Honors Ensemble Mariachi Festival
Saturday, April 26, 2025
South Elgin High School

This will be a Senior Division nomination festival, with each nominating school receiving at least 1 guaranteed student participant. Additional selections may be added based on number of nominations, ensemble size and instrumentation. Instrumentation will include the following instruments/voices: Guitar, Vihuela, Trumpet, Violin, Guitarron, and Harp (all instrumentalists will also double as vocalists). Schools must register with ILMEA and pay the School Participation Fee, and along with the student festival participation fee(s). Nominations will be open (via Google Form) between February 14-March 14, with selections posted in Nominate by March 18, 2025. The festival day will start with check-in at 8:30am, rehearsals beginning at 9:00am, and the concert starting at 3:30pm. We are excited to announce that our Festival Conductor will be Erik Ramirez, Founder and Director of Mariachi Acero de Las Vegas!

Large Group Mariachi Festival
Saturday, April 26, 2025
South Elgin High School

This large group festival will run concurrently with the Honors Ensemble Festival at the same location. Registration will be posted on the Large Group Festival page of the ILMEA website. ILMEA participating middle and high schools may register to bring their Mariachi Ensemble to perform and receive feedback from professionals in the Mariachi field. Each group will receive a 20-minute warmup, 20-minute performance, and 20-minute feedback clinic. Groups are also encouraged to watch and support other performances throughout the day, including the Honors Ensemble concert. The festival will be limited to 10 performance groups. with warm-ups/performances/clinics starting at 8:30am and concluding at 2:30pm.

We hope you will consider joining us for this inaugural event and share the joy of Mariachi music! If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our D9 JSGM Mariachi Rep, Lisa Yagow, at [email protected].