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Mascoutah is open

According to the school calendar, Marian will be attending the following: 9/6: Stagg 9/13: VJA 9/27: Providence Catholic 10/11: ISU 10/24-10/25: BOA Indianapolis 11/13-11/15: Grand Nationals

I..... officially don't understand LW not attending ISU anymore. There's a big ISU-sized gap in their schedule to my eyes, and for as much as I've heard fees are, and as annoying the logistics of putting 3 campuses together for one band must be... I just don't understand only going out for 3 competitive shows, (though 2 of them are BOA events, and they'll definitely play twice in Louisville.)

Naperville North will be competitive this year. Going to DGS, NCHS, and LW Source: Band Calendar

Kaneland HS schedule Septemeber 6th: Stagg Jamboree September 20th: Plainfield South October 4th: Downers Grove South October 18/19th: TBD (LW? Sandwich?) October 25th: U of I

Lincoln-Way schedule Septmeber 20th: Plainfield South September 26-28th: BOA Louisville, KY October 18th: Lincoln-Way Invitantional October 24-26th: BOA Indianapolis Super Regional No ISMBC.

Alton is open. Blake Korte is now the Director of Instrumental Music at DeSmet Jesuit High School in St. Louis. Chuck Willard is still there as assistant director.

Times are different. Some programs haven’t recovered from the pandemic while others have been thriving. Enrollment is low and kids aren’t interested in afterschool programs/clubs. Looking at some fees marching band isn’t affordable in some areas. There is a variable amount of reasons to go into.

An interesting choice to go non-competitive, but they're still one of the best overall band programs in Chicagoland and indeed the State as a whole.

Looks like Lockport will not compete this season. They will perform at football games and local events.

Macomb has dropped; moving Providence and beyond in 1A-3A up 15 minutes.

Lockport has always been good about posting their whole schedule. Not to mention, band camp is 40 hours shorter than it was last year (1-9 each day last year vs. 8-12 each day this year.)

Colin Curatolo is the new band director at Evergreen Park, replacing Ken Kazin, who retired after a 40 year career. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/08/ken-kazin-evergreen-park-retires/

I don’t think they will go non competitive especially doing well in IL and BOA. They might not have a final competition scheduled released. Some programs are very hush hush

O’Fallon Township High School is excited to welcome Stefan Roose as the new Assistant Director of Bands, as well as his wife, Stacy Roose, as a Consultant and Educator with the O’Fallon Township High School Colorguard! Stefan brings a wealth of experience and passion to the role, having previously served as Director of Bands at Lawrence North High School and Co-Director of the Marching Pride of Lawrence Township, as well as a Band Director with Avon Community Schools, all in Indiana. Stefan and Stacy both serve on the WGI Advisory Board and are the co-founders and directors at Elevate Performing Arts. Stefan serves on the Brass Staff for the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps, and Stacy serves on the Tristate Marching Arts Board and is an active and sought-after designer and educator in the color guard world. Stefan is an accomplished tuba player, currently performing with the Army National Guard Bands, and formerly held the position of principal tubist with the Air National Guard Band of the Midwest. Beyond the podium, Stefan enjoys running, coffee, and brunch with his wife. The Rooses love Disney World and frequently make trips there. Both are thrilled to be joining the O’Fallon community, where they look forward to continuing the school’s legacy of performance excellence while building a strong, healthy, and supportive culture for students and staff alike.

That's wild...

I have heard this as well. Wild to go from 5th at ISU to non-competitive in less than 12 months.

Attending: Alton Belleville East Civic Memorial Collinsville Edwardsville Effingham Fort Zumwalt North Fort Zumwalt West Francis Howell Central Granite City Hillsboro Lafayette Lindbergh Mascoutah Mater Dei Rockwood Summit

Current list of attendees: Canton High School Dunlap High School Hoopeston Area High School LeRoy High School Monmouth-Roseville High School Pleasant Plains High School Rich Township High School Ridgeview High School ROWVA High School Sandwich High School Sherrard High School Streator Township High School Watseka High School 17 spots remain

POSSIBLE out: Lockport Township No competitions listed on their website (https://lockportbands.org/marchingband), which possibly means they're still to be added, but would also corroborate what I was told earlier in the spring that they were no longer planning to compete.

List as of CURRENT IHSA enrollment ^

1A Illinois Valley Central Macomb Paris Cooperative 2A East Peoria Effingham Galesburg LaSalle-Peru Limestone Community Morton 3A Bloomington Lemont Washington 4A Batavia Collinsville Maine West Romeoville 5A Edwardsville Mundelein Plainfield Central Plainfield North Prospect Victor J. Andrew 6A Carl Sandburg Downers Grove South Huntley Normal Oswego Oswego East Warren Township Not attending: John Hersey? Dunlap (Metamora Competition)

Attached are scores along with a running commentary that I compiled from 1973-1983 of ISU. Does anyone have scores/programs/etc. from 1983-on? ISU History.docx ISU Score History.xlsx

This could make things very interesting - I've heard that the 3A/4A session is already smaller participant-wise than 1A/2A and 5A/6A, and no Hersey would open up another finalist (and 2nd half) spot.

Something tells me that's not an error - looking at their calendar, they have a marching band party scheduled for September 24th (but there's one scheduled for October 15th as well, so who knows?)