 The RCHS Music Department participated in the 2023 IHSA Solo & Ensemble Contest at Lawrenceville High School on Saturday, March 4th, 2023. This festival is an opportunity for student-musicians from several member schools to perform for adjudication. Richland County High School had a strong showing with the following results: BAND STUDENTS: Division I (Superior Rating) = 16 Division II (Excellent Rating) = 3 CHOIR STUDENTS: Division I (Superior Rating) = 3 Division II (Excellent Rating) = 2 The students that were rated Superior included Kyle Rennier, Ari Henby (three times), Wyatt Baker, Victoria Zwilling (twice), Jasper Tracy (twice), Aidan Gomez, Ethan Zuber, Jordi Mendoza, Lila Balding, Brendan Kirkland, Riley Harrolle, Emma Wells (three times), James Benton (twice), Dee McKinney, Liam Ryden, Ridge Davis, Bailey Snyder, Ryan Zhu, Evan Irvin, Ethan Mehl, Molly Fehrenbacher (twice), River Logan, Sean Joyce (twice), Coy Shipman, Colleen Steber, Riley Harrolle, and Jack Williams. The students that were rated Excellent were Isaac Zwilling, Emma Bower, Carly Houchin, Jozalyn Houser, Coy Shipman, and River Logan, Evan Irvin (picture on the left) and Emma Wells (picture on the right) were selected as Best in Class (deemed the best performers judged by their respective adjudicators of the day’s performances).
This band festival was formed to afford the students an opportunity to perform in a concert band consisting of only high school student-musicians of the Little Illini Conference, under the direction of a guest conductor. We are fortunate for the opportunity for the Symphonic Band to participate in the event. There are some that are unable to attend this year, and have elected to write a research project. Those students attending may be found at the bottom of this post.
The festival is held at Casey-Westfield High School on Thursday, March 9th, 2023. There is no cost associated with the Lincoln Trail Band Festival, aside from food money. Buffet Lunch: Chicken Strips, Pork BBQ, Oven Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad/Bread Bar, Chocolate Cake, Cookies, Iced Tea, Lemonade Dinner: Casey’s Pizza, Soft Drinks A note from Mr. Ritter, Director of Bands at Casey-Westfield High School:
THE ITINERARY FOR THE DAY IS AS FOLLOWS: 7:20-7:30...........MEET AT RCHS 7:30......................DEPART FOR CASEY, IL 8:30–9:00...........ARRIVE AT CASEY-WESTFIELD HIGH SCHOOL (306 E Edgar Ave. Casey IL) 9:00–11:15.........REHEARSAL (Breaks will be taken at guest conductor’s discretion) 11:15–12:45.......LUNCH (Richard's Farm) 12:45–4:30..........REHEARSAL (Breaks will be taken at guest conductor’s discretion) 4:30-5:30..............DINNER (pizza and then change into concert attire) 5:30........................WARM-UP AND TUNE 6:00.......................CONCERT 7:30.......................DEPART FOR OLNEY, IL 9:00.......................ESTIMATED RETURN TIME TO RCHS The concert is open to the public for $2.00 per person. Students may be signed out immediately after the concert. Please feel free to contact me should there be any further questions at cjones@rccu1.net or at (618) 393-2191 ext. 3153. Click HERE for bus and van seat assignment. Students must sign into their rccu1.net account for access to this document. Click on the tabs to navigate between the roster, the bus seating chart, and the van seating chart.
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FNdSPTnpnDQseE2N9aHMLPyGW9ZX3TUCVXuQfhjVSv8/edit?usp=sharingThe Honors Wind Ensemble performs at the 2023 ILMEA Large Ensemble Contest on Saturday, March 11th. Performance attire is concert black-and-white (tuxes or dresses) that were issued out to the students at the beginning of the term. Parents may sign out their sons & daughters following the last RCHS performance that morning in the assigned homeroom.
The schedule for the day is as follows: IHSA Organizational Contest Itinerary 6:00 AM (sorry)..............Call-time at RCHS 6:01-6:29 AM................Load & change into black-and-white concert attire 6:20 AM...............................Buses arrive at the RCHS circle drive 6:30-7:40 AM................Travel to the Doudna Fine Arts Center at EIU 8:00-8:29 AM................Honors Wind Ensemble warm-up 8:30-8:59 AM....................Honors Wind Ensemble performance 9:00-9:30 AM....................Clinic 9:30-11:00 AM...............Pack bus, travel to RCHS, unpack, & dismiss! (est. time) FESTIVAL ADDRESS: Doudna Fine Arts Center on the campus of Eastern Illinois University is located at 801–849 Hayes Ave, Charleston, IL 61920. Click HERE for bus and van seat assignment. Students must sign into their rccu1.net account for access to this document. Click on the tabs to navigate between the roster, the bus seating chart, and the van seating chart.
The IHSA Solo & Ensemble Contest for 2023 is nearly upon us! The 2023 IHSA Solo & Ensemble Contest is scheduled for Saturday, March 4th, 2023 at Lawrenceville High School. The day's itinerary is as follows: 7:45 AM - Meet in the RCHS Rehearsal Hall 7:55 AM - Depart for Lawrenceville, IL 8:25 AM - Estimated arrival at Lawrenceville High School 2:30 PM - Estimated departure from Lawrenceville for Olney 3:00 PM - Estimated return to RCHS Students may sign-out with a guardian following performances. Please sign-out with Mr. Jones (band) or Mr. Weitkamp (choir) before leaving. The address for Lawrence High School is 2200 James St, Lawrence, IL 62439. Packing List: Performance attire (you do not have to wear the concert black-and-white attire, but dress attire is required), instrument, extra reeds, musical accessories, sheet music, lunch money. We will not leave Lawrenceville High School until the event is over; however, students may buy lunch from Lawrenceville Band Boosters. Performance Fees: Accompanied solos = $20 Unaccompanied solos = $10 Duet = $9 (per student) Trio = $8 (per student) Quartet = $7 (per student) Quintet = $6 (per student) Each participating student is required to pay the performance fee. Students & parents may elect to use funds that have built up in the student's band activity account. The due date for fees is March 3rd. Please visit https://www.cuttime.net for and log in for balance and invoices. 8:40 AM - Victoria Zwilling (401 Piano) - Performance Room: 117 - Unaccompanied - 1 student(s) 8:50 AM - Henby, et al (601 Flute Ensemble) - Performance Room: 304 - Unaccompanied - 2 student(s) 9:00 AM - Joyce, et al (653 Mixed Ensemble) - Performance Room: 204 - Unaccompanied - 8 student(s) 9:00 AM - Victoria Zwilling (105 Oboe) - Performance Room: 404 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 9:20 AM - Coy Shipman (501 Jazz & Musical Theatre) - Performance Room: 201 - Accompanied by Sherri Snider - 1 student(s) 9:20 AM - Gomez, et al (610 Trombone Ensemble) - Performance Room: 308 - Unaccompanied - 4 student(s) 9:30 AM - River Logan (502 Arias and Art Songs) - Performance Room: 201 - Accompanied by Sherri Snider - 1 student(s) 9:50 AM - Natalie Zwilling (401 Piano) - Performance Room: 117 - Unaccompanied - 1 student(s) 9:50 AM - Henby, et al (601 Flute Ensemble) - Performance Room: 404 - Unaccompanied - 3 student(s) 9:50 AM - Brendan Kirkland (114 Eb Alto Saxophone) - Performance Room: 304 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 10:00 AM - Zwilling, et al (608 Trumpet Ensemble) - Performance Room: 308 - Unaccompanied - 2 student(s) 10:00 AM - Harrolle , et al (702 Clarinet Choir) - Performance Room: 402 - Unaccompanied - 2 student(s) 10:20 AM - Natalie Zwilling (105 Oboe) - Performance Room: 404 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 10:40 AM - Emma Wells (109 Bb Clarinet) - Performance Room: 304 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 10:50 AM - Bailey Snyder (102 Flute) - Performance Room: 304 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 10:50 AM - Benton, et al (705 Percussion Choir) - Performance Room: 117 - Unaccompanied - 4 student(s) 11:00 AM - Zhu, et al (607 Mixed Wind Ensemble) - Performance Room: 404 - Unaccompanied - 2 student(s) 11:10 AM - Carly Houchin (102 Flute) - Performance Room: 404 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 12:10 PM - Jozalyn Houser (109 Bb Clarinet) - Performance Room: 402 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 12:30 PM - Kyle Rennier (114 Eb Alto Saxophone) - Performance Room: 308 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 12:40 PM - Ari Henby (102 Flute) - Performance Room: 308 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritchle - 1 student(s) 12:40 PM - Sean Joyce (501 Jazz & Musical Theatre) - Performance Room: 204 - Accompanied by Sherri Snider - 1 student(s) 12:50 PM - Wyatt Baker - Performance Room: 304 - Unaccompanied - 1 student(s) 1:00 PM - Molly Fehrenbacher (501 Jazz & Musical Theatre) - Performance Room: 302 - Accompanied by Sherri Snider - 1 student(s) 1:10 PM - Evan Irvin (115 Bb Tenor Saxophone) - Performance Room: 404 - Unaccompanied - 1 student(s) 1:20 PM - Ethan Mehl (204 Baritone/Euphonium) - Performance Room: 308 - Unaccompanied - 1 student(s) FROM THE COORDINATOR: "I just realized that it would be more efficient to use the rooms we have differently and not have to move a bunch of percussion equipment. That being said, we will be moving room 505 to 117. Every event listed as being in room 505 will now be performing in room 117." 
 Bottom Row: Jasper Tracy, Ari Henby, Carly Houchin, Evey Mason, Bailey Snyder, Victoria Zwilling, Natalie Zwilling, Riley Harrolle, & Emma Wells 2nd Row: Callista Ridgely, Evan Irvin, Ryan Zhu, Brendan Kirkland, Kyle Rennier, Addison Ridgely, Emma Bower, & Isaac Zwilling 3rd Row: Wyatt Baker, Alex Schneider, Ethan Mehl, Ethan Zuber, Lila Balding, Aidan Gomez, Jordi Mendoza, & John Slater Top Row (center): Dee McKinney & Liam Ryden Not in picture: Jozalyn Houser, Ridge Davis & James Benton Illinois High School Association has selected the Richland County High School Pep Band to play at the 2023 Boys Basketball State Tournament at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois on Friday, March 10th. The 30-piece Pep Band will comprise of the Honors Wind Ensemble and select members from the Symphonic Band. The band was selected to be the official IHSA Boys State Basketball Pep Band from an audition process that included bands throughout the state of Illinois. Uniform: blue jeans, tennis shoes, department shirt, band hockey jerseys. Students may wear the department sweatshirt. Packing List: money (lunch & dinner), coat, instruments, & extra reeds. OPTIONAL: pillow and a blanket for the bus ride. We will make brief stops on the way to and from Champaign for restroom breaks. 2023 IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals Schedule: 6:00 am...........................................................Call-time at RCHS 6:05 am....................................................................Buses arrive 6:15 am................................................Depart for Champaign, IL 8:00 am...............................................I-57 Rest Stop at Pesotum 8:30 am.......................................Arrive at the State Farm Center 9:30 am.............................................................Band ready in the Arena 10:00 am.............................................Game #7 (3A Semi-Finals) 11:15 am..........................................................Band ready in the Arena 11:45 am.............................................Game #8 (3A Semi-Finals) 1:30 pm (estimated)......................................................Big Lunch 2:00 pm.............................................................Band ready in the Arena 2:30 pm.............................................Game #9 (4A Semi-Finals) 3:45 pm.............................................................Band ready in the Arena 4:15 pm.............................................Game #10 (4A Semi-Finals) 6:00 pm..................................................Load & depart for Olney 6:15 pm.................................................Brief stop at McDonald's 9:30 pm................................................Estimated arrival at RCHS FOOD AND DRINK RESTRICTIONS Schools will not be allowed to bring in any food or drink to the State Farm Center. This will be strictly monitored and enforced, and we expect your band will cooperate with this requirement of the State Farm Center. Bands may visit the concessions stands. Each time a band member enters or leaves the pep band seating area, the Official Band Pass must be shown to the usher on duty. Ushers are instructed not to allow access to the pep band seating area to any unauthorized person(s). This is strictly enforced. Session 4 (Friday, March 10) 10:00 a.m. — Class 3A semi-final [Game No. 7] 11:45 a.m. (Approx.) — Class 3A semi-final [Game No. 8] Session 5 (Friday, March 10) 2:30 p.m. — Class 4A semi-final [Game No.9] 4:15 p.m. (Approx.) — Class 4A semi-final [Game No. 10]   Click HERE for bus and van seat assignment. Students must sign into their rccu1.net account for access to this document. Click on the tabs to navigate between the roster, the bus seating chart, and the van seating chart.
There have been a couple of updates pertaining to the Basketball Band schedule for the 2023 season:
1) The game originally schedule for Thursday, February 9th has been moved to Wednesday, February 8th. This impacts those within the Orange Basketball Band. 2) The Honors Wind Ensemble has been selected to perform at the IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals on Friday, March 10th, 2023 on the campus of the University of Illinois. In addition to the members of the Honors Wind Ensemble, select students from the Symphonic Band will be invited to perform as a way to fill out sections. More details coming within the next week or two. The 2023 LIC Basketball Band is scheduled for Saturday, January 21st at Richland County High School. Currently, we have 96 student-musicians between the two basketball bands. Should students in one band also wish to play with the other band, they are more than welcome! However, I must stress that the student or students must still perform at both of their assigned games. Percussionists, please bring their own sticks. We have three drum set players per band (six total). These students will take turns performing over the course of the two games at which they are assigned to play. The remaining percussionists may play mallets or auxiliary percussion, whichever they prefer. In fact, when not playing, drum set players are also welcome to play a mallet instrument or auxiliary percussion. Drum sets are provided. Mr. Ritter from Casey-Westfield High School will provide folders for students the day of the event (A BIG THANK you to Mr. Ritter!). One quick note. Students need to leave the music at RCHS for directors to collect. There will be two students per music stand/music. Each of the folders has pep music as well as the school songs for each school. Music stands are provided by RCHS. The date of the tournament is Saturday, January 21st. The event is held at Richland County High School. The address is 1200 E. Laurel St. Olney, IL. Rehearsal begins at 11:00 a.m. Please arrive at 10:30 or 10:40 a.m. RCHS students, please arrive at 10 a.m. Rehearsal will last 90-minutes or less. We perform before the 1st game and during half-times and between games, alternating bands. We will have pizza between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m. Buses and RCHS students should park in the parking lot North of the high school (between the stadium and the high school.. Students may be dropped off at the circle drive. The band room is located on the circle drive. If you have any additional questions regarding the LIC pep band, feel free to contact me. Please see the schedule below: Rehearsal: Basketball Band #1 (band room) Directors: Mr. Jones, Mrs. Setzer, Mr. Ritter, & Dr. Pruiett Basketball Band #2 (theater) Directors: Mrs. Tohill, Mr. Brickner, & Mr. Ridlen Storage for Cases (Choir Room) Directors’ Room (Green Room between the band room and the theater - no students) Performances at Games: Each band will perform before and at half-time of two games. Game 1 (Richland County vs. Marshall at 1:00): Basketball Band #1 (directed by Mr. Jones & Mrs. Setzer) Game 2 (Lawrenceville vs. Robinson at 2:30): Basketball Band #2 (directed by Mrs. Tohill & Mr. Brickner) Game 3 (Casey-Westfield vs. Paris at 4:00): Basketball Band #1 (directed by Mr. Ritter & Dr. Pruiett) Game 4 (Newton vs. Mt. Carmel at 5:30): Basketball Band #2 (directed by Mr. Ridlen & ?) CONCESSIONS MENU: Popcorn………………..……….$1 Water………………….…….….$1 Soda………………….…….…..$2 Hot dog……………….…….….$2 Chips & Cheese…………....…$2 Candy……….…….……….…..$2 Slice of Pizza……………….…$2 Nachos with Taco Meat……...$5  
 
Four students from Richland County High School shall participate in the 2023 Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All-State All-State Ensembles. ILMEA will host the event on January 26-28, 2023 in Peoria. These students were selected from a rigorous audition process as the top student-musicians representing over 12,000 schools throughout Illinois. Of roughly 2,400 students that auditioned, only a fraction of students were selected to participate in the event. The four RCHS students selected to participate were Kyle Rennier (senior/jazz band), Victoria Zwilling (orchestra/band), Evan Irvin (senior/jazz band), & Emma Wells (junior/band).  Kyle Rennier was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Jazz Band. He is currently a member of Honors Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Tigers, Jazz Band, and Orchestra Pit as an Alto Saxophonist at RCHS. He is also a member of Tri-M National Honor Music Society; he has been Secretary for his Sophomore and Junior year and president his Senior year. He has received a 1st rating at IHSA Solo & Ensemble 5 times. He also represented RCHS at the Lincoln Trail Band Festival in 2020 and 2021. He was also selected for the All-State Band in 2022. Kyle plans to attend Eastern Illinois University for a degree in education.  Victoria Zwilling was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Orchestra. She has also participated in the ILMEA District 5 Choir, Band, and Orchestra in the years 2015-2021, the 2021 All-State Band, and the 2022 All-State Orchestra. She was selected to participate in the 2021 and 2022 Eastern Illinois University Honor Band as well. Victoria has received the 1st Superior rating five times for vocal and piano performances at the Illinois Grade School Music Association (IGSMA) Solo and Ensemble Contest and six times for piano and oboe performances at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Solo and Ensemble Contest. Victoria Zwilling has performed as an oboist with the Honors Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band at Richland County High School. Victoria is also the 2022 section leader of the Marching Tigers Front Ensemble. She serves as Vice President of the RCHS Chapter of Tri-M Music Honors Society. She represented RCHS at the Lincoln Trail Band Festival in 2020 and 2021. She also enjoys playing banjo and bluegrass music with her family. Victoria is a senior this year and plans to attend a four year university next year, pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology, and a Master’s degree in Environmental Biology.  Evan Irvin was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Jazz Band. He is currently a member of Honors Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and the Orchestra Pit for musicals at Richland County High School. Evan also performs with the Commercial Band, Community Band, and Community Jazz Band at the Olney Central College. He is a member of the Tri-M National Music Honors Society, in which he serves as Secretary. Evan plays upright bass, electric bass, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. He has also played bass clarinet, clarinet, piano, and guitar. In addition, he was also recognized with the Richland County Middle School Louis Armstrong Award. After graduating, Evan plans to attend Eastern Illinois University to earn a degree in music performance.  Emma Wells was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Band. She has also participated in the 2019, 2021, & 2022 ILMEA District 5 Band. In 2021/22, she was selected for All-State Band. Emma is currently a member of the Honors Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Tigers, and Jazz Band as a Clarinetist at RCHS. She is also the historian of the Tri-M National Honor Music Society. Last year and this year, she is a part of the Orchestra Pit for the RCHS musical.
After graduating high school in 2024, Emma plans to attend a college as a Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology major, achieve a minor in music, followed by a masters degrees in Speech Pathology.  Jazz Festival on November 12th from left to right: Evan Irvin, Emma Wells, James Wyatt Baker, Aidan Gomez, Kyle Rennier, Ethan Zuber, & Ryan Zhu  Orchestra & Band Festival on November 19th from left to right: Victoria Zwilling, Aidan Gomez, Kyle Rennier, Jozalyn Houser, Evan Irvin, Emma Wells, Carly Houchin, & Ari Henby  Choir Festival on November 19th from left to right: Sean Joyce and River Logan Thirteen student-musicians from Richland County High School have been selected to partake in the 2022 Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) District 5 Music Festival on November 12th (Jazz) & November 19th (band, orchestra & choir) at Eastern Illinois University. These students were selected from a rigorous audition process as the top student-musicians representing 15 schools from twenty counties across the southeast Illinois area.
The six RCHS students that participate in the festival on November 12th ares Kyle Rennier (senior/jazz band 1), Evan Irvin (senior/senior jazz band II), Wyatt Baker (junior/senior jazz band I), Aidan Gomez (junior/senior jazz band I), Ethan Zuber (sophomore/senior jazz band I), & Ryan Zhu (senior/senior jazz band II). Emma Wells attended the event as a helper to the District 5 ILMEA Instrumental Jazz representative. The ten RCHS students that participate in the festival on November 19th are Victoria Zwilling (senior/orchestra), Aidan Gomez (junior/senior band), Jozalyn Houser (senior/senior band), Evan Irvin (senior/ senior band), Kyle Rennier (senior/senior band), Carly Houchin (freshman/senior band), Emma Wells (junior/senior band), Ari Henby (senior/senior orchestra), Sean Joyce (junior/senior choir), and River Logan (freshman/senior choir). |
AuthorThe author of these posts is Christopher Jones, Director of Bands at Richland County High School. Archives
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