Over the past several years, the Cicero District 99 music education program has started being noticed by both the Cicero community and greater regional community for its dedication to teaching music and musical arts to children.

With state-of-the-art equipment, ongoing support and platforming by the District and Board of Education and dedication of highly-skilled music teachers, students of all ages across the District have benefitted greatly from the outpouring of love the Fine Arts Department has provided.

And, as the year comes to a close, District 99 would like to congratulate four students from Goodwin Elementary School who were recently chosen to perform in the Illinois Music Educators Conference (IMEC) choir performance in Peoria this upcoming January. The IMEC is sponsored by the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA). 

Students selected to perform include:

4th and 5th Grade Choir

-Adan Cruz Martin (4th grade)

-Khaleesi Perez (4th grade)

-Galilea Cruz Martin (5th grade)

6th Grade Choir

-Kayden Rodriguez (6th grade)

The IMEC, which encompasses school districts from across Illinois, is in its fifth year of hosting the Elementary All State Choir. 

Esmeralda Bonk, Goodwin’s music teacher and choir director, nominated a select group of her students to the IMEC selection committee, which then chose which students and the number of students to participate, depending on the amount of schools who have students nominated and the allowance of the choir group’s size. 

“This is an amazing opportunity for students to experience singing in a larger choir of 100-plus students, under the direction of well-known directors from across the country,” Bonk said. “This was always a dream of mine to send students to these types of events. This is proof that District 99 has high quality talent and music educators to be in the same realm as those in Naperville, Highland Park and Vernon Hills. These students will have an experience that they will always remember well after they have left District 99.”

This year’s performance will take place on Saturday, Jan. 31 from 12-1 p.m. at the Peoria Civic Center.