Schools

Some Jazz with Your Orange Juice? Early Morning Practice Pays Off for Hille Jazz Band

The kids in Hille Jazz Band are the first in the door two days a week—they get one hour to practice, starting at 7:15 a.m. And it's working. The group was recently chosen to perform at a statewide music conference.

Some are still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes as they tote their instruments through the doors of . The members of the school's jazz band have an hour to practice together each week, broken down into two, half-hour, before-school sessions kicking off at 7:15 a.m.

That's dedication.

The band members, led by , are making beautiful music together, winning awards and forming friendships. Most recently, they were selected to perform at the Illinois Music Education Conference on Jan. 26 in Peoria. The band is one of three middle school groups chosen from across the state, Nendza said.

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Patch popped into an early morning practice to catch up with Nendza and the band members.

Find out what's happening in Oak Forestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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