The ILMEA District 5 holds auditions for 2019-2020 District 5 ensembles on Monday, November 14th, 2019 at Effingham High School.  Only select senior high school band members are participating. The departure time is 6:30 AM behind the rehearsal hall, (RCHS exit 21). The return time for the bus is estimated to be around 4 PM. High school students may travel back on the RCMS bus. That bus will does not stop for lunch, and will return to the middle school before 1 pm.

Students are encouraged to bring a cell phone so that they may call a parent upon returning to the school. Students are also encouraged to bring money or a sack lunch, as the bus will stop for lunch before returning back to Olney. To best represent our school and our community, students are expected to wear appropriate dress clothes to the event. Should you have any questions regarding what is appropriate, please contact Mr. Jones or Mr. Weitkamp.

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

Please feel free to call or email me should you have any questions. My contact information is in the header.

Three students from Richland County High School participated in the 2019 Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All-State Music Conference. The All-State conference occurred from January 24th until January 26th, 2019 in Peoria, IL. These students were selected from a rigorous audition process as the top student-musicians representing over 12,000 schools throughout Illinois. Of approximately 2,500 students that auditioned, only a fraction of students were selected to participate in the event.

From left to right, the Richland County High School students that participated in All-State included Ethan Steber (Senior/ All-State Orchestra on clarinet), Sydney Berkshire (Senior/ All-State Orchestra on Horn in F), and Kendra Jellison (Sophomore/All-State Band on Clarinet).

Sydney Berkshire, Kendra Jellison, & Ethan Steber have the distinction of being selected out of thousands of Illinois high school student-musicians to participate in the ILMEA IL Music Education Conference (All-State Conference) from Wednesday, January 23rd through Saturday, January 26th.

Mr. Jones will transport students in a school van at 3:30 pm on Wednesday.  Rehearsals in Peoria will occur on Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday. The week concludes with concerts on Saturday. Those participating in an All-State ensembles will audition on Thursday to determine which of the All-State ensembles he/she will be placed. The All-State Music Conference ensembles include the Honors Band (3:30 PM concert on Saturday), & the All-State Band (1:00 PM concert on Saturday). The concerts are held in the Carver Arena at the Peoria Civic Center. Your student will notify you as to which ensemble they were placed following auditions.

Hotel lodging is provided for the students by the school. Mr. Jones is chaperoning the students the entire conference. Lodging is at Baymont Inn & Suites at 4112 N. Brandywine Dr. in Peoria, IL.

The students are responsible for making arrangements with their classroom teachers for homework, quizzes, tests, projects, and notes prior to departure.

Each student shall to provide enough money to cover 3.5 days of meals.

Parents/guardians may sign-out their student following the concert.

All-State apparel, plaques and recordings of the concerts are available for purchase at the concerts.

Required materials for the festival include:
    •    ILMEA audition music
    •    Appropriate school clothing (to wear for travel & for rehearsals) for three-days
    •    Toiletries
    •    Jacket (Peoria is cold this time of year!)
    •    Cell phone with charger
    •    Tuxedo or concert dresses (see the student handbook for further details http://www.richlandcountyhsbands.org/student-handbook.html)
    •    Folding music stand
    •    Pencils
    •    Mutes
    •    Extra reeds
    •    Value oil or slide grease
    •    Cash for lunches and dinners

Included in the student packet:

• Family Information
• Peoria Downtown Parking Map
• All-State Student Instructions
• Future Music Educators Seminar (FMES) Participant Schedule
• ILMEA All-State Student Schedule
• Pre-clearance Slip (to ensure that the students have spoken to their classroom instructors regarding their absence)

Please thoroughly review details on the ILMEA website regarding the event:

https://www.ilmea.org/divisions/band/
https://www.ilmea.org/imec/2019imec/studentdirector-information/

Please don't hesitate to contact me should you have any questions. I may be reached at 393-2191 ext. 3137 or at cjones@rccu1.net.

Congratulations to Kendra Jellison, Ethan Steber, & Sydney Berkshire for their selection into the 2019 Illinois Music Education Association's All-State Music Conference. The music festival is a four-day event in Peoria, IL from Wednesday evening, 1/23 to Saturday morning, 1/26.