The Illinois Music Education Association offers a district festival experience for Elementary through Senior High students in Illinois. CMPI is so grateful to have had students attend the ILMEA conference this year. Several students shared their experiences in the profiles below.
Fabrizio Milcent
- Grade: 10
- Instrument: Bassoon
- What was your involvement with ILMEA? My high school music teacher encouraged me to audition.
- What type of sessions did you attend? Large ensemble rehearsals as well as sectionals.
- What did you learn from these sessions? Finding how my sound fits in with other musicians.
- What was the most amazing musical moment you experienced at ILMEA? Playing with the orchestra, chorus, and concert band at the same time for the finale.
- How was your experience playing in the ILMEA ensembles vs. playing in your school’s ensembles? ILMEA has around 100 musicians in the ensemble, so you feel very immersed in the music.
- If you are attending, or plan to attend next year, what are you looking forward to? Meeting more musicians my age who play my instrument.
Aleo Esparza
- Grade: 11
- Instrument: Percussion
- What was your involvement with ILMEA? I played in the All-state honors band.
- What type of sessions did you attend? I attended a session on All-state composition students.
- What did you learn from these sessions? I learned about what it takes to write a song/production.
- What was the most amazing musical moment you experienced at ILMEA? The most amazing musical moment was the performance at the end of the conference. My favorite piece we played was Chester by William Schuman. At the end of the performance, the All-state honors band, choir and symphony orchestra played “America the Beautiful” together and it was amazing.
- How was your experience playing in the ILMEA ensembles vs. playing in your school’s ensembles? My experience playing with the ILMEA ensembles was really fun and when I went back to my school’s ensemble, it made me realize how efficient and amazing the musicians were at All-state.
- If you are attending, or plan to attend next year, what are you looking forward to? I am looking forward to playing new repertoire.
- What are some takeaways that you have from ILMEA? Playing with the ILMEA ensembles made me realize how to be efficient when learning new music since we only had 2 days to rehearse.
Elena Miller
- Grade: 11
- Instrument: Horn
- What did you like about attending ILMEA? I really enjoyed the immersion into music for three full days. It was so fun to not have anything else to worry about or think about except for music.
- What was your involvement with ILMEA? I was a member of the honors orchestra.
- What type of sessions did you attend? I didn’t get to attend any sessions besides the jazz concert, but from watching them perform I learned a lot about how to communicate with your fellow performers on stage and how to convey your joy of music to the audience.
- What was the most amazing musical moment you experienced at ILMEA? The most amazing moment was the ending of the honors concert, where the orchestra played Mahler 1 and the horn got to stand at the end.
- How was your experience playing in the ILMEA ensembles vs. playing in your school’s ensembles? The difference in playing in ILMEA ensembles is that every single person deserves to be there, and they do not take that position for granted so everyone is working super hard and is very focused on making the best music they can.
- If you are attending, or plan to attend next year, what are you looking forward to? I am really excited to go again next year, and I am looking forward to just getting the whole experience again.
- What are some takeaways that you have from ILMEA? I learned how much your attitude and drive that you bring to rehearsal can affect the entire way the orchestra sounds.
Nate Mathew
- Grade: 12
- Instrument: Percussion
- What did you like about attending ILMEA? It was a lot of fun rep that we got to play, and working with other musicians.
- What was your involvement with ILMEA? I went for the honors band program; through auditions I was the principal percussionist of the top band and I was able to travel with my high school.
- What was the most amazing musical moment you experienced at ILMEA? Probably the final concert. It was really cool to play!
- How was your experience playing in the ILMEA ensembles vs. playing in your school’s ensembles? There were a lot of talented, driven people who worked together really well; rehearsal etiquette was really good because there was a culture of everyone wanting to improve.
- What are some takeaways that you have from ILMEA? Working hard is important; lots of very talented players even in just our state.
Noah Briones
- Grade: 12
- Instrument: Violin
- What did you like about attending ILMEA? I enjoyed interacting with other musicians from around the state, as well as rehearsing in a ballroom with good acoustics.
- What was your involvement with ILMEA? I went to District and All-state with several of my fellow students from my high school. We traveled together by bus, and it was a very fun experience with a lot of community bonding.
- What type of sessions did you attend? District 1, and Honors All-State Orchestra
- What did you learn from these sessions? The ability to collaborate with so many talented musicians and in such a short time frame can be challenging; however, equally fulfilling. As everyone works towards the same, focused goal a lot more can be done than people may initially anticipate.
- What was the most amazing musical moment you experienced at ILMEA? Running the 4th movement of Mahler Symphony No. 1 for the first time in the ballroom was wonderful. Also, seeing the jazz vocal ensemble perform blew me away.
- How was your experience playing in the ILMEA ensembles vs. playing in your school’s ensembles? It was much more focused, and everybody was able to share the feeling of motivation to do challenging music the justice it deserves. While there is also shared camaraderie in the school orchestra, it is a much more relaxed environment, which is both a pro and a con.
- What are some takeaways that you have from ILMEA? The flexibility that each and every musician needs during a rehearsal is crucial in order to have an enjoyable, productive rehearsal. I will also never forget the first time I played the 4th movement of Mahler Symphony No.1.
Images
ILMEA; headshots courtesy of CMPI