DGS' Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony Earn High Scores at Festival

Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony earned some of the highest scores in their classes at the Midwest Music Festival Saturday.  

The school's Wind Ensemble placed second of 15 Group I or varsity level performing ensembles with a score of 89.67. The ensemble also earned a Division I rating from the panel of adjudicators, performing "Hands Across the Sea" by John Philip Sousa and "After Hands Across the Sea," from the Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa by Ira Hearshen.

DGS' Wind Symphony placed third of 18 Group II or junior varsity performing ensembles with a score of 93.67. Wind Symphony also earned the caption award for having the Best Woodwind section from the 18 performing bands in the gymnasium during the day. The Wind Symphony performed "Italia" and "A Longford Legend."

"One way to expand to boundaries of the classroom is to participate in events like this and receive unbiased, professional assessment of our ensembles," District 99 Fine Arts Chair Glenn Williams said in a school release. "We are thrilled with the progress our student musicians continue to make."

It was the 26th year of the festival, held at the Performing Arts Center at Lemont High School. The festival hosted more than 3,000 student musicians from more than 30 Illinois high schools. Bands perform for expert adjudicator feedback, a rating and an overall ranking.