Cooper eighth grader makes ILMEA’s first-ever Junior High All-State Chorus

January 28, 2025

Topic: Updates

 

For as long as Claire C. can remember, her house has been a beacon for the fine arts.

“My parents are both my vocal teachers, and they’ve been opera singers since before I was born,” said the eighth grader from Cooper Middle School, known as “C.C.” to her friends and family. “My grandma and grandpa are also both actors, so I’ve just grown up in a very musical family.”

Singing has been a cornerstone of C.C.’s life, having first joined choir at the age of 3 and spending the intervening years learning the latest tips and techniques from her parents. It is that love for music that will find her representing Community Consolidated School District 21 in Peoria from January 31 to February 1 as part of the Illinois Music Education Association’s first-ever Junior High All-State Chorus.

The annual event highlights the top student musicians from across Illinois, and serves as part of ILMEA’s mission to promote music education and recognize outstanding student achievement in music.

In order to get there, the student musician must first have qualified for and participated in the district festivals for the entirety of that day, which took place in the fall of 2024. According to ILMEA, more than 10,000 student musicians from elementary, middle and high schools across the state participated in a virtual audition process, and of those auditions, more than 7,000 were selected to participate in the district-level festivals.

From that pool, 1,500 students are chosen to participate in the All-State Student Programs. Claire is one of 150 students selected for the inaugural Junior High All-State Chorus, according to Jennifer Stash, choir director and general music teacher at Cooper.

“I was just really surprised because I didn’t think I was going to make it in the first place,” Claire adds. “I felt like I was going to cry actually; it was just pretty surreal.”

Claire was not nervous about the upcoming performance; rather, she was excited to be in Peoria “because I’ve never been there before” and to perform at the state level.

The achievement is extra special  for Stash, who has been taking students to the district-level festival for years, as her own eighth grader will also be performing in the state-level choir.

“I’m excited to be able to share such a high-level music experience as both a teacher and a mom,” Stash said. “I know this year is a pilot experiment with a junior high-level All-State Choir, and I look forward to the addition of the junior high All-State band and orchestra next year. I hope this new opportunity will grow all our music programs in District 21.”