Midwest Music Festival honors Shepard band director

On a night when his students earned the highest scores possible, Shepard High School band director Chris Pitlik received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Midwest Music Festival.

Pitlik has led the Shepard band program for three decades. Pitlik has been bringing Shepard students to perform and compete at the festival, hosted by Lemont High School, for a quarter century.

“I am very humbled and thankful to have been selected. It was made even more special as my wife Dana, my son, who came in from Drake University, and my daughter, who came in from Orlando, were able to be there to see me presented with this award,” he said.