News

PRESENTING OUR 2023 MARCHING BAND PRODUCTION:

“6 Minutes to Impact” featuring Original Music by Randall Standridge and Jason Nitsch

A global cataclysmic event is on the horizon - and approaching fast. Watch and listen as the Du Quoin High School Marching Band will convey the feelings of terror, panic, sadness, and maybe the slightest glimmer of hope that this disaster can be avoided. Based on the composition “Shockwave” by Jason Nitsch.

PREP WEEK: July 24-July 28

BAND CAMP: July 31-Aug 4

Home vs Herrin: Sep 8

*Murphysboro Drums at Appletime: September 16

Home vs Pinckneyville: Sep 22

Home vs Nashville: Oct 13

Home vs Murphysboro: Oct 20

*Pinckneyville Mardi Gras: Oct 28

*Competition or Comments-Only Performance to be decided later.

Congratulations to the members of the Du Quoin High School Color Guard, under direction from new hire Maddie Lilley.

Tavia Butler-Williams

Breanna Davison-Fulk

Mattie Fred (Captain)

Ahgna Gosnell

Camryn Grant

Cami Harris

Kennedi Harris

Raeven Jones

Dani Marks

Emilee Peterson

Elly Ralston

Erin Scronce

Caleb Snyder

Nikkie Wininger

Congratulations, Du Quoin Wind Ensemble, for scoring a DIVISION I (SUPERIOR) rating at IHSA Organizational Contest in Murphysboro on April 14th! I'm so proud of these kids for earning one of the highest achievements a band program can receive in a school year, and the first for Du Quoin High School since 2005! An official plaque marking their achievement will be coming soon.

The course is set! 

The Du Quoin High School Wind Ensemble will perform before the judges at IHSA Organizational on Friday, April 14th at 4:30pm. 

The Festival is being held at Murphysboro High School; 50 Blackwood Dr. Murphsyboro, IL 62966

Hope to see you there supporting our students - Go Indians!

Congratulations to all of our performers at Solo & Ensemble!

Sam Vancil, Snare Drum Solo - Division I

Sam Vancil, Marimba Solo - Division I

Woodwind Choir - Division I

Mackenzie and Anna, Flute Duet - Division I

Mackenzie Jones, Flute Solo - Division I

Carley Somers, Saxophone Solo - Division I

Hunter, Evette, and Justice, Trumpet Trio - Division I

Percussion Ensemble - Division I

Jayden, Cooper, and Steven, Trombone Trio - Division II

Carley and Dayton, Saxophone Duet - Division II

Grace and Jolee, Clarinet Duet - Division I

Please congratulate the 2023 All-Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Honors Band participants from Du Quoin High School!

Mackenzie Jones, Flute

Anna Sheehan, Flute

Grace Cook, Clarinet

Jolee Bailey, Clarinet

Carley Somers, Alto Saxophone (1st Chair!!!)

Hunter Ping, Trumpet

Justice Davis, Trumpet

Cooper Iman, Trombone

Jayden Fred, Tuba

Samuel Vancil, Percussion

I'm filled iwth pride for these students of mine, and I'm so happy that we have the gift to enjoy the love of music together with other schools. best performers from across the region. Thank you to Amber Nichols at Pinckneyville High School for organizing the festival this year; the SIU School of Music, Dr. George Brozak, and Dr. Dick Kelley for hosting us; SIU Housing for providing dinner for our students at Trueblood Hall, and family and friends of your All-Conference Band who were there supporting them.

We have some great events coming up on our Calendar , including:

Various Dates Jan-Feb: Du Quoin Basketball Pep Band

February 27th: Southern Illinois River-to-River All-Conference Honors Band (selected students only)

March 4th : IHSA Solo and Ensemble Festival, CCHS, Carbondale

April 14th or 15th (TBA): IHSA Organizational Festival, MHS, Murphysboro

1st or 2nd week of May (TBA): Spring Bands Finale Concert and Awards

May 19th: DHS Graduation

Mark your calendars and send in Absence Requests to Mr. Shaffer!

Our Calendar is now updated to include Monday Night Rehearsals and Football games for the 2022 Marching Band Season.

Potential performances not yet confirmed include Murphysboro Apple Festival, Halloween Parade, Veteran's Day Parade, and Christmas Parade. We are unable to perform at the Du Quoin State Fair this year due to a home football game on August 26th.

August 26th vs Chester

September 2nd vs Harrisburg

September 16th vs Carterville

September 30th vs Mater Dei (Breese) - Homecoming

October 7th vs Anna-Jonesboro - Senior Night

Make a plan to see our 2022 Marching Band Show Blackout! at one of the listed football games!

Du Quoin had an UNIMAGINABLY great audition and performance at the SIRR All-Conference Honor Band Festival in Murphysboro. Each of our All-Conference members placed in the top half of their sections, and 3 of them did so as Underclassmen!

Congratulations to our 2022 Southern Illinois River to River All-Conference selections:

Grace Cook - 3rd Chair Clarinet (out of 18)

Jolee Bailey - 9th Chair Clarinet

Hunter Ping - 4th Chair Trumpet (out of 17)

Zach Jones - 6th Chair Trumpet (and Soloist!)

Paul Dunklin - 1st Chair Trombone (out of 10)

Cooper Iman - 4th Chair Trombone

I have such immense pride in my program when I see results like this, and hear the culmination of a seven-hour rehearsal day at the final Concert. The message is simple: Du Quoin Bands do better, and more students should take the opportunity to discover a talent they didn’t know they had by joining Band!!

Today is a great day for Du Quoin Bands! Last night, the Du Quoin CUSD 300 Board of Education confirmed the hiring of a Middle School Band Director, Mr. James "Ike" Minton.

About Mr. Minton

Mr. Minton is a pianist and oboist originally from Du Quoin, Illinois, and attended John A. Logan Community College to earn an Associate's Degree in Science. After a brief career in technology, Mr. Minton decided to pursue his true passion, music, enrolling at Southern Illinois University for a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Theory and Composition. He continued studying music theory/comp and moved to Honolulu, HI, to enroll in Graduate study at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, earning a Master of Music. He then decided to pursue the highest degree possible for musicians, a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of California at Santa Cruz. His degree is still in progress. At UCSC, Mr. Minton created and presented a collegiate course in Hip-Hop music, in which 400 students enrolled over 5 semesters. He also assisted in the direction of UCSC's orchestras and bands. He moved back to Du Quoin to help care for older family, and will now transition into becoming Du Quoin Middle School's band director.

What happens now?

Mr. Minton will begin something like a "student-teaching" experience on Monday, as his instructional experience right now is limited to college students only. Mr. Shaffer will still be the acting Middle School Band Director until the end of the 2021-22 school year. What I'm envisioning is that Mr. Minton will be in band class with me and music classes with Mrs. Jones all day, just observing on some days, teaching on other days, until him and I both feel comfortable switching roles so he mostly teaches and I mostly observe. This will probably be a few months from now, however.

What happens at the end of the year?

The 2022-23 school year will be "back to normal" for our District music programs, with Mr. Shaffer at the High School (plus 5th Grade Band), Mr. Minton at the Middle School, and Mrs. Jones at the Elementary School, as she was also just hired to take over K-4 General Music for the retiring Mrs. Aletha Jackson (Congratulations, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Jackson!!) I will still be assisting at the Middle School in any way I can, just as I did for our last director, and still be teaching our beginning 5th grade band students. I'll still be around for Band camp, extra rehearsals, performances, and more.

Having 3 capable, passionate, and dedicated music teachers in our district is going to be great for the development and building of the music program, which has been my goal since I moved to our city. All three of us have expressed interest in staying in Du Quoin for a long time, and all three of us have unique goals for our careers like adding a choir, a jazz band, a competitive marching band, and more. I want to reiterate how important having a great music program can be, as we add so much to the experience of going to school here; just look at the atmosphere from last night's basketball game! Our program will become even greater with this new hire, so I hope this will help you and your students deepen your commitment to Band and music in Du Quoin and stick with it. Our trajectory is only going up from here.

If you have any questions about Mr. Minton or this transition, I am always available for you to ask!

Mr. Luke Shaffer

Director of Bands, Du Quoin CUSD 300

Percussion, Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra

Congratulations to senior trombone Paul Dunklin on his selection and performance in the 2021 ILMEA All-District VI Senior Band! This was a private virtual audition process between hundreds of applicants across southern Illinois, and Paul earned a spot in the ensemble that performed at the ILMEA Festival in Belleville on Saturday, November 20. Only two other students from the SI River-to-River Conference were invited, cementing Paul as one of our Conference's brightest musicians. Very proud of you, Paul!!

Paul joins the list of students from Du Quoin of years past to be invited to this elite group. See the others by clicking here. 

The Indians are IN!

Du Quoin has been selected as the #10 seed in the 3A IHSA Football Playoff Bracket. The Indians' first game in the Playoffs is at the #7 Carlinville Cavaliers on Saturday, October 30th at 2:00pm.

The Du Quoin High School Marching Band WILL be attending the game in Carlinville to perform our Pregame show and throughout the game. Come to Carlinville to cheer on our boys! Go Big Red!

Congratulations, Du Quoin High School Marching Band, on a fantastic State Fair performance. We hope the community was impressed! Our Band's focus is now shifting toward our 2021 Indians Football season, where we will perform our 2021 Marching Band program, SOUR, on the field at halftime. 

Come see the Band and watch the game on the dates listed below! All Kickoff times are 7:00pm, which means the Band's pregame show will start around 6:50pm.

September 10 vs Herrin Tigers

September 24 vs Pinckneyville Panthers

October 15 vs Nashville Hornets

October 22 vs Murphysboro Red Devils (Senior Night)

All Call Times for Band members is 5:30pm

We have three performances planned for the month of August.

The first is an appearance at the City of Du Quoin's "Back-to-School" night at Keys Park in Du Quoin on Friday, August 13. Call time at the High School is 5:00 to board a bus and be transported to the park. We will return on the bus after our performance. Dress is Du Quoin Spirit Apparel.

Next, we have the Gatorade Game on August 20 at Du Quoin High School. Call time is 5:30pm to get ready for our performance. Dress is Du Quoin Spirit Apparel.

The third is at the Du Quoin State Fair Twilight Parade. More information on this will come once the State Fair decides a parade order for us to plan around. Dress will be Performance Tees and athletic shorts for uniforms.

Well, it's July, which means Marching Band starts this month!

Du Quoin's High School Band Camp will be two weeks long (weekdays only) starting on July 26th, and ending August 6th. Please pay close attention to which days your student is required to attend!

Monday, July 26 - Section Leaders Only, 1pm-4pm

Tuesday, July 27 - Section Leaders Only, 1pm-4pm

Wednesday, July 28 - Percussion Only, 1pm-4pm

Thursday, July 29 - 9th Grade and Section Leaders Only, 1pm-4pm

Friday, July 30 - Grades 10-12 Only, 1pm-4pm

Monday, August 2 - Band Camp (ALL MEMBERS) 8am - 4pm

Tuesday, August 3 - Band Camp (ALL MEMBERS) 8am - 4pm

Wednesday, August 4 - Band Camp (ALL MEMBERS) 8am - 4pm

Thursday, August 5 - Band Camp (ALL MEMBERS) 8am - 4pm

Friday, August 6 - Band Camp (ALL MEMBERS) 8am - 4pm

For all days, students will be responsible for bringing their instrument and music, as well as sun protection, water, and activity-appropriate attire.

For Band Camp days, an Off-Campus Lunch will be allowed from 11:30-12:30. BUT- the first time ANY students show up late will be the last time Off-Campus will be allowed.

If any Family has questions or concerns, please email me. I'll be as clear with you as I can.

Du Quoin High School Marching Band is proud to present their 2021 Program:

SOUR

Featuring the music of Olivia Rodrigo

Musical Selections include: "deja vu" and "good 4 u" from the 2021 album "SOUR"

Congratulations to our 2021 Du Quoin High School Marching Band Section Leaders!

Drum Major - Carley Somers

Woodwinds - Mya Cross, Mackenzie Jones, Grace Cook

Brass/Percussion - Paul Dunklin, Samuel Vancil

Du Quoin Bands has done it again!

Through a virtual process of recording video auditions to submit to state judges, THREE students from Du Quoin High School have been selected to the Illinois Music Education Association All-District VI Senior Band, adding them to the list of the best high school musicians in Southern Illinois. District VI encompasses all high schools in the Illinois counties south of I-64, as well as the Metro East region of St. Louis. Some stiff competition exists in this region, but our school has been represented yet again!

Congratulations to:

Garrett Juhl - Tenor Saxophone

Carley Somers - Baritone Saxophone

Guy Indorante - Trombone

A wonderful achievement for seniors Juhl and Indorante to be named to the roster in their final year, and an equally exciting achievement for Carley Somers, making the cut as a Freshman!