This year, ILMEA established a partnership with Mercury LLC, a bipartisan public strategy and government relations firm. In working with their Springfield office, ILMEA was able to be an active and informed participant in the legislative work of the 104th general assembly. Read about the advocacy work done over the past year and plans for next steps!

For students who are looking to begin preparing for Fall 2026 auditions, all required audition elements are now posted for Band, Chorus, Orchestra, Jazz Band and Vocal Jazz are now posted!

The ILMEA JSGM Division is pleased to announce that Registration is open for the Singer-Songwriter/Modern Band Festival on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 - this festival is open to students from any ILMEA district. We are very excited to be partnering with the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Historic Route 66 in Downtown Joliet.

Announcing the 2026-2027 ILMEA Remix Contest - “Let It All Go” by Ray Sanders!

“Let It All Go” was an award winner in the 2025-2026 Composition Contest, Rap/Hip Hop Category, and was selected to be the source material for next year’s Remix contest.

With yet another record-breaking year of entries, we are excited to announce the 2025-2026 ILMEA Composition Contest honorees ! Congratulations to all students who submitted original compositions, arrangements and remixes - the adjudicators each year comment on the outstanding quality of musical works being written by Illinois music students.

ILMEA is excited for the inaugural Junior High All-State Band and Orchestra in January 2026 and the return of the Junior High All-State Chorus! As with any new program, we know that educators, administrators and parents will have many questions. This FAQ will help to address these questions so that everyone is as prepared as possible for this outstanding experience.

The exciting addition of Junior High All-State in Peoria this January brings about some schedule changes for our All-State student programs at all levels. 

Please take some time to review the ensemble schedules - we know that until All-State results are released in early December, you won’t be able to make concrete plans for your time in Peoria, but we need to bring your attention to these changes sooner rather than later!