Description:

• Honor's Choir is an extracurricular choir. Any student in 6th, 7th, or 8th, grade music will be allowed to audition. This group will learn mostly acapella, high level music very quickly and will perform at all of the normal concerts that the classes perform at as well as several other non-traditional concerts throughout they year. As these extra performances are not scheduled yet, I do not have all of them on the website calendar. Once they are scheduled, I will update the calendar with dates. 

Who:

• Any 6th, 7th, 8th grade music student may audition. The student need not be in choir to audition, but must be in a music class. Mellen reserves the right to accept and cut any students who audition for Honors Choir. 

When:

• Auditions will take place after school the week of September 14th. To Audition, Students will sign up for a 10 Minute Time Slot after school and sing a few warm ups so that I can assess their vocal abilities as well as their aural skills and music literacy. Students do not need to prepare for the audition. 

• Students who are accepted must attend morning rehearsals will take place every Monday and Thursday from 7:30 to 8:15 AM starting the week of September 21 unless the audition process takes longer than expected to complete.

Location:

• We will audition and Meet in the Choir room. Our performances will be at various locations TBD

Dress Code:

• Honors choir students will all wear the Black Chiddix Music Polos and Black pants, socks shoes, to full concerts. They will also be allowed to wear jeans to less formal performances. 

Cost/Payment:

• Nothing to be in the group. However, some trips/performances we take may cost some amount of money to be determined. 

Additional Information:

• Google classroom links will be sent out to the students accepted. 

Description:

• In Early November, the U of I Men's Glee Club puts on an awesome choir concert. Since this concert features male singers, all of the Jr. Highs in Unit 5 invite all of their dudes to join in a field trip down to Champaign to see an example of how amazing a top notch all-male choir can sound. (We also all go to eat pizza at Papa Del's pizza too because Papa Del's is awesome!)

Who:

• All dude singers from Unit 5 Jr Highs are invited. 6th, 7th, 8th grades. This is an optional field trip but it is a ton of fun.  

• Parents are welcome to attend also - Chaperone cost is the same as student cost. 

When:

• Saturday Nov 7th, 2026 Time TBD

Location:

• Meet and board bus at Kingsley Jr High, drive to Champaign, go to the Choir Concert, then leave and eat at Papa Del's, then head back to Kingsley. Itinerary TBD.

Dress Code:

• Anything you might wear to school, imaginary bonus points for something slightly formal. 

Cost/Payment:

• TBD, Usually in the neighborhood of $30-$40

Additional Information:

Description:

• This is a Unit 5 fundraiser concert. Each Jr. High and High School send some of their music ensembles to perform a few pieces each. There will be food available for purchase. If I remember correctly, we send home little vouchers for pie that are redemed at the fundraiser concert. CJHS only sends the 7th and 8th grade choirs, each of which sing about 2 pieces on stage. Feel free to arrive before and stay after your child's performance to support other ensembles and enjoy the available food!

Who:

• All 7th and 8th grade Choir students

When:

• Nov. 10, 2025 - Performance and Call times TBD

Location:

• Normal Community High School Auditorium

Dress Code:

• Black Music Polos, Black dress pants, black socks, black shoes

Cost/Payment:

• Food vouchers available in advance, Price and food items TBD. No Ticket cost, free to attend. 

Additional Information:

-

Description: 

-Every year, the Illinois Music Educator's Association organizes an giant choir. Students will learn several pieces of music (mostly on their own but with some help from Mellen). Students and Mellen will record and submit an audition video to the ILMEA Judges. If selected, students will attend the ILMEA District Honor Choir Festival where they will sing the pieces they have learned with all of the other accepted students from ILMEA District 3 (Central Illinois). 

Students who are selected for the District Choir may also be selected for the All-State Choir. (there will not be a second audition video, the judges will just use the same audition video as they used for the District Choir) The All-State Choir is very prestigious. As such, only very few students accepted into the District Choir will be selected for the All-State Choir. Students selected for the All-State Choir will meet again, later in the year, at the Illinois Music Educator's Conference and perform with the top Middle School singers in the state. 

Students are not required to audition for any of this. If they wish to audition, Mellen will discuss it with them in class and will send home information, including what pieces to learn and when and how the audition videos will be recorded. (Auditioning students sign up for a time slot to audition with Mellen After School before the Audition Deadline closes. Mellen records Audition and uploads it properly.)

Who:

• Any 7th and 8th Grade Students who wish to learn several pieces mostly on their own. These are pretty tough pieces, too. This is a high level choir. 

When:

Students begin learning their music in about the Second Full week of school. I will discuss ILMEA with all 7th and 8th grade classes the first week of September. Interested Students will be provided with the relevant Information and will join the google Classroom I will make for the occasion. Our district starts particularly late in the year so we are a little behind, so we will have to hurry a little early in the school year. 

Below are pasted the dates provided on the ILMEA Website:

• District 3

• General Information

• District Leadership

2026-2027 District 3 Dates

Click here for a printable poster of important audition and selection dates!

Wednesday, September 9 - Audition excerpt information released by 12:00pm (Junior and Senior, All Audition Areas)

Wednesday, September 16 - Audition nomination deadline - all student audition nominations must be entered on nominate.ilmea.org by 5:00pm

Wednesday, September 16 - Audition window open for audition video link submissions on nominate.ilmea.org

Wednesday, September 30 - Audition window closes for audition submissions at 5:00pm.

Saturday, November 7 - Junior/Senior Jazz Festival (Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais)

Saturday, November 14 - Junior/Senior Band, Chorus & Orchestra Festival (Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais)

Wednesday, January 27- January 30, 2027 - Illinois Music Education Conference (Peoria, Illinois)

Students who are accepted into the ILMEA District Choir have until December 5th to decide whether they wish to be placed in the running for the All State Choir. If you make District, you do not have to do All-State if you are busy or do not wish to. 

Friday, December 5 - Elementary All-State Chorus Nomination Deadline

Wednesday, January 28 - January 31, 2026 - Illinois Music Education Conference (Peoria, Illinois)

Location:

• ILMEA District 3 Choir Festival Nov 15, Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL

• ILMEA All-State Choir Festival Jan 28-31 at the Peoria Civic Center, Peoria IL 

Dress Code:

• Extremely Formal. These are the heights of organized music performance at this level. Students must wear full concert attire. Black shoes, Black socks, Black Dress pants or dress, Black Dress shirt or dress. I will get more specifics from ILMEA near to the performance. 

Cost/Payment:

• $10 per student for their audition - This pays for the Judges to watch and consider each audition video.

• If you are selected to the ILMEA District Choir, $35 Participation fee for the professional clinician, transportation, lunch at the school, etc. 

• If you are selected for the ILMEA All-State choir, $30 Participation fee for the professional clinician, transportation, lunch at the venue, etc. 

Additional Information:

Here are the Repertoire Pieces selected for this year. Feel free to listen to them. Students who decide to audition will be provided with copies of the sheet music and practice tracks (available on the Google Classroom) to practice with to prepare for their audition video.

2025-2026 Repertoire

TBD

If you will be auditioning, fill out this google form before Sept 15th and submit $10 audition fee before recording your audition. 

TO BE  ATTACHED LATER

• https://ilmea.org/d3info

• https://ilmea.org/3auditions

• Chorus Specific Auditions - https://ilmea.org/d3chorusauditions

Description: 

• This will be the first Full Chiddix Choir Concert of the year. All 6th, 7th, and 8th, grade Choir students will be required to attend as part of their Choir grade. This concert will be similar to the Spring Choir Concert that will take place in May.

Who:

• All 6th, 7th, and 8th, grade Choir students will be required to attend.

When:

• Friday, Dec 12th, concert begins at 7:00

• Call time 5:00 (HonCho)

• Call time 5:15 (7th and 8th grade)

• Call time 6:00 6th grade on the stage)

Location:

• Normal Community High School Auditorium

Dress Code:

• 7th and 8th grade students will wear their clack dress pants/dress, shoes and socks and black Chiddix Music Polo, 6th grade students will wear the nicest clothes they already own. Imaginary bonus points for black/dark clothes

Cost/Payment:

• No cost for students, no cost for attendees. 

Additional Information:

• Our CJHS Winter Choir Concert is coming up in a few weeks and this email should contain all the information you will need! However, if there is anything I forget, let me know and I will send out follow ups. 

• 
  

• When:

• 
  

• Winter Choir Concert is on December 12th at 7:00 PM and will last for about one hour. Doors open to the audience at 6:50.

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• Call Time for Singers: (this is different from last year)

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• Honors Choir call time is 5:00 PM

• 7th and 8th grade call time is 5:15 PM

• 6th grade call time is 6:00 PM on the stage. 

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• Doors open to the audience at 6:50.

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• Where:

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• Normal Community High School Auditorium. There is no entree fee to this concert!

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• Who:

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• Every CJHS Choir student in every grade. This is a mandatory concert. :)

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• Dress Code:

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• 7th and 8th graders must wear the Chiddix Music Polo, black dress pants, black shoes, black socks. Please no heels. We will be navigating risers and standing for significant periods of time. Heels are a tripping hazard and are uncomfortable. If the only formal shoes y'all own are heels though, please don't get new shoes. If they are all you have, they will be fine. My preference is no heels though!

• 
  

• 6th graders may wear any formal attire. Bonus points for black/concert clothes! My rule of thumb for 6th graders is "wear the nicest clothes you already own." don't worry about going out and buying a whole formal outfit that your kiddo is just going to grow out of in a few months. Just wear the nicest/darkest clothes you already have and it will be fine. 

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• Note on Snacks:

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• Last year, It was brought to my attention that students who ride a bus are often not home until nearly 4:30 which makes it difficult to get dressed in concert attire, grab a snack, and get to the NCHS by 5:00. So this year, 6th grade call time will be 6:00 PM which will hopefully give them enough time to get a little food before they have to arrive at NCHS. 

• 
  

• As for HonCho, 7th grade, and 8th grade. The plan is for them to arrive at 5:00 PM (HonCho) or 5:15 PM (7th and 8th grade) to rehearse, then, once they are done rehearsing on stage, they will have time to walk out of the auditorium, eat a snack (chips or pop tart or something) while I work with the 6th graders who have arrived at 6:00. Then the 7th and 8th grade will re enter the auditorium to find their seats for the concert. 

• 
  

• (It is important for the 7th and 8th graders to remain in order while they leave the auditorium so here is a Sign up Genius for adult help during the concert. If you agree to help out, we can reserve some seats for you and your family in the auditorium). 

• 
  

• However! Since the 6th grade will arrive later in the evening, by the time they are done rehearsing on stage, the doors will open and the concert will start, meaning that they will not have down time after they rehearse to get a snack. Again, 6th grade will not have time to get a snack after they rehearse. This is the best compromise I could come up with. I recommend all 6th graders get something to eat before they arrive at NCHS at 6:00 PM.

• 
  

• If you are a 7th or 8th grade parent who is willing and able to donate some snacks for the 7th and 8th grade kiddos after they are done rehearsing on stage, you can send them into school with your student whenever or you can drop them off at the front office and tell them it is for Mellen. Please feel no obligation to donate snacks. I will buy some no matter what, but if you wish to help out, I would appreciate it greatly! :)

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• General reminder that the students performing in the concert will need to stay for the entirety of the concert as they are being assessed not only on their performance, but on the audience etiquette as well.

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Description:

• Unit Choir is a yearly festival where every 7th and 8th grade choir student in the district learns the same pieces of music and perform in one giant concert with the high school at one of the high schools. Students leave school in the middle of the day to meet at the high school and to rehearse with all other singers. Student will be provided with Jimmy Johns meals as well between rehearsal times at the high school. 

Who:

• all 7th and 8th grade choir students in Unit 5!

When:

• March 16, 2026

Location:

• Normal Community High School Gym

Dress Code:

• Standard Concert attire - Black shoes, socks, pants/dress, Black "Chiddix Music" Polo

Cost/Payment:

• TBD - Somewhere in the range of $15

Additional Information:

-

Description:

• Students who are nominated and accepted will learn several pieces, mostly on their own and will meet together as a large group on the day of the concert and perform those pieces together. This year, because of scheduling conflicts, Students can either attend Intercity or the Women's Glee Fieldtrip. Not both. Mr. Mellen and Ms. Jennings the Parkside Choir Director will attend Intercity and Ms. Beer and Mrs. Winchester, the choir directors from Evans and Kingsley will Chaperone the Women's Glee Fieldtrip along with many parent chaperones. 

Who: 

• Students who are Nominated by Mellen and approved by the Intercity festival runners. 

When:

• April 11th Roughly 8:00 to Roughly 3:45  TBD

Location:

• Bloomington Jr High School

Dress Code:

• Black pants dress pants, shoes, and socks. You will receive a Festival choir T-Shirt on the day.

Cost/Payment:

• TBD

Additional Information:

TBD

Description: 

• Every year, in early April, the U of I Women's glee club gets together and for an awesome choir concert. Since this concert features female singers, all of the Jr. Highs in Unit 5 invite all of their lady singers to join in a field trip down to Champaign to see an example of how amazing a top notch all-female choir can sound.  (We also all go to eat pizza at Papa Del's pizza too because Papa Del's is awesome!) This year, because of scheduling conflicts, Students can either attend Intercity or the Women's Glee Fieldtrip. Not both. Mr. Mellen and Ms. Jennings the Parkside Choir Director will attend Intercity and Ms. Beer and Mrs. Winchester, the choir directors from Evans and Kingsley will Chaperone the Women's Glee Fieldtrip along with many parent chaperones. 

Who:

Any lady students who sign up to attend. This is an optional field trip but it is a ton of fun.

When: 

TBD - usually a Saturday in Early April

Location:

Busses Depart from KJHS, head to Papa Del's for lunch, then go to U of I for the concert, then head back to Kingsley. Specific Itinerary TBD.

Dress Code: 

What you would wear to school. Imigenary bonus points for something slightly formal.

Cost/Payment:

TBD - Somewhere in the neighborhood of $30

Additional Information:

Description: 

• This will be The Final Full Chiddix Choir Concert of the year. All 6th, 7th, and 8th, grade Choir students will be required to attend as part of their Choir grade. This concert will be similar to the Winter Choir Concert that took place in December.

Who:

• All 6th, 7th, and 8th, grade Choir students will be required to attend.

When:

• Tuesday April 29th. Dress Rehearsal begins at 5:00PM. The concert will take place at 7:00PM

Location:

• Normal Community High School Auditorium

Dress Code:

• 7th and 8th grade students will wear their clack dress pants/dress, shoes and socks and black Chiddix Music Polo, 6th grade students will wear black dress pants, black shoes and socks, and a black top

Cost/Payment:

• No cost for students, no cost for attendees. 

Additional Information:

-

Description:

• Honors choir takes a field trip to the local feeder Elementary schools to sing (show off how awesome choir is) and advertise the choir program at Chiddix. We stop and eat at Pizza Ranch too!

Who:

• All Students in honor Choir

When:

• Student leave on a bus from Chiddix Early in the school day and return in the afternoon.

Location:

• Depart from Chiddix. Stop at Coleen Hoose, Grove, 

Dress Code:

-

Cost/Payment:

-

Additional Information:

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