Established in the fall of 1964, Community High School District 99 Downers Grove South High School is located in DuPage County, 30 miles southwest of Chicago's Magnificent Mile.
The Fine Arts Department currently has six music faculty, a staff accompanist and numerous instrumental and vocal private teachers. More than 600 student musicians participate in band, orchestra and choir on a daily basis. Nearly 200 student musicians study guitar, pop music, and digital music on a daily basis. More than 500 student artists study 2D and 3D visual art on a daily basis. In total, just over 60 percent of the Downers Grove South student population will study either art or music in the course of a school year.
“Igniting a passion in the arts for every learner” is the vision for the Fine Arts Department at Downers Grove South High School. In 1992, the department received the “Outstanding Total Music Program” Award from the Illinois Music Education Association (IMEA). The department also received a 1999 “Grammy in Our Schools” Award as one of the top 250 high school music departments in the country.
The quality of education and opportunity at South can be found in every corner of the Fine Arts Department:
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| South High 2011 All State Musicians |
- For the past seven years, DGS music has averaged just over 54 students annually in the IMEA District ensembles.
- The DGS Choirs toured London in December of 2007, and consistently place a high number of student musicians in IMEA District and State ensembles. Our Madrigal Singers were accepted, through taped audition, to perform at the 2011 IMEA All-State Convention.
- The District 99 Orchestra recently participated in the Butler University String Clinic, and consistently places close to 25 percent of the string players in the IMEA District 1 Orchestra.
- The Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band have recorded four CDs, and have hosted the NIU Jazz Ensemble with their guest artists such as Benny Golson, Ernie Watts, Ed Thigpen, Lou Marini, Jiggs Whiggham, Jimmy Heath, Claudio Roditi and Lew Soloff. Our Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band combined have been named Honor Band at the Purdue Jazz Festival three times in the last four years. In 2011, the DGS Jazz Ensemble was selected as a finalist in the Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival in New York City.
- The Wind Ensemble has participated in several contests and invitational festivals over the years including: the University of Illinois Super State Band Contest in 1987, 1997, and 2002; the Northern Illinois University Band Festival in 1999; the Blue Hawaii Music Festival at Brigham Young University in 2000; and the Midwest Music Festival from 2001-2004. In 2007, the Wind Ensemble was selected to perform and deliver a clinic at the IMEA's All-State Conference in Peoria, IL. And in 2010, they earned first place in class 6A at the ISU State Band Contest.
- The Marching Mustangs have participated in numerous parades and festivals over the years including: 1974 Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C., 1975 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, 1982 World Music Festival in Mexico City, Mexico, 1985 Blue Bonnet Bowl in Houston Texas, 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, Florida, 1993 Foley’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Houston, Texas, 1995 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California, and the 2000 Blue Hawaii Music Festival in Oahu, Hawaii. In 2007, the Marching Mustangs were name Grand Champion of the Morton Marching Invitational, and, in 2007 and 2008 made finals at the Youth In Music Competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2010, the Marching Mustangs earned a spot in the finals of the State of Illinois Marching Band Championships at Illinois State University.
- Combined with our District 99 neighbor, Downers Grove North High School, a select group of band and orchestra student musicians regularly participate in an ongoing exchange program with the Bietigheim-Bissengen Music School near Stuttgart, Germany.
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| 'Mystic' by Samantha Eubanks Winner 2011 American Vision Award |
