All Access Caroling Performance

DGN's All Access Choir performed today for residents at Villa St. Benedict in Lisle - and left the audience overjoyed and filled with holiday spirit. Congratulations All Access!

Caroling with DC Glee

DGN faculty were welcomed to a faculty meeting this morning with sounds of the season!  Thank you to our Concert Singers and our DC (Department Chair) Glee for leading the festive caroling this morning!

Woodridge Tree Lighting

Congratulations to the Concert Singers on a great performance at the Woodridge Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony!

Happy Halloween from DGN Choirs!

Live Webcast of Tonight's DGN Fall Choir Concert

Can't be with us in Downers Grove tonight, but want to hear some wonderful sounds?

Click here (http://www.highschoolcube.com/event/2013-14-fall-choir-concert-324543) for our live webcast!

The concert will also be available for viewing after the show!

Fall Choral Concert

DGN Choirs will present their Fall Choral Concert tomorrow evening, October 9th, at 7 pm in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium. The concert will feature the Freshman Choir, Concert Choir, Treble Choir, A Cappella Choir, Concert Singers, Treble Ensemble, Chamber Choir, All Access and the Acafellas.  Admission is free. We hope to see you there!

Fall Assessment Recordings

Practice recordings for individual vocal assessments are now posted under "assessment recordings" on the right-hand side of the blog. Happy practicing!

All Acces Begins!

All Access, our side-by-side choir featuring general education students and students with special needs, is off to a great start!  Our first performance will be at our Fall Choral Concert on Wednesday, October 9th at 7 pm in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium.

 

ILMEA Audition Help Sessions!

Practice sessions for ILMEA audition music will be held on the following dates at the following locations:

Monday, September 9th: 6-7 PM @ North 

Monday, September 16th: 6-7 PM @ South 

Remember, sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to audition. We plan to see MANY of you there!

San Francisco Tour Information

Information for our upcoming tour to San Francisco is now available on this blog! Please see the links at the upper right-hand of this screen. As always, please contact us if you have any questions!

Welcome Back!

Today we welcomed over 200 students into the choir room as we began the 2013-2014 school year!  We are looking forward to a great year!

Choir families - we will be holding an informational meeting for our San Francisco Choir Tour (March 2014) this Tuesday, September 3 at 6 pm in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium. Please join us to learn more about this amazing educational and musical experience!

The 2013-2014 A Cappella Choir rehearsing DGN's Alma Mater

Graduation Concert Thursday Night!

The 2013 Graduation Concert will feature the North High A Cappella Choir & Wind Ensemble in a program that will encompass a wide variety of literature and musical styles.  Senior Brett Latman (trumpet) and senior Erin Elgass (alto saxophone) will also perform featured concertos.

The concert will conclude with the band and choir joining forces on Carl Orff's epic masterpiece Carmina Burana.

The concert is Thursday night, May 16th, and begins at 7:00 pm in the Johnson Auditorium.

Out-of-town family and friends can view the concert online via our High School Cube live webcast.  (The video feed will also be archived and may be viewed after the concert has concluded.)  To see the concert online, go to:

http://www.highschoolcube.com/event/2013-graduation-concert-a-cappella-choir-wind-enns-310140

Keep Calm, and Sing On!

"The British are coming ... the British are coming!!"

Don't miss the 2013 DGN Choral Music Showcase: The British Invasion and Beyond!  The concert will feature the Freshman Choir, Concert Choir, Treble Choir, A Cappella Choir, All Access, and the Acafellas. We hope you will join us at North High for a wonderfully entertaining evening of music.  The concert begins at 7 pm in the Johnson Auditorium (doors open for seating at 6:30 pm).

For out-of-town family and friends, the concert will be web-cast live by High School Cube.  Follow this link, beginning at 6:55 PM on Tuesday night:

http://www.highschoolcube.com/event/2013-dgn-choir-showcase-british-invasion-and-beyon-309658

Preparation for 'Carmina Burana' - May 16

Members of the DGN Wind Ensemble and DGN A Cappella Choir, as well as Fine Arts faculty, are hard at work preparing for the May 16th 'Graduation Concert.'  This year's concert will feature independent sets of music by both the A Cappella Choir and Wind Ensemble, and will close as the combined forces perform six movements from Carl Orff's renown work, 'Carmina Burana.'




 
 


 
 


 
 


 
 

Vocal Festival Results

Thank you and congratulations to all of our choral students for an outstanding day of singing and learning.  Each of our clinicians complimented your work, both in terms of preparation and artistic impact.  You have so much to be proud of!

The following events were given Honorable Mention recognition by our clinicians:

Tori Barrett

Emmy Cook

Abby Husskison

Erik Jensen

Shannon Kennedy

Annie Ketchmark

Joy Pozniak

Louis Scarlati

Annie Vitti

Cora Webster

Stephanie Weidman

Freddy Zimmerman

The following events were selected out of approximately 70 events to perform at Thursday afternoon’s runoff, an honors recital in its own right:

Cameron Box Elizabeth Brunell Anna Burton Rachel Davis Robbie Gartlan Madelaine Isobal Maggie Maloney Ben McCrimmon Patrick Murray

Lexi Robinson Kaitlin Shannon Julia Wool Maddie Wrobel Megan Youngdahl Lydia Zimmerman Duet – Anna Burton & Lexi Robinson Quartet – Anne Gandolfi, Jenny Luby, Kate Weyers, & Lydia Zimmerman

Finally, the clinicians selected the following events to represent North High School at the 2013 District 99 Vocal Honors Recital, to be held on Monday evening (March 11^th) at 7:00 PM at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.  Congratulations to the following performers:

Elizabeth Brunell

Anna Burton

Madelaine Isobal

Patrick Murray

Julia Wool

Maddie Wrobel

Lydia Zimmerman

Duet – Anna Burton & Lexi Robinson

Quartet – Anne Gandolfi, Jenny Luby,

Kate Weyers, & Lydia Zimmerman

DGN Vocal Festival

Congratulations to the students who participated in nearly 70 events at DGN's Vocal Festival today.  Choir students had the opportunity to work with guest clinicians on solo and ensemble repertoire throughout the day.  Ms. Suna Avci, Mr. Howard Eckdahl (DGN alumn) and Dr. Tracey Ford served as our guest clinicians.  Many thanks to our private voice teachers, our accompanists, our guest clinicians and to our talented vocal students for making this a great day of music making! Congratulations to all!

Virutal "Sprinter" Choir Concert Now Online!

Virtual "Sprinter" Choir Concert Now Online!

Congratulations to the students and staff of the DGN Choirs, for their musicality and resourcefulness, as they have recorded and posted music originally slated to be performed on the February 26th 'Sprinter' Choir Concert.  This virtual concert, recorded on Wednesday, February 27th, captures the hard work, dedication, and artistry of these fine choral ensembles.

Each choir's performance is posted in a unique video, and may be accessed via the DGN Fine Arts YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/DGNFineArts

We invite you to attend our virtual concert!

Two Music Scholarships of Note!

Attention Juniors and Seniors!

Juniors: the Downers Grove Music Club has a ‘Rising Stars’ Scholarship that can significantly help off-set the costs associated with Summer Music Camps.  Please see the information below.

Seniors:  the Downers Grove Rotary awards an annual scholarship of $2,000 to a deserving District 99 student with a strong music background.  The student does not need to be a music major/minor to apply for this scholarship, and financial need is not a criterion.  Please read the information below for more details on how to apply.

Downers Grove Music Club Rising Stars Music Awards

This is to announce the availability of the Downers Grove Music Club Rising Stars Music Awards (formerly referred to as scholarships).  The application is available via the website for the DG Music Club.  The website address is http://downersgrovemusicclub.org/.  The Music Award information and application is available in the Educational Opportunities section of the website or it can be accessed directly at this link:  http://downersgrovemusicclub.org/scholarships.html 

Please make this monetary award opportunity available to all Juniors enrolled in music at both South and North.  Six awards will be given and each recipient will receive $400 toward furthering their musical education through continued study during the summer.  As outlined in the actual application, the requirements of the application are as follows:

• Purpose:  to recognize SIX District 99 High School Music students for excelling at a high level of achievement;
• Eligibility:  current high school Juniors who are actively pursuing music are eligible to apply;
• Requirement:  the award recipients are required to perform the following year at the Downers Grove Music Club’s Rising Stars program scheduled annually in April;
• How to Apply:  complete the written application, along with an optional recording;
• Selection Criteria:  the merit of the applicant’s musical accomplishments and, if provided, the quality of the applicant’s musical performance.
• Award Notification:  the announcement of the Rising Stars Music Award recipients will be made at the spring awards ceremonies at both Downers Grove North and South.

The application must be submitted either via hardcopy, postmarked no later than April 1, 2013.  Or it must be submitted electronically with a date and time stamp of no later than 11:59 pm April 1, 2013.  

• mailing address:  Downers Grove Music Club, Attn: Rising Stars Music Awards, P.O. Box 551, Downers Grove, IL  60515
• email address:  musiced@downersgrovemusicclub.org

This year we are testing the response to allowing applicants to submit an optional audio/video recording of a musical performance.  This is completely optional. All applications, both those with the optional recording and without the optional recording will be given equal consideration.  

Last year's winners are performing on Tuesday, April 2nd at 7:30 pm.  In addition, former Rising Star DGN alumnus and cellist Josh Zajac will be performing as well as future DGS jazz musicians currently in the Lakeview Jazz Band.  Also, the newly formed, student run A Cappella group at the College of DuPage will be included on the program.  The location is the Faith United Methodist Church at the corners of 59th and Fairview in Downers Grove.  Faculty, friends and family are welcome to attend this exciting event.

Rotary Music Scholarship applications now being accepted!

The Rotary Club of Downers Grove is now accepting applications for their annual Charles Dickerman Music Scholarship. Each year the Rotary Club of Downers Grove gives a $2000 scholarship check to a deserving high school senior who resides in the District 99 attendance area. Charles Dickerman was a founding member of the Rotary Club of Downers Grove. He was a nuclear physicist at Argonne National Laboratory who had undergraduate degrees in both physics and music. Charles stayed involved in music throughout his life and was an avid bagpiper.

Download a Scholarship Application form at www.dgrotary.com .

All applicants must have their forms postmarked by March 8, 2013. If selected as a finalist, candidates must be available for an interview and audition in the evening of April 8, 2013.

The qualifications to apply for this scholarship are:

• Be a graduating senior attending a public, private, parochial or home school, and reside in the High School District 99 attendance area.
• Plan to pursue a post-secondary education program
• Have participated in high school curricular music activities and/or extracurricular music activities.
• Composers and/or arrangers qualify for this scholarship.
• Pursuit of an undergraduate music major or minor is not required.
• Financial need is not a criterion for selection

Welcome to the class of 2017

Thanks to everyone who attended the DGN Choirs Open House presentation.  In case you missed it (or just want a recap of the info), here are the courses you should register for in your freshman year:

FRESHMAN GIRLS

Register for Freshman Choir, meets 6th period

* PLEASE ALSO REGISTER FOR PERIOD 4A Freshman Ensemble if there’s   even a small chance you might audition!

   Ensemble auditions will be held in October for Freshman Ensemble

  This is a small ensemble of members of the Freshman Choir that meets daily second semester only during 4th hour   

  resource period.

FRESHMAN GUYS 

Register for Concert Choir, meets 1st period

  * Ensemble auditions will be in August for Concert Singers

    This is a small ensemble of members of the Concert Choir that meets

    daily from 7:25-7:50 am – more info will be sent home in July.

  * Acafellas – we invite you to sing with this all-men’s ensemble.

  You need to request a 5th PERIOD LUNCH to sing with the Acafellas!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions!

Beth O’Riordan – boriordan@csd99.org    

            (630) 795-8086               

Frank Piekarz – fpiekarz@csd99.org

             (630) 795-8085