Plummer, Alton Music Department Celebrate All-State Honors At IMEA

ALTON - The Alton High School music department announced with pride that several of its student musicians participated in the 2026 Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) All-State Festival, on Jan. 29-31, 2026, in Peoria.

Alton High School Orchestra Director Laura Plummer said, “We are incredibly proud of the dedication and perseverance our ILMEA All-State students have shown and the pride they bring to Alton High School, our music program, and the entire Alton community.”

From Alton High School, the selected students are Wesley LeBrun, percussion, All-State Honors Band, third year selected to All-State; Quinn Halliday, trumpet, All-State Honors Band; Makayla Burns, violin, All-State Orchestra, second year selected to All-State; Erick Humphrey, cello, All-State Orchestra, second year selected to All-State; Austin Koller, bass, All-State Honors Orchestra, second year selected to All-State; Aiden McGiffen, tenor 2, All-State Chorus; Elias Meydam, bass 1, All-State Chorus; and Preston Watson, bass 2, All-State Chorus.

Alton Middle School students Sopheia Meyer and Parker Scheer were selected to participate in the All-State Middle School Choir. Alton Middle School students Greyson Linley, Lorelai Arnott, Lillian Plunkett, and Oscar LaPlant were selected to attend the All-State Elementary Choir.

Plummer said the All-State selection process began in October 2025, when more than 23,000 students from elementary, junior high, and high schools around Illinois participated in a virtual audition process. Of those auditions, more than 7,000 were selected to participate in regional district festivals in November 2025, celebrating student musicians in bands, orchestras, choruses, and jazz ensembles. From there, the top 1,000 high school students and 1,000 elementary and middle school students were chosen to participate in the ILMEA All-State Music Festival.

Erick Humphrey, a junior cellist selected for the All-State Orchestra for a second year, described the festival experience in a statement: " It was just having a few days to really be fully engrossed in music and the city of Peoria. I believe one of my favorite moments was going to see the ILMEA jazz kids perform. I actually really enjoyed listening to the vocal jazz and just appreciating the amazing musicianship of these normal high school kids. It really makes you realize just how amazing we all are and led me to the realization of why I practice.”

Makayla Burns, a senior violinist also selected for a second year, said, “Participating in the ILMEA All-State Orchestra is an opportunity I am so grateful to have had again this year. The instruction and feedback gained from various conductors and teachers is truly invaluable and something I'll carry with me for years to come. It is such a cool experience to play with kids from the whole state, and make new friends.”

Evelyn Terpening, a senior soprano selected for the All-State Choir, said, “I found it to be one of the best musical experiences I have ever had. I have taken so much from it, but one thing that stuck with me was the theme of our choir’s songs. ‘Find the light, be the light, spread the light.' I believe All State is an experience every young musician should get to have, because you get to connect with other people who love and feel should get to have, because you get to connect with other people who love and feel music as deeply as you do. I found that music is my light; my 'True' light."

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