The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic is an international festival that welcomes roughly 18,000 participants every year from all 50 states and 40 international countries.  Receiving an invitation to perform at this festival is highly selective and a great honor and recognition for the Mundelein High School Jazz Ensemble students and school community in general.  ­The Clinic will run from December 16 through 19, 2020 at McCormick Place West in Chicago.

Each year, the Board of Directors selects two to four high school jazz bands from around the world to perform at the conference.  In the past two years the high school jazz bands have come from Waxahachie, TX; Mandeville, LA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Tuscon, AZ; Jacksonville, FL; Bloomington, IN; and Hoover, AL.  This is the first time a HS Jazz Ensemble from Illinois has been invited to perform since 2016 and this is the FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL HISTORY that Mundelein High School has received an invitation! #mundypride

 “With the uncertainty of all of the events on the near and distant horizon, the Midwest Conference may happen or not, but we are extremely honored to be asked to perform and will move forward making plans to prepare for the performance.  It should shape up to be a fun fall!,” said Andy Sturgeon who directs the instrumental music program at MHS with Jerald Shelato.

“There are so many things that are unknown in today’s world right now and our students are missing out on the ‘normal’ end of their school year.  I am constantly thinking about all of our students (and especially seniors) and thinking about those final band rehearsals that we aren’t holding and those band concerts that have been cancelled,” Sturgeon lamented. “ I am hopeful that sharing this type of happy and uplifting news can help us all see through the current fog and share in the celebrations that this year’s seniors and that this year’s band students have had (Jazz Ensemble performance at IMEC, Honors Wind Ensemble selected for Superstate, Marching Mustangs outstanding performance at RMU… and now Jazz Ensemble’s selection for the Midwest Clinic)…. and look forward to future opportunities that are coming soon!  Please be on the lookout for things we are doing as a band to honor our seniors,” Sturgeon concluded.