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Students say Schlageckfest brings middle- and high-school percussionists together
Summary
Students described Schlageckfest as an annual, all-day percussion festival that began as a Waubonsee Valley Percussion Ensemble winter performance opportunity and now includes clinics, concerts and joint performances for middle- and high-school students.
Student 1, a student performer, said Schlageckfest “is an annual percussion festival we have every year. It means the festival of hitting things, which is a perfect name for a festival that celebrates percussion, which, of course, are instruments that we shake or strike or rattle.”
The festival, students said, gathers middle- and high-school percussionists for clinics, rehearsals and a final concert that features everyone in at least one shared piece. “This festival is a special time where we got gather students from middle school through high school, and they get to see each other perform,” Student 2 said. “They get to explore in different percussion instruments, and we finally put together a big concert where everyone is involved at least in 1 piece altogether, and then we take turns sharing what we've been prepared.”
Student 1 described Schlageckfest’s origin: “We started actually as an opportunity for the Waubonsee Valley Percussion Ensemble to have a winter opportunity to perform some music. And we started inviting some of our middle school percussionists to come in and talk about percussion and get a chance to play with the high school students. And over time, it's grown into an all day festival with clinics and performances and concerts.”
Students said the event builds a sense of musical community across multiple schools. “I've seen the festival bring together our music community, especially our percussionists, and it helps students connect across the district because even though we are in multiple buildings, multiple schools, music brings us together as 1 community,” Student 2 said. The student added that the festival encourages collaboration rather than competition: “Instead of competing against each other, we're putting together a beautiful program.”
Several students described personal growth tied to the festival. Student 3 said she has attended since sixth grade and is now a senior: “I was in 6th grade. It's crazy because I'm a senior now, so I went, from going as in a year old. It's been really cool getting to come to Shaw Joy Fest every year as I've grown as both a person and as a musician.” Student 4 said that, as a freshman, the festival exposed her to many new instruments and configurations and that learning about those opportunities has been “the best thing about my percussion journey over the 7 years now that I've been a part of it.”
Concluding the remarks, Student 2 said, “I'm just really proud that we can get together, make music together. Everyone wins. No 1 sits down on the bench. We're all here as a group.” The speakers did not specify event dates, host institution for the current year's festival, or funding sources.
