By Staff Writer Taleena Nadkarni
Production by Juan Jara

http://vimeo.com/81611407

Twelve students from the NNHS Music Department have qualified as finalists for a statewide music education conference by the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA), according to Orchestra director Dana Green.

The conference, which begins on Tuesday, Jan. 22, culminates with a performance on Friday, Jan. 25 and provides students with the opportunity to collaborate with some of the best musicians in the country, Green said.

“[Students] really get to see the level of competition that is out there,” Green said.  [They will] also have the opportunity to interact musically and socially with people that have the same kind of interests.”

According to Green, the number of NNHS students attending the state conference this year is within one or two of the most in the last ten years. To have qualified, each student initially competed against approximately 25 other high schools, auditioning for the chance to perform at the district and state levels.

Students spent a majority of their time practicing their audition pieces, which they received a year in advance of the all-state performance, according to Green.

“It’s all about ownership,” Green said. “[Students] get lessons and guidance from us as directors, but a lot of it is just individual work.”

Band director Brian Van Kley, who attended the all-state ILMEA convention during his junior year of high school, also agrees that the experience is truly an inspirational one.

“It’s really what turned me on to music,” Van Kley said. “[Students] are surrounded by music educators and are really immersed in the business.”

Junior Miggie Snyder, an ILMEA finalist for Chorus, has worked hard to qualify and is eager to learn at the convention.

“Whenever I had a free second at home, I would run to the piano and sing through a song just so I could keep up with my skills and my training,” Snyder said. “[At the convention], I expect lots of talented musicians and difficult repertoire.”