This year 8 Uni High students made it to the Illinois Music Education Association all-state level for orchestra and band ensembles. Sophia Chen, Lana Cooper, Renee Wang, Max Wang, and Jason Yan were in the orchestra ensemble. Daniel Lee and Leo Yan were in the honors orchestra ensemble. Jonathan Chen was in the band ensemble. Uni High Music Director Richard Murphy accompanied these students.
High school students all over the state of Illinois get to audition for the chance to perform at the ILMEA district festival for orchestra, band, or choral ensembles that take place in November. If they place high enough in their audition, they get the opportunity to perform at the ILMEA all-state performance in late January.
Students record their auditions based on the requirements for the ensemble they are auditioning for, and Murphy sends the uploaded videos to the ILMEA organization where the auditions are judged.
“I feel like a lot of the experience, it’s not just like playing and stuff … You’re going to meet a bunch of really good people, and that’s pretty inspiring,” said Jonathan Chen.
The all-state program and performance took place in Peoria. Students left on Wednesday Jan. 29 after school and stayed in Peoria for 3 days. They spent two and a half days practicing and rehearsing for the performance with other high school students from all over Illinois. The performances for all the ensembles took place on the evening of Saturday Feb. 1.
Both ILMEA district and all-state serve as an opportunity to not only play in ensembles with other students from across the state but also as an opportunity to bond and connect with them.
Dr. Majerus • Feb 21, 2025 at 11:14 am
Congratulations, ILMEA state ensemble musicians!