4 District 47 Middle School Bands To Advance To State

Four District 47 middle school bands will be advancing to state competitions after competing in the Illinois Grade School Music Association (IGSMA) District IX band contest last month. The Lundahl Gold Band and Hannah Beardsley and Bernotas Symphonic Bands will perform at the state contest at Dundee Middle School on April 28. Lundahl’s Jazz Ensemble will perform at the state competition on May 5 at Indian Trail Junior High School in Addison.

The District 47 bands were among 13 area bands to compete at the IGSMA contest on March 17, which was hosted at Bernotas Middle School. Here is a look at how District 47 bands fared at the competition:

• The Bernotas Middle School Symphonic Band, Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble each received a Division I rating. The Bernotas Symphonic Band, directed by Kristina Melville, will advance to the state competition, according to a District 47 news release.
• Lundahl Middle School’s Gold Band, directed by Terry Guynes, and Purple Band, directed by Molly Sedivec, also received Division I ratings and qualify for state. The Lundahl Gold Band will advance to the state competition, as will the Monday Night Jazz Ensemble, also directed by Guynes.
• Hannah Beardsley Middle School sent all three concert bands to the contest this year. The Cadet Band, a group of 64 6th and 7th graders under the direction of Keith Hulen, received a Division 2 rating -- an outstanding rating for a group of young musicians. The Concert Band, under the direction of Adam Bell, received a Division 1 rating. Hannah Beardsley’s Symphonic Band, under the direction of Scott Sampson, received a Division 1 rating and achieved the band’s first perfect score.

“We are excited and honored to have obtained HBMS’ very first perfect score,” said Sampson, who noted the achievement was rare, especially considering the band performed challenging and advanced music. Sampson credits the achievement to a lot of dedicated practice time, a desire to achieve the most musical performance possible, and the never-ending support from parents.

“I told my students if they perform the music the way I know they are capable of, it will move the audience to tears,” said Sampson in the D47 news release. “Mission accomplished.”

IGSMA (www.igsma.org) is dedicated to encouraging, aiding and advancing music education in the elementary, junior high and middle schools throughout the State of Illinois. Its mission is to foster growth in young musicians as they develop musical awareness through positive assessment of their performances. Participating bands are critiqued by judges in seven different categories, including stage presence, tone quality, intonation, balance and blend, technique, rhythmic precision, and musical interpretation, according to the news release.

All performing groups are required to play a march and two other selections of their choice. Jazz bands have a soloist category, whereby jazz soloists are asked to improvise solos within one or more of the jazz selections and are evaluated on how well their solo fits the style of the music.

After each performance, bands are assigned a division rating (1, 2 or 3), with 1 being the highest. Bands receiving a Division 1 rating advance to the state level.

Photo caption: Hannah Beardsley Symphonic Band, directed by Scott Sampson, achieved a perfect score at the IGSMA contest on March 17, 2018 at Bernotas Middle School. Photo credit: District 47