The Maine West Choraliers Perform with the Illinois Wesleyan Collegiate Choirs #207Now #CollegeConnections @mainewestchoir @mainewestfab @iwu_music

On Sunday, December 4th, the Maine West Choraliers under the direction of Mr. Jim Schiffer performed on Illinois Wesleyan's "Christmas Choral Concert." Congratulations to the Choraliers on your performance! Thank you to Mr. Schiffer for arranging this wonderful enrichment opportunity for the Choraliers!

Videos of the Choraliers' performance can be found HERE.

The Marching Warriors and Choraliers Perform at the Annual Des Plaines Holiday Tree Lighting #207Now #Cheer #Community @mainewestband @mainewestchoir @mainewestfab @mwactivities @cityofdp

The Marching Warriors and Choraliers brought the community of Des Plaines some holiday cheer through their performances at the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting in downtown Des Plaines on Friday, December 2nd. Thank you to the Choraliers and the Marching Warriors and their directors, Mr. Bernie Gerstmayr and Mr. Schiffer, for performing for the community!

More pictures and videos can be found HERE.

WMTH Hosts Area Middle Schoolers to Livestream a Basketball Game #207Now #FutureWarriors @62schools @wmth_west @mainewestfab

On Friday, December 2nd, WMTH hosted area middle schoolers to teach them how to film and produce a livestream of a varsity basketball game. Thanks to Ms. Rebecca Orr for organizing this wonderful event for our future Warrior Broadcasters! Thanks to all of the area middle school students who were guest camera operators, producers, anchors, and the many other roles needed to create a livestream!

Addison Derusha Competes in the Digital Photo Throwdown! #207Now #IHSAE #ArtThrowdown2022 @ArtConnect_ED @mainewestart @lahartanddesign2 @lloyd_mwphoto @mainewestfab

On Thursday, December 1st, Addison Derusha competed in the Digital Photography Throwdown competition hosted by ArtConnectED. The students were given a prompt which was "Seriously" they then had two hours to create a triptych for their interpretations of the prompt.

For Virtual Art Throwdowns, the top 5 vote getters on the ArtConnectED Throwdown voting form advance to the second round, where a n independent judge will place them in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mention.  

Check out the video of the contest HERE.

Vote for your favorite artist using THIS FORM.

Two Maine West Musicians Earn All-State Honors! #207Now #Excellence #musiceducation #IMEC2023 @ILMEA @mainewestchoir @mainewestband @mainewestfab

We recently learned that two Maine West musicians, Addison Stutheit and Addie Webb, have earned All-State Honors. These two music students will be representing Maine West at the state-level event called the Illinois Music Education Conference, which will be held in the Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois January 25th-28th, 2023. 

Addison will perform as an alto 1 singer with the All-State Chorus, and Addie will be taking part in the Future Music Educators' Seminar. 

Earning a placement in the IMEC All-State conference distinguishes these two students as two of the best music students in the state of Illinois, and is a testament to years of hard work and dedication as musicians. The entire Maine West community is incredibly proud of Addison and Addie!

The Maine West Speech Team Finds Success at the JV Turkey Tourney! #207Now #speech #forensics @mainewestfab @mwactivities @shs_speech_team

On Saturday, November 19th, the Maine West Speech Team participated in the JV Turkey Tourney at Schaumburg High School. All of the members of the team performed admirably - each performance better than the one before! 

Senior Anna Tooley placed 5th in Humorous Interpretation!

Congratulations to the Maine West Speech Team! We are so proud of you!

Thanks to the Schaumburg High School Speech Team for hosting this wonderful event!

2022 Des Plaines Choral Festival #207Now #choir @mainewestchoir @62schools @mainewestfab

On November 15th over 200 singers from the 11 elementary and middle schools in Community Consolidated School District 62 participated in the 2022 Des Plaines Choral Festival! The day was filled with musically and educationally enriching activities, including the opportunity to work with guest clinician and conductor (and a Maine West grad!), Amy Branahl.

In the evening, these students joined forces to present a wonderful concert program:

The Star Spangled Banner (Frances Scott Key)
Bonse Aba (Traditional, arr. Johnson & Blevins)
I Dream of a World (Blevins)
Something Told the Wild Geese (Porterfield)
Joyfully Sing (Crocker)
Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon, arr. Shaw)
Take Me Home (Pentatonix, arr. Emerson)

with the finale being Together (Franklin, Jackson, Kerr, Smallbone) arranged by our guest conductor, Ms. Amy Branahl

Thanks to all of the music teachers who made this day possible:

Jim Schiffer (Maine West Choir Director), Kati Tran (Central), Nate Coon (Cumberland), Terri Meyers (Forest), Julia Musgraves & Patrice Bell (North), Colleen Beaver (Orchard Place), Stephanie Wubbena (Plainfield), Joan Abrams (South), Mary Prost (Terrace), Lesley Hoerner (Algonquin), Eric West (Chippewa), and Sarah Todd (Iroquois).

Thanks to Ms. Branahl for your work with all of our students!

We are forever grateful to the Maine West Fine Arts Boosters for all of their help at this (and all) Fine Arts event! Thanks to all of the parents and caregivers who helped at this year's Choral Festival!

Lastly, thanks to all of the family, friends and fans who came out to the concert! It was wonderful for the students to perform for a packed house!

More pictures from the 2022 Des Plaines Choral Festival can be found HERE.