The RCHS Music Department participated in the 2024 IHSA Solo & Ensemble Contest at Lawrenceville High School on Saturday, March 2nd, 2024. 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) = 10 Division II (Excellent Rating) = 1 CHOIR STUDENTS: Division I (Superior Rating) = 3 The students that were rated Superior included Addison Ridgely, Callista Ridgely, Carly Houchin, Hadley Denton, James Benton (twice), Liam Ryden, Conner Akers, Jereme Higginbotham, Aidan Gomez, Ethan Zuber, Lila Balding, Jordi Mendoza, Emma Wells, Hadley Heath, Isaac Zwilling, Ethan Mehl, Wyatt Baker, Molly Fehrenbacher (twice), Cally Smith (twice), Jackson Williams, Riley Harrolle, River Logan, and Sean Joyce. The students that were rated Excellent were Addison Ridgely (in addition to her Superior Rating for her duet) Emma Wells was selected as Best in Class (deemed the best performers judged by their respective adjudicators of the day’s performances). A BIG congratulations to Ms. Wells!
On Monday, May 27th, a bugler and a chamber ensemble performs at the Noble Memorial Day Ceremony. The Symphonic Band, the Honors Wind Ensemble, & the drumline are all performing at the Olney Memorial Day parade and ceremony.
Here are the details regarding the Noble & Olney Memorial Day Parade Ceremonies: NOBLE: The Cornerstone Community Church and the Mayor of Noble hosts a Memorial Day ceremony at the cemetery in East Noble. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be held in the Cornerstone Community Church (160 E. Elm St. Noble, IL). Immediately after the Noble ceremony, the quintet and bugler will join the band at the Olney VFW. OLNEY: The VFW is hosting a Memorial Day parade and ceremony. The parade will begin at the Olney VFW. The ceremony will take place immediately after the conclusion of the parade at Haven Hill Cemetery (just north of the City Park). In the event of rain, the ceremony shall be held in the VFW hall. The uniform is khaki shorts, black polo shirts, socks, belt (preferably black), and either Drillmaster shoes or tennis shoes. Students will also need flip folders, lyres, and instruments. The times are as follows: Cornerstone Community Church at the Cemetery in East Noble 8:30 AM: Call-time for bugler & quintet at RCHS 8:35 AM: Change into performance attire, warm-up & run through music 9:05 AM: Bugler & saxophone ensemble leaves for Noble Cemetery in a school van 9:30 AM: Bugler & saxophone ensemble arrive at the cemetery in East Noble. 10:00 AM: Noble Ceremony (bugler & saxophone ensemble only) IMMEDIATELY AFTER GOD BLESS AMERICA & TAPS: Return to Olney and join the band at the Olney VFW. 9:30 AM: Call-time at RCHS (all but bugler & saxophone ensemble) 10:00 AM: Load bus and depart for Olney VFW followed by Haven Hill Cemetery 10:15 AM: Parade line-up at the Olney VFW or at the cemetery (based on time) 10:30 AM: Parade step-off (parade begins) 11:00 AM: Olney Memorial Day ceremony at Haven Hill Cemetery. I anticipate the parade and the ceremony won't last longer than an hour and a half, which will put the band back at the school around 12-12:30 PM. The band is performing the following songs: TAPS (Noble ceremony only) God Bless America (Noble ceremony only) Hosts of Freedom Star Spangled Banner [May not perform for 2024] Army Navy Marines Coast Guard Air Force Merchant Marines Please bring water with you to this event. I encourage students to bring a water canteen. Canteens/coolers need to go on the bus. Please drink plenty of water! I know that this falls on Memorial Day weekend, falls during the summer, and many families will be out of town. That being said, we need as many RCHS Bands members to this performance as possible. All total, the combined Honors Wind Ensemble & Symphonic Band are around 35 students during the 4th term. This is a record low for the band program! We want to support the cities of Olney & Noble (and our veterans) that support us. For us to do this, we need your help. Students, please make every effort to be at this event. It means a lot to this community. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions, comments, or concerns. CLICK HERE FOR THE 2024 SOLO & ENSEMBLE RESULTS The IHSA Solo & Ensemble Contest is nearly upon us! The IHSA Solo & Ensemble Contest is scheduled for Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 at Lawrenceville High School. The day's itinerary is as follows: 7:35 AM - Bus arrives 7:40 AM - Meet in the RCHS Rehearsal Hall 7:45 AM - Depart for Lawrenceville, IL 8:15 AM - Estimated arrival at Lawrenceville High School 3:00 PM - Estimated departure from Lawrenceville for Olney 3:30 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. Students are encouraged to bring money, as the Lawrenceville Band Boosters is selling food and drinks. 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 1st. Band students, please visit https://www.cuttime.net for and log in for balance and invoices. 8:30 AM - Cally Smith (502 Arias and Art Songs) - Performance Room: 201 - Accompanied by Sherri Snider - 1 student(s) 9:20 AM - Addison Ridgely (114 Eb Alto Saxophone) - Performance Room: 302 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritschle - 1 student(s) 9:30 AM - Hadley Heath (109 Bb Clarinet) - Performance Room: 302 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritschle - 1 student(s) 9:50 AM - Emma Wells (109 Bb Clarinet) - Performance Room: 304 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritschle - 1 student(s) 10:20 AM - Ridgely, et al (604 Saxophone Ensemble) - Performance Room: 304 - Unaccompanied - 2 student(s) 11:40 AM - Benton, et al (615 Mixed Percussion Ensemble) - Performance Room: 505 - Unaccompanied - 4 student(s) 12:30 PM - Denton, et al (601 Flute Ensemble) - Performance Room: 302 - Unaccompanied - 2 student(s) 12:40 PM - James Wyatt Baker (205 Tuba) - Performance Room: 308 - Unaccompanied - 1 student(s) 12:50 PM - Ethan Mehl (204 Baritone/Euphonium) - Performance Room: 308 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritschle - 1 student(s) 1:10 PM - Isaac Zwilling (201 Cornet Trumpet or Flugelhorn) - Performance Room: 306 - Accompanied by Joyce Fritschle - 1 student(s) 1:20 PM - Benton, et al (653 Mixed Ensemble) - Performance Room: 117 - Accompanied by Sherri Snider - 7 student(s) 1:30 PM - Gomez , et al (610 Trombone Ensemble) - Performance Room: 308 - Unaccompanied - 4 student(s) 2:10 PM - Molly Fehrenbacher (501 Jazz & Musical Theatre) - Performance Room: 204 - Accompanied by Sherri Snider - 1 student(s) Homeroom and Warm-up Area
The main homeroom and warm-up area is the gym. Since students will be playing instruments and warming up in this area, no running, basketball playing, or roughhousing will be tolerated in the gym. No food or drinks are allowed in the gym. Warm up rooms will be located in Rooms 603-604 this year, directly across from the gym. There will be monitors in these rooms to make sure all participants get time. Please do not play or sing outside of the warm-up areas. Contest Rooms See school map and contest schedule for specific performance rooms. No food or drinks allowed outside the cafeteria in hallways or performance rooms. Please remind students to be quiet in the hallways outside the performance rooms. Once a performance has begun, the contest room door will not be opened until the performance is complete. Please cooperate with the door monitors in this respect. Contestants should report to their scheduled contest room at least five minutes prior to performance time. Spectators are welcome provided that they do not talk during performances. Please turn off your cell phones or put them in silent mode before entering contest rooms. We ask that everyone give our young musicians every opportunity for a successful performance. Cafeteria and Concessions Concessions will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ALL FOOD AND DRINK MUST BE CONSUMED IN THE CAFETERIA. NO FOOD AND DRINK WILL BE ALLOWED IN ANY OTHER PART OF THE BUILDING! Menu will include chicken sandwich - $3.00, corn dog - $3.00, hot dog - $2.00, nachos - $3.00, soda - $1.00, water - $1.00, candy - $1.00, chips - $1.00. Equipment Pianos, chairs, and stands will be furnished in each contest room. All room pianos will have bluetooth capability, and will have a sign on the piano telling what to connect to. If there is no bluetooth capability on the piano used, there will be a bluetooth speaker in the room for use. Percussion instruments that will be provided are: bells, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, bass drum, 2 snare drums and four timpani. All other equipment must be furnished by the individual schools. If you will be bringing any large percussion equipment, please contact Mrs. Mendenhall. Unfortunately, The Music Shoppe will not be onsite this year, however, we will have a set of instruments from them to loan out if needed. Conduct Any conduct, which endangers health and safety, rights and property of others, or is disruptive to a good contest environment, will not be tolerated. Students are expected to: -show courtesy and respect to all school/contest personnel and to each other. -maintain quiet in the building; no running, pushing, yelling, offensive language, or other disruptive behavior will be allowed. -respect school property; do not disturb articles in classrooms being used as performance rooms. -keep all food and beverages in the cafeteria. -remain in the building during the contest. -warm up only in the warm-up area. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on Lawrenceville High School grounds. Lawrenceville High School and the IHSA will not be responsible for lost articles. Anyone found in violation of the guidelines will be asked to leave the premises. 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 7th, 2024. 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 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. Two Richland County High School alumni performed at the Illinois Music Education Conference (IMEC) in Peoria, IL on Friday, January 26, 2024. IMEC is the state conference for music education in Illinois that runs in conjunction with the Illinois Music Education’s (ILMEA) high school All-State festival. IMEC offers nearly 200 professional development sessions for music educators within a three-day span. RCHS is honored that two alumni were selected to present and perform at this prestigious event. Those two individuals are Kendra Jellison (RCHS graduate of 2021), and Ethan Steber (RCHS graduate of 2019).
RCHS alumni Kendra Jellison is an undergraduate student majoring in music education at Millikin University. Kendra performed on January 26th in the Peoria Civic Center with the Millikin University Clarinet Choir. She also served as guest conductor for one composition during the performance entitled When the Rivers Meet by Cait Nishimura. RCHS alumni Ethan Steber graduated from Eastern Illinois University on December 2023 with a Bachelor of Music degree with Teacher Certification. Ethan was hired as the Associate Director of Bands at Flora High School on January 2024. The Flora High School Concert Band performed at IMEC on January 26th in the Peoria Civic Center Theater, under the baton of Jena Combs and Ethan Steber. Updated January 19, 2023:
CORRECTION TO THE ITINERARY - DUE TO ROAD CONDITIONS, THE HOST SCHOOL HAS PUSHED THE FIRST REHEARSAL BACK TO 11 A.M. THE NEW CALL TIME IS 9:45 A.M. The LIC conference pep band will be here in less than two weeks. The date for the LIC pep band is Saturday,January 20th and will be held at Newton Community High School. Call-time for RCHS Bands students (the nine selected to attend) is 8:45 a.m. Rehearsal will begin at 10:00 am with the first game beginning at 1:00 pm and the following games at 2:30, 4:00, and 5:30. Performances will be from the gymnasium stage at Newton High School. If you could arrive around 9:40-9:45 to allow for set up, that would be great. We will be practicing in the band room. The conference will also provide pizza and drinks for the students and directors in the afternoon. Everyone,
Richland County High School Band students need your help! They are launching a fundraising opportunity with HundredX Causes. You can help raise money to pay for band camp for the Marching Tigers by sharing your feedback on popular brands. The best part? It doesn’t cost you anything and only takes a few minutes of your day! Here’s how it works: From now through January 16, 2024, each time you share a carefully thought-out opinion about a brand with HundredX, up to $1.60 goes towards band camp for the RCHS Marching Tigers! HundredX recommends you complete 10-15 opinions per day, with a maximum of 25, so they can count as “quality” feedback. You can personally create up to $120 of value (75 opinions total). Because each survey only takes about 60 seconds to complete and you have 30 days, you can take your time over the holidays! 2 PEOPLE COMPLETING 75 SURVEYS = CAMP FOR ONE MARCHING BAND STUDENT! Your personal information is not used or sold to any company. Please check “I consent to share my information” so that I can see how our fundraiser is going. You must be 18 years or older and live in the United States to participate. Text GIVE to 90412 or click Link (https://causes.hundredx.com/givewithoutspending) to create your account and get started! Help the Marching Tigers pay for band camp. Together we can! Nancy Deimel Music Dept. Mgr. Richland County High School Tri-M Music Honor Society, formerly known as Modern Music Masters, is an American high school and middle school music honor society. A program of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), it is designed to recognize students for their academic and musical achievements and to provide leadership and service opportunities to young musicians.
The 2023-2024 Richland County High School Chapter 8170 Tri-M Music Honor Society members are: ROW 1: Conner Akers, James Benton, Callista Ridgely, Riley Harrolle (vice president), Addison Ridgely, Carly Houchin, Molly Fehrenbacher, River Logan, and Cally Smith ROW 2: Mr. Weitkamp (sponsor), Ethan Zuber (historian), Jereme Higginbotham, Sean Joyce (treasurer), Isaac Zwilling, James Wyatt Baker, Aidan Gomez (secretary), Emma Wells (president), and Mr. Jones (sponsor) ABSENT: Lilla Balding Two students from Richland County High School shall participate in the 2024 Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All-State All-State Ensembles. ILMEA will host the event on January 25-27, 2023 in Peoria. These students were selected from a rigorous audition process as the top student-musicians representing nearly 11,000 schools throughout Illinois. Of the thousands of students that auditioned, only a fraction of students were selected to participate in the event. The two RCHS students selected to participate are Emma Wells (senior/senior band), & Aidan Gomez (senior/jazz band). Emma Wells was selected to participate in the 2024 All-State Band. She has also participated in the ILMEA District 5 Band for five years. In 2021, 2022, and 2023 she was selected for the All-State Band. Emma is currently a member of the Honors Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Tigers, and Jazz Band as a Clarinetist and Drum Major at RCHS. She is involved in the Tri-M National Honor Music Society where she serves as President and previously Historian. She has been a part of the Orchestra Pit for the RCHS musical three years in a row. After graduating high school in 2024, Emma plans to attend a 4-year university where she will obtain her bachelor’s degree in Psychology or Speech Pathology, then go on to get her masters. She also plans on minoring in music and foreign language. Aidan Gomez was selected to participate in the 2024 All-State Band. Aidan has been a member of the RCHS band since 2020. He has been a part of the Marching Tigers for the '20, '21, '22, and '23 marching seasons where he has been section leader and marched Baritone. He attended the Lincoln Trail Festival in 2022 and 2023 where he played 1st Trombone. He has also been a member of the Honors Wind Ensemble since 2020 where he has played Trombone. He is also a member of the Jazz Ensemble since 2021 where he has played Trombone. In 2022 and 2023, he participated in the ILMEA District 5 Jazz concert as 1st trombone at the campus of Eastern Illinois University. Also in 2022 and 2023, he participated in the ILMEA District 5 Concert band where he played trombone. He is also a member of Tri-M Chapter 8170 where he is the Secretary. Aidan has also been a member of the RCHS Orchestra Pit in 2021 2022. Aidan participated in IHSA Solo & Ensemble in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he was part of a Quartet where they performed "Alexander's Ragtime Band for Trombone Quartets" and received a 1st superior rating.
After graduating from high school in 2024, Aidan plans to attend Eastern Illinois University for 4 years and major in Music Education, He wants to further pursue his education at University of Missouri and attain his Masters there. |
AuthorThe author of these posts is Christopher Jones, Director of Bands at Richland County High School. Archives
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