Five students from Richland County High School shall participate in the 2023 Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All-State All-State Ensembles. ILMEA will host the event on January 26-28, 2023 in Peoria.
These students were selected from a rigorous audition process as the top student-musicians
representing over 12,000 schools throughout Illinois. Of roughly 2,400 students that auditioned, only a fraction of students were selected to participate in the event. The five RCHS students selected to participate were Kyle Rennier (senior/jazz band), Victoria Zwilling (orchestra/band), Evan Irvin (senior/jazz band), Ari Henby (senior/band), & Emma Wells (junior/band).
Kyle Rennier was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Jazz Band. He is currently a member of Honors Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Tigers, Jazz Band, and Orchestra Pit as an Alto Saxophonist at RCHS. He is also a member of Tri-M National Honor Music Society; he has been Secretary for his Sophomore and Junior year and president his Senior year. He has received a 1st rating at IHSA Solo & Ensemble 5 times. He also represented RCHS at the Lincoln Trail Band Festival in 2020 and 2021. He was also selected for the All-State Band in 2022. Kyle plans to attend Eastern Illinois University for a degree in education.
Ari Henby was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Band. Ari is currently a member of Honors Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Tigers, Jazz Band, and the Orchestra Pit as a flutist at RCHS. He joined the ranks of the local chapter of Tri-M National Honor Music Society in October of 2022. He has received a 1st rating at IHSA Solo & Ensemble 5 times. Ari is an active participant in the IHSA Solo & Ensemble Contest.
After graduating from Richland County High School, Ari plans to major in music at Eastern Illinois University.
Emma Wells was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Band. She has also participated in the 2019, 2021, & 2022 ILMEA District 5 Band. In 2021/22, she was selected for All-State Band. Emma is currently a member of the Honors Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Tigers, and Jazz Band as a Clarinetist at RCHS. She is also the historian of the Tri-M National Honor Music Society. Last year and this year, she is a part of the Orchestra Pit for the
RCHS musical.
After graduating high school in 2024, Emma plans to attend a college as a Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology major, achieve a minor in music, followed by a masters degrees in Speech Pathology.
Evan Irvin was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Jazz Band. He is currently a member of Honors Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and the Orchestra Pit
for musicals at Richland County High School. Evan also performs with the Commercial Band, Community Band, and Community Jazz Band at the Olney Central College. He is a member of the Tri-M National Music Honors Society, in which he serves as Secretary. Evan plays upright bass, electric bass, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. He has also played bass clarinet, clarinet, piano, and guitar. In addition, he was also recognized with the Richland County Middle School Louis Armstrong Award.
After graduating, Evan plans to attend Eastern Illinois University to earn a degree in music performance.
Victoria Zwilling was selected to participate in the 2023 All-State Orchestra. She has also
participated in the ILMEA District 5 Choir, Band, and Orchestra in the years 2015-2021, the 2021 All-State Band, and the 2022 All-State Orchestra. She was selected to participate in the 2021 and 2022 Eastern Illinois University Honor Band as well. Victoria has received the 1st Superior rating five times for vocal and piano performances at the Illinois Grade School Music Association (IGSMA) Solo and Ensemble Contest and six times for piano and oboe performances at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Solo and Ensemble Contest. Victoria Zwilling has performed as an oboist with the Honors Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band at Richland County High School. Victoria is also the 2022 section leader of the Marching Tigers Front Ensemble. She serves as Vice President of the RCHS Chapter of Tri-M Music Honors Society. She represented RCHS at the Lincoln Trail Band Festival in 2020 and 2021. She also enjoys playing banjo and bluegrass music with her family.
Victoria is a senior this year and plans to attend a four year university next year, pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology, and a Master’s degree in Environmental Biology.