Jozalyn Houser, Kendra Jellison, Jase Rusk, Austin Vaughn, Garrett Wright, & Victoria Zwilling have the distinction of being selected to participate in the 2019 ILMEA District 5 Band & Orchestra. These students were selected out of a pool of hundreds of high school students across twenty counties in southeastern Illinois area based on their auditions on Columbus Day in Effingham High School. The Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) hosts the 2019 District 5 Band & Orchestra on Saturday, November 23rd  in Charleston, IL. The festival is held in the beautiful Doudna Fine Arts Center on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.

The call-time at RCHS for students participating in the festival is 6:45 AM exit #21 (rehearsal hall). RCHS music staff will transport students in a district vehicle. I anticipate the return time to Olney following the concerts to be around 9:30 PM.

Concerts are open to the public for the price of admission. Students may ride home with a parent or guardian immediately after the concert. However, for the safety of the students, we ask that a parent/guardian and the student sign-out with an RCHS Music Department staff member prior to departure. Please refer to the ILMEA information packet for a full list of times, and concert ticket prices at https://ilmea.org/5festivals.

Students are encouraged to bring money or a sack lunch/dinner for meals. Students should wear school appropriate clothes throughout the rehearsals that take place during the day. To best represent our school and our community, students are expected to wear appropriate dress clothes to the performances, which are the tuxedos or concert dresses that the RCHS Music Department provides. Please review the RCHS Bands handbook for more details regarding concert attire at https://www.rchsbands.net.  

If you permit your student to attend the field trip, please sign the form and return as soon as possible.

Congratulations to Austin Vaughn (bassoon), Arianna Henby (flute), Madison Hinderliter (trumpet), and Adrian Bower (trumpet) for their acceptance into the 2019 EIU Honor Band at Eastern Illinois University. The event will feature three concert bands directed by Dr. Alicia Neal, Prof. David Boggs, & Mrs. Courtney Leach ( IL Music Education Association Dist. 5 President). The schedule for the day is as follows:

Mr. Jones will transport the students to and from Charleston, IL in a school vehicle. The departure time on December 7th is 7:00 am from the rehearsal hall parking lot. The estimated return time is 8:30 pm in Olney.

Students will wear appropriate school clothing for the day. The concert attire will be tuxedos or concert black dresses. See the RCHS Bands handbook for more details on concert attire.

Lunch is provided; however, students will need dinner money for the 4:00-5:30 meal break. RCHS students will eat together, unless a parent(s) or guardian(s) would like to take their child out for dinner.

Students may travel home with their family after the concert after both the guardian/parent and student sign-out with Mr. Jones.

Congratulations on your selection!

The RCHS Graduation Ceremony is scheduled for the third Sunday in May from 3-5 pm in the auditorium. The call-time for graduation is 2 pm in the rehearsal hall.  This performance features the Honors Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band. The attire for the venue is concert black-and-whites (dresses and tuxedos). All students, except for seniors, are expected to attend.

The RCHS Bands are featured in the upcoming concert at Richland County High School. The concerts feature the Symphonic Band and the Honors Wind Ensemble. The call-time for students is 2 PM. The concert begins at 3 PM.

Concert attire is one of the following:

• tuxedo
• Black dress shoes (males and females)
• Black socks
• black concert dress (school owned)
• alternate attire for females: black dress slacks, black dress blouse and black shoes (black jeans do not count, sorry)

Remember to set your clock forward one hour that day. The concert is free to the public. We hope to see you all there!