EDWARDSVILLE – Four musicians from Metro-East Lutheran High School have earned All-State honors from the Illinois Music Education Association, with one student earning a top ranking.
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Kate Mueller, a sophomore at MELHS, has been named first-chair clarinet for the Illinois All-State Honors Band, which comprises the top-performing high school musicians in the state. Christian Greer, a sophomore at MELHS, earned a spot in the All-State Honors choir. Deagan Jones, a MELHS senior, was selected for the All-State Choir, and Harry Mueller, also a senior, was selected for the cello section of the All-State Orchestra.
“All-State is a great opportunity for students to be challenged to perform some great works of music with other top-level high school musicians,” said Joseph Meador, director of the MELHS music department. In addition, Meador said, for Kate Mueller to be selected to serve as first chair clarinet in the Honors Band as a sophomore is a great honor for her and for the school.
“The pool selection for these bands is very large, and as a sophomore for her to be able to achieve this shows her strength as an individual and as a member of our ensemble,” Meador said. Mueller has performed in the ILMEA District 6 Honors Band since 2019 and was first chair clarinet for the 2022 All-Illinois Junior Honor Band. She is currently an alternate with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.
The MELHS All-State musicians will travel to Peoria, Ill., to participate in the Illinois Music Education Conference from Jan. 25 to Jan. 27. The conference will conclude with performances by the All-State Bands, Orchestras and Choirs on Saturday, Jan. 27.
To be selected for All-State, students had to submit audition videos to the ILMEA, which were then judged by a panel of professional musicians. The top performing musicians in the region were then selected to be part of the All-District music festival in Belleville in November. Twelve MELHS musicians were selected for the All-District festival. Following the district festivals, the highest-scoring musicians from across the state were then named All-State Musicians for 2024-2025.
“To have 12 students selected for All-District was exciting,” Meador said. “As a relatively small school, the fact that we now have four of the top musicians in the state shows the strength of our music program and how dedicated our kids are.”
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