The Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) is a statewide musical contest for orchestra, band, and choir middle and high school students in Illinois. Currently Sterling High School students have auditioned and are awaiting results.
Students work on multiple audition pieces and virtually send them in to find out if they make the cut, and if they do, receive concert pieces, practice, and play them in a concert with others who made it in their age group.
ILMEA auditioners receive the audition pieces and start preparing late spring/early summer of the school year before auditions. For band and orchestra, auditioners receive two atudes and a scale sheet. Band and orchestra auditioners record all of the scale sheet and parts of the atudes; for choir, those auditioning receive four to five songs and record parts of two.
The recordings are due early October–this year October 4–and the concerts are November 18 at DeKalb High School for band and choir, and November 11 for orchestra. Students can also be selected for all-state, which lasts four days in mid January–this year from January 24 to 27 in Peoria, Ill.
Senior Jacob Brown stated that he practiced each piece around 40-45 hours each and about 20 for the concert pieces. Sterling High School band director Erik Oberg talked about how he thought students felt after making ILMEA, saying they always feel relief and have a “desire to do something even bigger and better” and that for them the concert is always “an over the top amazing experience.”
The process is similar for middle school students, according to Challand Middle School band director Nicole Oberg. She recommended that future auditioners who may be interested should get lessons over the summer.
In previous years, the audition process was in-person, but after COVID, it changed to online auditions and are now permanent.
This year for the high school, 36 people have auditioned. In past years only juniors and seniors could be selected for all-state after ILMEA; now, all high schoolers and even some middle schoolers could be selected. Students from S.H.S. and C.M.S.’s music programs are now anxiously awaiting results.
