KHS music students, from left, junior Abigail Wyant, freshman Azucena Paredes, and senior Nayeli Leon, perform in the choir during the competition. [Photos courtesy of Kewanee High School]

***William Ly is a participant of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program, funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Trust.

For the second year in a row, Kewanee High School is the IHSA Music Sweepstakes Champion for Class A.

The honor was earned this past weekend, when KHS hosted one of the IHSA music organizational contests. Seventeen schools traveled to Kewanee on Friday and Saturday for the state competition.

The KHS band performs at the contest.

Before the competition, Kewanee High School was in second place in Class A with 597 points.

These points were earned during last month’s IHSA solo and ensemble contest.

During the competition, choirs and bands perform in front of three judges who score them. The highest score is a Division 1, which is considered a superior performance. Division 1 equals 75 points, but a band or choir is only allowed points for their two highest performances.

Percussionists perform with the band.

On Friday, Kewanee had one performance, the Mixed Choir, in which the Boilers earned Kewanee’s first Division 1 in choir. 

By the night’s end, the third-place school, Sycamore High School, had jumped to first place. To win the state championship, they needed to have a successful Saturday in all performances.

On Saturday morning, Kewanee’s Concert Band opened up, shortly followed by the Kewanee Wind Ensemble. 

Singing with the choir were Khloe Yelm and Olivia Mitchell in the front row; Nayeli Leon and Emily Witte in the back row.

The Concert Band got a Division 2 and the Wind Ensemble scored a Division 1 from all three judges. 

Because of IHSA rules, the other 75 points of the band’s total need to

come from a jazz performance.

After the Wind Ensemble performance, Kewanee’s Jazz Choir and Treble Choir played their part in the competition. Since both of them scored a Division 1, Kewanee only needed an instrumental jazz performance to secure the win.

Later in the day, Kewanee’s Jazz Combo performed and secured a Division 1. This score sealed Kewanee as the IHSA Music Sweepstakes champion for Class A. 

They finished with 897 points, beating out Sycamore with 873 points. Kewanee’s second jazz group, the Jazz Band, also earned a Division 1 as the final performance of the weekend.

This win marks Kewanee’s second Music Sweepstakes Championship On Wednesday, the music program was bused around the town to celebrate their victory.

Next up for the music program is its annual jazz cafe night on April 23. This year, it will be held in Brockman Gymnasium and feature jazz groups from Kewanee. 

Simultaneously, art students also hold their annual art show, where they can showcase the art they have created throughout the year.