SIXTEEN UNI STUDENTS have been named all-district musicians by the Illinois Music Educators Association, 11 at the high school level and five at the junior district level.

The students auditioned for District III honors Monday at Bloomington High School, and the results were announced Wednesday. One of the students, senior Ethan Berl, was selected for both the district chorus and the district jazz band.

Uni's high school honorees are:

District III Band

• Katherine Floess, freshman, clarinet
• Karen Han, junior, oboe

District III Orchestra

• David Hjelmstad, freshman, violin II
• Claire Johnson, senior, violin I
• Linda Song, senior, violin II
• Lucy Zhang, senior, violin I
• Jennifer Roloff, senior, oboe

District III Chorus

• Ethan Berl, senior, tenor
• Daniel Borup, junior, bass
• Michelle Gao, senior, soprano I

District III Jazz Band

• Clement Dossin, junior, trumpet
• Ethan Berl, senior, piano

Five subfreshman students qualified to participate in the junior district level:

District III Band

• Tanja Denisova, flute
• Amalia Dolan, flute
• Hannah Johlas, tuba

District III Orchestra

• Annie Rong, violin I

District III Chorus

• Dax Earl, baritone

The musicians have not yet received their seating arrangements, according to Uni fine arts head Rick Murphy. The top singers and players from the high school district level will be recommended for all-state honors. The students who accept will audition at the state level to determine their all-state positions.

The district jazz festival, in which Berl and Dossin will perform, is scheduled for Nov. 3 at Normal Community High School. The district festival, featuring the other honored musicians (including Berl in the chorus), will take place at Illinois State University on Nov. 17.

The 2008 IMEA All-State Conference will be held from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 in Peoria. The conference will conclude with the IMEA all-state concert and the IMEA honors concert.

Last year 17 Uni students earned district honors, 14 at the high school level and three at the junior district level.

Six of the current honorees earned similar distinctions last year: Berl (chorus/tenor I and jazz ensemble/trumpet), Floess (junior district band/Bb clarinet), Gao (chorus/soprano I), Roloff (orchestra/oboe), Linda Song (chorus/alto II), and Zhang (orchestra/violin II).

So what was the auditioning process like on Monday?

“There are people running around with folders, singing scales, and trying to learn songs frantically,” said senior Michelle Gao of the atmosphere. “It’s a lot of fun.”