District 202 Students Selected for Illinois Music Festivals
Sixty-two students earned spots in upcoming regional jazz, choir, band, and orchestra festivals this November.
Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Secondary Education
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Sixty-two high school students from District 202 have been selected to perform at the Illinois Music Education Association District 9 festivals. The students earned these spots through a competitive audition process and will participate in jazz, choir, band, and orchestra programs this November.
Why it matters
These festival selections highlight the region's commitment to secondary music education and provide students with opportunities to collaborate with professional educators and their peers. The experience serves as a benchmark for student growth in performance and musical technicality.
A total of 62 District 202 students secured spots across jazz, choir, band, and orchestra categories. These musicians move forward from a competitive audition pool to showcase their skills at regional festivals later this month.
The players
Illinois Music Education Association
A professional organization that supports music education across the state through festivals, conferences, and student performance programs.
District 202
A local school district in Illinois that provides K-12 education and academic support to students across the community.
The details
Selected students participated in a rigorous audition process that evaluated their technical proficiency and musical interpretation. Following these selections, the students will attend intense rehearsal sessions led by music educators before performing in regional ensembles alongside other accomplished student musicians.
Timeline
November 7, 2026: Senior jazz festival at St. Charles East High School.
November 14, 2026: Senior music festival at Dundee-Crown High School.
January 2027: Illinois Music Education Conference in Peoria.
The Home Front
The regional festival program functions as a primary pathway for student musicians seeking to qualify for the Illinois Music Education Conference. This structure aligns with state-level standards for performance excellence and collaborative arts education.
Parents of participating students should review the event schedule for St. Charles East and Dundee-Crown high schools to plan for rehearsals and travel. Families can also begin preparing for the potential January trip to Peoria should their students advance to the state conference.
The takeaway
These festival placements celebrate the hard work of local students and offer a significant milestone in their musical training. Families should keep these November performance dates on their calendars and monitor for additional qualification news following the upcoming regional festivals.
What happens next
Students will learn later this fall if they qualify for the Illinois Music Education Conference scheduled for January 2027 in Peoria.
Further reading
Learn more about local academic and arts programming at Secondary Education.
Source note: This article includes information reported by 1340 WJOL.
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