Riverside Brookfield High School students Lily Borkowicz, Joshua De La Cruz, Ian Dimaano, Grayson Geiger, Vittoria Gentile, Greta Stanveiciute, Caroline Strubbe, and William Wilkins will be attending the Illinois Music Education Conference All-State performance in Peoria, Illinois from January 24 to January 27. There, the musicians will meet teachers and students from around Illinois which will culminate in a large performance to demonstrate their skills and celebrate their accomplishments.
RB is one of many high schools that participates in the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA). The organization advocates for comprehensive music education that is accessible to all students as well as providing the resources for music educators to advance their skills. The All-State categories to be selected into are orchestra, band, chorus, and jazz. Senior Borkowicz was chosen to be a part of the Honors Chorus; it will be her third year being selected for Honors All-State.
“To be selected for All-State, you have to submit an audition, and you’re required to sing selections from different songs they give you. You are also required to perform some skills and triads because that shows good musicianship,” Borkowicz said.
After practicing either their pre-selected song segments or music sheets given to them by ILMEA, those who made it into the district level sent in their virtual auditions to be viewed and possibly selected for All-State.
“Ms. Smetana received an email in November with the people who had been from RB who had made All-State, and she called all of us in for a ‘secret meeting,’” Borkowicz said. “She put all of our names on the board and said, ‘Congrats, you made All-State.’”
Senior Dimaano has been involved in musicals since sixth grade, but this year was his first year in a choir class. Dimaano is looking forward to the opportunity to be in an intense learning environment where he can build his vocal skills through working and collaborating with fellow singers from a wide range of places in Illinois.
“I’m excited to spend days working on music with such talented musicians and also going to All-State with my best friend, Joshua De La Cruz, and my other friends as well. Not only will I learn so much detailed work there by such a great director from the University of Michigan, but the time spent going around and meeting the other musicians will be exciting,” Dimaano said.
For both the students and educators involved, the hard work and time put into practicing the given material culminates into a large ensemble performance at All-State. This is a unique opportunity given to acknowledge the excellence shown by the musicians.
“What happens at All-State is that all musicians are going to come together to work on six songs for three days, eventually performing on the third. I’ll be going through a schedule that consists of sectionals to work on individual parts in the music, as well as watching others’ concerts too,” Dimaano said.
Seniors Geiger and Stanveiciute along with junior Wilkins were selected for All-State Orchestra. Wilkins and Geiger both play the cello. Wilkins is the only junior selected this year from RB to go to ILMEA in any of the four categories.
“It felt really good ‘cause I’ve been playing for ten years, and it felt really good to have all my hard work to be acknowledged,” Wilkins said.
