Huntley High School wind ensemble selected to perform at the 2022 Illinois SuperState Concert Band Festival

HUNTLEY — It was just recently announced that the Huntley High School (HHS) wind ensemble has been selected as one of 35 schools in the state to perform at the 2022 Illinois SuperState Concert Band Festival, which will take place on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7.

The festival will be held at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The HHS wind ensemble consists of 43 students ranging from sophomores to seniors and is directed by HHS Director of the wind ensemble and band Kevin Krivosik.

“Huntley High School’s wind ensemble was among just seven other schools in category 3A that were chosen to participate in the festival across the state,” said Alex LeMoine, Huntley Community School District 158’s director of communications and public relations, in an April 7 press release. “In order to be considered for selection, bands were required to submit an audio recording of their performances.”

LeMoine further explained that students from the wind ensemble recorded 12 minutes of live music at the high school’s state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center.

The recordings were then submitted to top-tier educators in the music field to be considered for their place to perform as part of the SuperState Concert Band Festival.

Krivosik stated that he is most proud of his students’ optimism and work ethic throughout the year.

“Everyone is working harder than ever to make great music with one another because we are finally able to. I couldn’t ask for anything else [from my students] but to be the best musician they can be, and they’re doing more than just that,” he said.

The HHS wind ensemble will be performing three pieces at the festival in May.

The pieces include Shortcut Home by Dana Wilson, One Life Beautiful by Julie Giroux, and March from Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber by Paul Hindemith (arranged by Keith Wilson).

“I look forward to finishing this year out strongly, especially the seniors. I also look forward to the students, hopefully, being able to obtain more opportunities like this in the future. If the band program continues to grow, then the students will continue to see these results and be rewarded with similar opportunities,” said Krivosik.

According to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Illinois SuperState Concert Band Festival invites only the finest wind band programs in the state of Illinois.