Three exemplary Warsaw High School musicians auditioned virtually for the Illinois Music Education Association’s (ILMEA) District Festival in October, and were selected to participate in the All-State Music Festival in Peoria January 29-31.
Brynlee Squire, a sophomore who plays clarinet in the concert, marching, and jazz bands; Ashley Isaacs, a junior first soprano in the chorus; and Dallin Garfield, a senior who sings bass in the chorus, represented their school and community well by placing roughly in the top 10 % of all Illinois students, an incredible accomplishment.
“It is also remarkable to have representation of a more rural school at this statewide event,” said the band director, Cody Collins. He proudly noted that he has attended All-State festivals “every year that I’ve been here, three years in a row,” and that “Warsaw has had an All-State musician for the last 10 years if you don’t count COVID, when they didn’t have All-State. It’s been a long time that people have been making it, which is incredible.”
Squire, Isaacs and Garfield performed exceptionally under a rigorous selection process. Collins stressed the students’ diligent practice and preparation; they began regularly practicing pieces for the auditions at the end of May and Squire met with Collins regularly over the summer.
He stated that Squire’s selection to All-State “as a sophomore is really outstanding, it’s pretty special, because it holds a lot of promise for everything else that (she) can do in the next couple of years.”
Isaacs, who writes her own songs, noted that she (and Garfield) needed to sing excerpts from three songs maintaining good tone, diction and pitch during the virtual audition.
Garfield commented that the All-State experience “was a lot of work but it was worth it for the opportunity to make and listen to beautiful music.”
According to the ILMEA press release of December 3, 2025, 23,000 Illinois elementary through high school students auditioned to perform in the district festivals to celebrate “student musicians in bands, orchestras, choruses, and jazz ensembles,” with more than 7,000 pupils in grades 7-12 proceeding to this level. 2,000 of the students who participated at the district level were chosen to perform in the ILMEA 2026 All-State Students Programs in Peoria, Illinois.
According to the ILMEA press release, “Students in the performing ensembles represent the best student musicians in Illinois.”
Squire, Isaacs, and Garfield participated in rehearsals for three days in Peoria. Squire performed in the Senior All-State Band Concert on Jan. 31 under the direction of Joe Parisi of the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Isaacs’ and Garfield’s All-State Chorus performances the same day were under the direction of Andrea Solia of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Both concerts were held in the Peoria Civic Center Arena.
All three were impressed with their conductors’ expertise and interaction with students. Garfield commented, “Our conductor (Solia) was wonderful.” According to Isaacs, the chorus was comprised of about 288 students – eight parts and 36 students per part.
Isaacs, Squire and Garfield valued the opportunity to interact and perform with musicians from across the state.
The ILMEA festival to “celebrate and promote music education in Illinois” attracted more than 12,000 “students, educators, parents and music education industry vendors to the Peoria Civic Center.”
Congratulations to Squire, Isaacs and Garfield, whose extraordinary musical accomplishments generously enrich Warsaw residents’ lives and bring their communities an abundance of joy. Thank you to these musicians and to the other dedicated students in instrumental and choral programs for their diligence and uplifting, memorable performances.