Last weekend, junior cellist Kenny Chang and senior bassist Riley Stitz traveled to the Illinois Music Education Conference, or IMEC, in Peoria. There, Stitz and Chang performed alongside the best student musicians in the state in the All-State and All-State Honors ensembles, respectively.
“[Stitz] was placed third chair in the All-State orchestra out of probably 12 basses, and then [Chang] has been in the All-State Honors orchestra all three years of high school, … this year, he sat third chair,” said Andy Masters, North orchestra teacher. “These guys are some of the best players in the state … I’m very, very proud.”
The two North musicians and Masters departed along with three East musicians and their director for the conference on Wednesday, Jan. 28. From Thursday to Saturday, the musicians attended rehearsals, workshops and exhibitions, all leading up to their final performances on Saturday.
At the Saturday performances, the All-State orchestra played selections from Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” and Lili Boulanger’s “D’un Matin de Printemps,” while the Honors orchestra played selections from Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” and Béla Bartók’s “Finale” from his “Concerto for Orchestra.”
“Rehearsals were very concentrated and intensive; every minute [was] spent piecing parts together for the big concert on Saturday. My performance turned out great, and despite the several bumps we ran into, the result was very rewarding,” said Chang.
To qualify for All-State, students must submit an audition tape of two three-octave scales and two musical excerpts. The qualifying students are then sorted into either the All-State or Honors ensemble.
“I began preparing my video audition one and a half to two weeks before the deadline,” said Chang. “I felt excited and invested in returning to IMEC for a third year.”
While IMEC is a valuable experience for students to further their skills and knowledge of their instruments and musicianship, music educators also get learning opportunities at the conference through sessions and workshops.
“I did attend quite a few sessions,” said Masters. “One of the best ones was called ‘Who’s Driving the Bus,’ and it was [about] how to kind of reshape your teaching so it’s more student focused, giving students more empowerment in decision making, … and how to not only practice the music, but how to perform the music, instead of just waiting for the teacher to tell them what to do.”
Alongside Chang and Stitz, junior violinist Aria Humbracht, who is a homeschooled student that practices with the North Chamber Orchestra, qualified for the Honors ensemble but was unable to attend the conference due to a recent injury to her left wrist.
“[Humbracht] is one of the best violinists in the state, if not the country. … [She] also made it into the Honors orchestra, and she was ranked 11th, but she had a terrible skiing accident and crushed her wrist,” said Masters. “She’s currently doing therapy and recovering, doctors are optimistic. … Hopefully she’ll be good to go and can try again for next year.”
