Two Jackson Middle School students chosen for All-Illinois Junior Band
Jackson Middle School students Emily Luther and Caroline Kaminski have been selected to participate in the All-Illinois Junior Band (AIJB). Both are 8th graders at Jackson Middle School, which is part of Villa Park School District 45.
Luther and Kaminski will join other middle school musicians from across Illinois for a weekend event at the University of Illinois. The AIJB provides an opportunity for advanced young musicians to perform under expert leadership in a professional concert hall setting.
Joe Koppel, director of Jackson Area Bands, commented on their achievement. “The All-Illinois Junior Band has only existed for nine years, but has a reputation for accepting only the most advanced middle school band students,” said Koppel. “The audition music is far beyond what I would qualify as ‘middle school level’ material.” He described Caroline as an outstanding trombone player and Emily as the school's strongest percussionist.
Selection to AIJB is based on blind auditions. Students submit recorded performances that are evaluated by independent judges who do not have access to identifying information. Final selection and seating assignments are determined solely by audition scores.
AIJB was established to offer a high-level musical experience for talented middle school band students in Illinois. The program allows participants to work with distinguished conductors, play challenging music with peers from across the state, and encourages continued musical development.
In interviews, both students discussed their backgrounds and experiences with music. Emily Luther explained her audition process: “For the audition, I had to play a timpani etude, a xylophone etude and a snare etude. It was kind of hard because I kept making little mistakes, then I would restart the entire thing. So it took me a little while to get through all the etudes, but I eventually did it, and I was happy with my results.”
Luther began playing percussion instruments in fourth grade and comes from a musical family; her mother is a professional organist who taught her piano through fifth grade. She also mentioned enjoying jazz music and plans to continue participating in music programs during high school.
Caroline Kaminski described her own experience: “The AIJB audition was kind of similar to ILMEA, where there were etudes, or short pieces that tested your level. There was a technical one, and then a lyrical one. And then there was a chromatic scale. The technical and chromatic scales are both in the technical category, and then the lyrical one tests your musical sense, and how musical you can make it sound.”
Kaminski has played trombone since fourth grade and noted that muscle memory is important for playing her instrument well. Her family is also musically involved—her mother teaches band—and she has studied piano for several years.
Villa Park School District 45 includes several schools such as Ardmore Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School, North Elementary School, Schafer Elementary School, Stevenson School, Westmore Elementary School, York Center Elementary School along with Jackson Middle School itself https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/. The district serves a diverse student body that is 43.4 percent White, 7.8 percent Black, 35.4 percent Hispanic, and 8.2 percent Asian https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.
According to recent data from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Villa Park School District 45 employs 224 teachers with an average salary of $74,159 before pension contributions; about 83 percent are women https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/. In terms of spending per student in 2020, the district spent $23,216 per student for an overall total expenditure of $76 million https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.
Both Luther and Kaminski plan to remain active in music throughout high school.