when the Jazz Workshop, Jazz Lab Band and Jazz Ensemble present the 2012 Fall Jazz Concert.  Concert begins at 7 PM in the auditorium at South High School in Downers Grove.  The concert is free and the public is cordially invited to attend.  See you there!

DGS at the 2012 District 1 IMEA Jazz Festival

South HIgh School in Downers Grove was well represented in the 2012 IMEA District 1 Jazz Festival on Saturday, November 10, 2012 at Lincoln-Way Central High School.  Thirteen student musicians from DGS auditioned into the combo and the four jazz bands.  Each ensemble rehearsed during the day with a guest conductor and presented a concert to culminate their learning.  

Just over 100 students from more than 40 high schools participated in this event.  Including the student musicians from North High School, more than 25% of the total student participation in the festival was from District 99.  Literally 1 in every 4 students at the festival is from either South or North High Schools.  

It was a great day indeed to be a Mustang Musician!  Special congratulations to the students below for their participation in the festival this year:

Nathaniel Gresik (11) – trumpet
Sean Hux (12) – tenor sax
Tommy Leinart (9) – piano
Joe Perillo (12) – drums
Chris Reusz (12) – alto sax
John Shimanek (11) – trumpet
Christian Siki (11) – alto sax
Danny Tedeschi (12) – trombone
Michael Tegeler (9) - trombone
Josiah Williams (12) – trombone
Ian Williams (12) – piano
Michal Witek (12) – guitar
Julia Wood (12) - bass

Dr. Rena Kraut Clarinet Master Class at South High School

Dr. Rena Kraut, musician, clarinetist and author, delivered master classes and lessons to student clarinetists at South High School today.  Dr. Kraut resides in Minneapolis, MN, and is in Chicago taking a lesson to prepare for an upcoming audition for the Minnesota Opera Orchestra.  Thanks to Dr. Kraut for making the effort to come to South HS to work with our student musicians, and thanks to the Wind Ensemble clarinet section for being passionate about advancing their clarinet performance skills.

2012 Fall Invitational Concert

Kudos and congratulations to the more than 200 student musicians from South High School, O'Neill Middle School and Jefferson Junior High School who participated this evening in the 2012 Fall Invitational Band Concert.  Directed by Mr. Dave Balika, the OMS Band performed with musical passion and exuberance.  Directed by Keith Carlson, the JJHS Band performed a diverse program with extreme elegance.  Finally, the acclaimed South HS Wind Ensemble performed a challenging program, ranging in age from 1785 to 2011, ranging in style from classical to contemporary, from jazz to traditional marches.  Based on the sounds heard in the auditorium tonight from the OMS and JJHS bands, the sonic future is bright indeed for the Mustang Bands!

2012 Fall Band Concert

Kudos and congratulations to the student musicians in Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony for an outstanding Fall Band Concert.  The myriad of composers heard tonight (Beethoven, Bryant, Shostakovich, Ticheli, King, Holsinger) partnered with the tremendously high level of music execution made this an extremely successsful concert.  A special crowd favorite with was the combined rendition of John Mackey's Foundry, featuring more than 160 student musicians in collaborative sonic forces.  Well done tonight Mustang Bands - bravo!

Coming up next? Fall Band Concerts........

The South High School Bands are busy preparing in the auditorium for their upcoming Fall Band Concerts.            

On Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 7:00 PM in the auditorium the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Symphony will present an evening of Wind Band music. The concert will conclude with a combined rendition of John Mackey's Foundry. 

On Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 7:00 PM in the auditorium the Wind Ensemble will share the stage with the bands from Jefferson Junior High School and O'Neill Middle School. This annual invitational performance provides sender school musicians and parents a chance to play in the auditorium at South High School and to catch a glimpse of what participation in music at DGS will be like for their student musician. 

Both performances are free, and the public is cordially invited to attend both events.