1983 OTHS Music Department

Ottawa Township High School has long enjoyed a very distinguished and accomplished music program. Each year the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) hosts Music Sweepstakes State Championships in five separate classes based upon enrollment. OTHS has always competed in one of the two largest classes. The first State Championship for any team or organization at OTHS was accomplished by the 1983 Music Department with the collaboration and participation of the Band, Choir, and Orchestra. The 1983 group won the second largest class series, and in doing so defeated Macomb, at the time the school with the most music championships in IHSA Music Sweepstakes history. The 1983 Music Department was the first to reach the championship summit, and begin an extraordinary streak of future achievement. Including that original State Championship, OTHS has won 22 state titles in total, and 20 in succession. Teams accumulate a total score, based upon a number of individual and group entries. To date, in the history of the Music Sweepstakes, only five schools have ever exceeded the 1000 point barrier. Two schools have achieved it twice, two have achieved it once, and OTHS has achieved this benchmark nineteen times. The OTHS Music Department has recorded the top 5 scores and 12 of the top 13 scores, in any class, over the history of the event. The 1983 Music Department, with 178 students involved, began that accomplished tradition with its first ever State Championship. The directors for the 1983 group were: Ray Makeever, Band Director; Roger Amm, Choir Director; and Roger Rinaldi, Orchestra Director.