About Us

Church & School History

In 1858, Trinity Lutheran Church began operation of a Lutheran Elementary School in Peoria. The school was moved from South Jefferson Street to the site of the present church in 1930.

Redeemer Lutheran and Mt. Calvary Lutheran established day schools at their churches in 1953 and 1955 respectively. The three congregations made a joint study of the community, the educational needs of their churches along with new developments in education leading to the formation of the Lutheran Central School Association and to the establishment of Concordia Lutheran School. The original building was dedicated on August 23, 1959, and opened its door in September, 1959.

Band History

The bands at CLS have a long tradition of excellence since the beginning of our school in 1959. Many directors have worked to build the program over the past 50+ years [see director list below].

The Marching Cougars were started in 1971 as a way to increase the presence of the school and band. In 1983, the Marching Cougars were selected to participate in the Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington D.C. They were the first grade school marching band to receive this honor. Since that time, the Marching Cougar Band has performed in Washington D.C. 10 times as well as at many other local parades, events and festivals. Throughout the years, they have performed for several Presidents of the United States including Johnson, Ford and Reagan as well as several Illinois politicians. Most recently, the Marching Cougars and Honor Guard marched in the National Independence Day Parade in Washington D.C. in 2014. Past performances include: Cherry Blossom Festival parade, Morton Pumpkin Festival parade, Pekin Marigold Festival parade, Kewanee Hog Festival parade, Canton Friendship Festival parade, Pinckneyville Mardi Gras parade, Peoria Veteran's Day parade, and is the longest continuous marching band in the Peoria Santa Claus parade.

The Concert Band regularly participates in the IGSMA District and State Organizational Contests and has received Division 1 ratings on nine different occasions. The Concert Band has also participated in the Illinois State Concert Band Festival and continues to participate in the Peoria Arts in Education Festival at the Peoria Courthouse.

Mr. Eric Hipple is the director for all CLS bands. He is a 1996 graduate of Concordia University – Chicago with a Bachelor of Music Education and is proud to begin his 26th year of teaching in Lutheran schools.