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NIMCon News

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April 2025 Newsletter
Thank You!
The board of directors would like to thank all of the members of NIMCon for your active participation this year and for continuing to help make NIMCon the best organization it can be! We are ten years strong and growing stronger!
Thank you to all of the contest hosts –Lake Zurich MS North, Woodland MS, Edgewood MS, and Northwood MS – for enabling us to have a successful contest season. Your hard work is appreciated! Please email your feedback for this year’s events to: [email protected].


2026 Events Scheduled
• Solo & Ensemble Contest – February 21 @ South MS
• Music Festival – March 6/7 @ Hawthorn MS North
• Art Hildebrand Invitational – March 11/12 @TBA

Spring Board Meeting
The Board of Directors is meeting on Thursday, May 1st. We will be discussing ideas for next year and reviewing your feedback from this year’s events. If you have any other comments that you would like us to discuss at our meeting, please let us know by Tuesday,  April 29th ([email protected]). These ideas will help generate an agenda for the general Membership meeting in September.



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February 2025 Newsletter

Solo & Ensemble Contest
Solo & Ensemble Contest is on February 22 at Lake Zurich MS North. Thank you to Chris Monzel, Elisabeth Meyer, Ry Muehling and Jessica Rosales for hosting. You should have received the schedule already. If you have not, please contact Jessica Rosales: [email protected]. We are looking forward to a successful event!
Below are a handful of reminders about the big day.
  1. For specific rubrics, see Solo & Ensemble Contest Rubrics.
  2. Remember to Practice Your Scales / Rudiments!
The rubric for soloists includes a score of 1-4 points for the student’s performance of a scale. As a friendly reminder, be sure you are preparing students to perform a scale that makes sense for their piece. Here are the details for each instrument type:
Winds & Strings will play a scale in the key of the solo being played. The scale should be up and down and at least one octave. Tempo and note length are at the soloist’s discretion. Beginning students may play the scale in split octaves, that is, a beginning clarinet player may play CDEFGA (drop the octave) BCB (back up the octave AGFEDC. Similar accommodations may be made for other instruments.
Percussionists (mallet players) will play a scale, the same as above in Winds & Strings.
Percussionists (snare drum) will play snare drum rudiments. Students should prepare all designated rudiments based on their years of experience.
Percussionists (drum set) will play drum set patterns. Students should prepare all designated patterns based on their years of experience.
Instrumental Ensembles & Vocal Solos and Ensembles do not need to play / sing scales.


  1. The performance time includes a clinic: Please, prepare your students so they expect a short clinic where the judge may ask them to play various sections again as well as try different things.
  2. As always, you can view the Contest Rules & Procedures at any time. This is a password secured area of our website. PLEASE do not share the password with anyone: NimconPassPro!


Music Festival
This year’s Music Festival for concert band, orchestra and choir takes place on March 7th and 8th at Woodland Middle School. WMS staff look forward to hosting you for the 10th Festival!
You should have already received the schedule for Music Festival. If you have not, please contact Elise Matusek at [email protected].
Thank you to our hosts at Woodland MS- Elise Matusek, Carolyn Awe and Eileen Andrews. 



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October 2024 Newsletter



Membership Meeting Minutes

Thank you to everyone who attended the Membership meeting on September 16th. Click to read the meeting minutes 

If you haven’t done so, please take a moment to update your membership information, even if nothing has changed. This will help us to efficiently keep track of our membership. School district membership fees were due September 15th. We will accept late payments. The invoice and member registration can be found here:
Membership Invoice
Membership Registration


Event Registration

It’s time to register for all events! 

Once you have registered, be sure to keep a list for yourself so you have a copy. Registration information and forms can be found under Solo and Ensemble Registration, Festival Registration, and AHMI. Print out the Participation invoice and send it with your check (or copy of your check request) to [email protected]. Checks should be mailed to Jessica Rosales, NIMCon Treasurer.

Please be considerate of the Dec. 1st deadline and set an earlier deadline for your students to sign up with you for Solo and Ensemble Contest. We will not accept late entries. 

Please be sure to read the Rules and Bylaws carefully to see what has been updated and feel free to email us with questions. New rules to note: Solo and Ensemble Contest rule #12 regarding electronic accompaniments and #15 regarding accompanists.

Art Hildebrand Music Invitational

This year’s Invitational will take place at Edgewood Middle School during the school day on March 12 and 13. The cost is $100 per group and includes a clinic and comments by a respected director/judge. More information can be found here. Please fill out the Participation Invoice to register. 

Updated host rotation

Please check out the updated Host Rotation schedule to see when your school is scheduled next to host either Solo and Ensemble Contest or Music Festival.

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August 2024 Newsletter
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​Join Now!
The NIMCon board of directors is excited to announce that we are beginning the tenth year of NIMCon! Membership applications are currently being accepted for the 2024-2025 school year. Click here to join and become an active member. Dues are $125 PER SCHOOL DISTRICT. Dues checks should be mailed to Jessica Rosales, NIMCon Treasurer, by September 15th. It is important that EVERY director in your school district register each year if they plan to participate. Please fill out the membership form. We are excited to hear from you!
 
Membership Meeting
The annual membership meeting will take place on Monday, September 16th at Lake Zurich MS North in Hawthorn Woods. Lou Malnati’s pizza dinner will be served at 6:15 PM. Dinner includes, salad, pizza (cheese, spinach, pepperoni, sausage), beverage and dessert.  Gluten-free pizza will be available. The meeting will start at 7:00 PM. Please RSVP for dinner and/or the meeting.  Agenda items will include contest information, budget, by-law updates, and election of Board of Directors.
The slate for the Board of Directors includes: Ellen Singer-President, Elise Matusek-Vice President, Margaret Delligatti-Secretary, Jessica Rosales- Treasurer, Carolyn Awe- Webmaster, Jim Garbrecht-Co-Judge Hirer, Chris Monzel- Co-Judge Hirer. As always, nominations from the floor will be accepted at the meeting for all board positions.
 
General Information
Solo and Ensemble Contest will be held on Feb. 22, 2025 at West Oak MS and Festival will be held on March 7-8, 2025 at Woodland MS. The Art Hildebrand Music Invitational (AHMI) will be held on March 12-13. We currently have one host and are looking to expand to a second site. Please let us know if you are interested in hosting for either one or two days in March 2025 and/or March 2026 (dates TBD).

Groups may attend Festival for ratings or for Comments Only. The CO option is a good choice for groups new to NIMCon or less experienced groups and all groups receive a clinic.
 
Please check the website (www.nimcon.org) for event information as well as the Rules and Procedures for all events and rubrics. We are looking forward to a successful year! If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected]
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April 2024 Newsletter

Thank You!

The board of directors would like to thank all of the members of NIMCon for your active participation this year and for continuing to help make NIMCon the best organization it can be!
Thank you to all of the contest hosts – Hawthorn MS North, Lake Zurich MS North, and Matthews MS – for enabling us to have a successful contest season. Your hard work is appreciated! Please email your feedback for this year’s events to: [email protected].
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2025 Events Scheduled
  • Solo & Ensemble Contest – February 22, 2025 @ West Oak MS
  • Music Festival – March 7/8, 2025 @ Woodland MS
  • Hildebrand Invitational – March 12/13, 2025 @TBA


Spring Board Meeting

The Board of Directors is meeting on Monday, June 10th. We will be discussing ideas for next year and reviewing your feedback from this year’s events. If you have any other comments that you would like us to discuss at our meeting, please let us know by Friday, May 30th ([email protected]). These ideas will help generate an agenda for the general Membership meeting in September.

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October 2023 Newsletter​

Membership Meeting

Thank you to everyone who attended the Membership meeting on Sept 18th.  

If you haven’t done so, please take a moment to update your membership information, even if nothing has changed. This will help us to efficiently keep track of our membership. School district membership fees were due September 15th. We will accept late payments. Here are the invoice and member registration forms.
 
Event Registration

It’s time to register for all events! Please be sure to read the Rules and Bylaws carefully and feel free to email us with questions. Please note that all fees have been updated after the Membership meeting.
 
Once you have registered, be sure to keep a list for yourself so you have a copy. Registration information and forms can be found under Solo and Ensemble Contest, Festival, and AHMI. Print out the Participation Invoice and send it with your check (or copy of your check request) to [email protected]. Checks should be mailed to Jessica Rosales, NIMCon Treasurer.
 
Please be considerate of the Dec. 1st deadline and set an earlier deadline for your students to sign up with you for Solo and Ensemble Contest. We will not accept late entries.
 
Art Hildebrand Music Invitational

This year’s Invitational will take place at Lake Zurich Middle School South during the school day on March 13 and 14. The cost is $100 per group and includes a clinic and comments by a respected director/judge. More information can be found here

Updated host rotation

Please check out the updated Host Rotation schedule to see when your school is scheduled next to host either Solo and Ensemble Contest or Music Festival 
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August/September 2023
​Newsletter


​Join Now!

Membership applications are currently being accepted for the 2023-2024 school year. It is important that EVERY director in your school district register each year if they plan to participate. Click here to join and become an active member. Dues are now $125 PER SCHOOL DISTRICT. Dues checks along with the membership invoice should be mailed to Jessica Rosales, NIMCon Treasurer, by September 15th. We are excited to hear from you!
 
Membership Meeting
The annual membership meeting will take place on Monday, September 18 at Lake Zurich MS North in Hawthorn Woods. Lou Malnati’s pizza dinner will be served at 6:15 PM. Dinner includes, salad, pizza (cheese, spinach, pepperoni, sausage), beverage and dessert. Gluten-free pizza will be available. The meeting will start at 7:00 PM. Please click here to RSVP for dinner and/or the meeting. Agenda items will include contest information, budget, by-law updates, and election of Board of Directors.

The slate for the Board of Directors includes: Ellen Singer-President, Elise Matusek-Vice President, Margaret Delligatti-Secretary, Jessica Rosales- Treasurer, Carolyn Awe- Webmaster, Jim Garbrecht-Judge Hirer, Steve Stenzel-Judge Hirer. As always, nominations from the floor will be accepted at the meeting for all board positions.
 
General Information
Solo and Ensemble Contest will be Feb. 24, 2024 and Festival will be held on March 8-9, 2024. AHMI will be held on March 13-14. Please check the website (www.nimcon.org) for event site information as well as the Rules and Bylaws for all events and rubrics.

​Speaking of the website, a BIG thank you to Carolyn Awe who has migrated our website to a new platform. Things will look a little bit different, but all the information you need is there. Hopefully, it will be easier to find the information you need.

We are looking forward to a successful year! If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected]
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May 2023
​Newsletter

Thank you! The board of directors would like to thank all of you for your participation this year and for continuing to help make NIMCon the best organization it can be! We are hopeful about what next school year will bring and welcome your thoughts and ideas. Feel free to reach out to us at any time! We look forward to starting our ninth year in August!

2024 Event Dates Solo and Ensemble Contest – February 24 @ Hawthorn MS North Music Festival – March 8/9 @ LZMS North MS and Matthews MS AHMI- March 13/14 @TBD

Fall Membership Meeting The fall membership meeting will be held on Monday, September 18th @ Lake Zurich MS North at 7:00 PM, with dinner at 6:15 PM. Please plan to attend.

Looking for new members We will be sending out information about NIMCon to other directors in the area who are not yet members. If you have names of specific directors you would like us to contact, please send us their names.

Nominations for 2023-2024 Board of Directors If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors for next school year or would like to nominate a colleague, please contact Ellen Singer, NIMCon President by May 31st.


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March 2023
​Newsletter


Thank You!
Thank you for a successful first year back in person! The board of directors would like to thank all of the members of NIMCon for your active participation this year and for continuing to help make NIMCon the best organization it can be! We look forward to starting our ninth year in August!
Thank you to all of the contest hosts – Northwood MS, Lake Zurich MS South, and Millburn MS – for enabling us to have a successful contest season. Your hard work is appreciated! Please email your feedback for this year’s events to: [email protected].

2024 Events Scheduled
  • Solo & Ensemble Contest – February 24, 2024 @ Hawthorn MS North
  • Music Festival – March 8/9, 2024 @ Lake Zurich MS North and TBA
  • Hildebrand Invitational – March 18/19, 2024 @TBA

Spring Board Meeting

The Board of Directors is meeting on Monday, April 17th. We will be discussing ideas for next year and reviewing your feedback from this year’s events. If you have any other comments that you would like us to discuss at our meeting, please let us know by Friday, April 14 ([email protected]). These ideas will help generate an agenda for the general Membership meeting in September.
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October 2022
​Newsletter


Membership Meeting Minutes

Thank you to everyone who attended the Membership meeting on Sept. 19th. We are thrilled with the active participation of our membership and appreciate you taking the time to attend and contribute your ideas for making this organization better every year. Click to read the meeting minutes.
​
If you haven’t done so, please take a moment to update your membership information, even if nothing has changed. This will help us to efficiently keep track of our membership. School district membership fees were due September 15th. We will accept late payments. The invoice and member registration can be found here.

Event Registration
It’s time to register for all events! Please be sure to read the Rules and Bylaws carefully and feel free to email us with questions. Please note that the Solo and Ensemble Contest fees have changed and a rule has been added for Vocal Ensembles (See rule #16).
Once you have registered, be sure to keep a list for yourself so you have a copy. Registration forms can be found here: Solo and Ensemble – Music Festival. Print out the Participation invoice and send it with your check (or copy of your check request) to [email protected]. Checks should be mailed to Jessica Rosales, NIMCon Treasurer.
Please be considerate of the Dec. 1st deadline and set an earlier deadline for your students to sign up with you for Solo and Ensemble Contest. We will not accept late entries.

Art Hildebrand Music Invitational
This year’s Invitational will take place at Lake Zurich Middle School North during the school day on March 14 and 15. The cost is $65 per group and includes a clinic and comments by a respected director/judge. More information can be found here.

Updated host rotation
Please check out the updated Host Rotation schedule to see when your school is scheduled next to host either Solo and Ensemble Contest or Music Festival.
​
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August 2022
Newsletter

Join Now!
Membership applications are currently being accepted for the 2022-2023 school year. Click here to join and become an active member. Dues are only $75 PER SCHOOL DISTRICT. Click here to print a membership invoice. Dues checks should be mailed to Jessica Rosales, NIMCon Interim-Treasurer, by September 15th. It is important that EVERY director in your school district register each year if they plan to participate. Please fill out the membership form. We are excited to hear from you!
Membership Meeting
The annual membership meeting will take place on Monday, September 19 at Lake Zurich MS North in Hawthorn Woods. Lou Malnati’s pizza dinner will be served at 6:15 PM. Dinner includes, salad, pizza (cheese, spinach, pepperoni, sausage), beverage and dessert.  Gluten-free pizza will be available. The meeting will start at 7:00 PM. Please click here to RSVP for dinner and/or the meeting.  Agenda items will include contest information, budget, by-law updates, and election of Board of Directors.
The slate for the Board of Directors includes: Ellen Singer-President, Elise Matusek-Vice President, Margaret Delligatti-Secretary, Jessica Rosales- Treasurer, Carolyn Awe- Webmaster, Jim Garbrecht-Judge Hirer, Steve Stenzel-Judge Hirer. As always, nominations from the floor will be accepted at the meeting for all board positions.
General Information
Solo and Ensemble Contest will be Feb. 25, 2023 and Festival will be held on March 10-11, 2023. AHMI dates TBD. Please check the website (www.nimcon.org) for event site information as well as the Rules and Procedures for all events and rubrics.
We are looking for volunteers to head up a grant writing committee as well as a coordinator for the AHMI. Please let us know if you are interested.
We are looking forward to getting back to in-person events and to a successful year! Please continue to send us your feedback!

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May 2022
Newsletter

Thank you!
The board of directors would like to thank all of you for your participation this year and for continuing to help make NIMCon the best organization it can be! We started the year not knowing what we could offer to our students, and with your help we implemented a successful virtual Solo and Ensemble Contest and Festival. We are hopeful about what next school year will bring and welcome your thoughts and ideas. Feel free to reach out to us at any time! We look forward to starting our eighth year in August!
2023 Event Dates
Solo and Ensemble Contest – February 25 @ Northwood JHS
Music Festival – March 10/11 @ LZMS South MS and Millburn MS
Jazz Festival –TBD
AHMI- TBD
Fall Membership Meeting
The fall membership meeting will be held on Monday, September 19th @ Lake Zurich MS North at 7:00 PM, with dinner at 6:15 PM. Please plan to attend.
Looking for new members
We will be sending out information about NIMCon to other directors in the area who are not yet members. If you have names of specific directors you would like us to contact, please send us their names.
Nominations for 2022-2023 Board of Directors
Sara Kumpula will be stepping down as Treasurer. If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors as Treasurer, or any other position for next school year or would like to nominate a colleague, please contact Ellen Singer, NIMCon President by May 31st.
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    • Solo & Ensemble
      • Solo and Ensemble Registration
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  • About Us
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    • Vendors
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