Youth Voice

The Intonation Music Youth Council

Are you looking for a fun, creative space to hone your leadership skills with other youth? Do you have planning and communication chops and want to include your voice in how Intonation shapes its youth music programs? Are you passionate about your community? Are you just awesome and curious about this youth-led opportunity? IMYC is the space for you!

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From IMYC Members

  • "I think that IMYC is a great program overall but especially when it comes to building community and learning about the next steps to take to ensure college readiness with workshops and field trips. We learn, joke around, and eat, but mostly we discuss how we can better ourselves and the future of the program. Throughout my time in IMYC I’ve learned how to apply for scholarships/grants, learned more about music theory, and made great friends with my peers."

    Sabrina G. (All-Stars)

  • “I love IMYC because it brings me closer to my band as a person. It brings me a lot of joy to learn new leadership and communication skills with my band and enjoy snacks with them. I also like IMYC because it allows me to take on leadership roles, such as being an ambassador.”

    Miles H. (All-Stars)

  • “The youth council helped us discuss music in a business sense like going to Ramova Theater and talking about behind-the-scenes work, and it pushed us to try other artistic stuff like creating album covers, making flyers, and t-shirts.”

    Omarion S. (All-Stars)

IMYC finished off the 2024/2025 school year strong with a celebration and T-shirt-making with Kevelyn! Johnathan and Dre want to give all staff and instructors who led workshops a huge thank-you and all of our appreciation!

Student Voice

Intonation Student Survey Report

Overall Growth

Each year, Intonation conducts student surveys at the start (fall) and end (spring) of the school year. These surveys measure growth in music skills, self-expression, teamwork, and emotional awareness, aligning with our Core Values, Social-Emotional Learning benchmarks, and Illinois State Board of Education Arts Standards.

This year we celebrate what our students say about their own learning and growth. Their words and progress tell the story of how Intonation programs empower confidence, creativity, and community.

From fall 2024 to spring 2025, students across elementary, middle, and high school programs showed measurable gains in nearly every category. Students respond to a series of targeted statements and gauge how much they agree with each statement on a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).

Highlights:

More students feel ready to share their music with confidence, having built and refined the skills they need to present their work.

Students report they are better at recognizing and expressing their own emotions through music.

They are taking more initiative to revise and improve their songs, shaping them until they feel performance-ready.

More students say they can share deeper meaning with their audience when they perform.

Program Spotlights

NKO (3rd - 5th)

Students grew by 0.8 points in thinking about their audience’s feelings and reactions when deciding how to perform, showing a stronger sense of connection between their music and the people who hear it.

“I feel happy and proud of myself.”

Hendricks (6th - 9th)

Students showed a 0.6 point gain in their ability to recognize their own emotions in music and talk about them with others, a step in using music as a language for self-expression.

“I feel very good and I also feel like a super star.”

All- Stars (9th - 12th)

Scores increased by 0.7 points in performing with musicianship and originality, showing students’ growing pride in creating performances that not only sound strong, but also share the deeper meaning of the music with an audience.

“I feel accomplished because every class we are learning something new or practicing.”

Testimonials

24/25 Survey Data

Categories

  • Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

    SEL: Agency

    Elem/Middle School: I can explain how my interests and skills connect to the music I make. I feel confident making music how I want to. 80% of students agree.

    High School: I can describe how my interests and skills connect to the music I make.I feel confident in my ability to pursue my personal interests and passions to build on my musical knowledge and skills. 82.35% of students agree.

  • Anchor Standard 8: Construct meaningful interpretations of artistic work.

    SEL: Effective Communication

    Elem/Middle School: When listening and creating, I can hear and explain the parts of music (for example: melody, harmony, rhythm, and song structure).

    I feel comfortable sharing important and meaningful messages through music. 68.24% of students agree.

    High School: When listening and creating, I can hear and explain the parts of music (for example: mood, melody, harmony, timbre, tempo, rhythm, lyrics, song structure, etc.).

    I feel comfortable sharing important and meaningful messages through music. 67.06% of students agree.

  • Anchor Standard 3: Revise, refine, and complete artistic work.

    SEL: Identifying One’s Emotions

    Elem/Middle School: My band and I can perform a song for an audience by working as a team and being unique to show what the song means to us.

    I know what feelings I have when I create or listen to music and can talk to others about those feelings. 81.18% of students agree.

    High School: My band and I can perform a song for an audience - our own or a cover - using musicianship and originality to convey what the song means to us.

    I know what emotions I feel when I create or listen to music and can talk to others about those feelings. 91.76% of students agree.

  • Anchor Standard 6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.

    SEL: Recognizing Situational Demands and Opportunities

    Elem/ Middle School: When I play, I have the skills to express both the sound and feeling I want the audience to get from my music.

    When I decide how I want to perform, I think about how the audience feels and thinks about our music. 82.35% of students agree.

    High School: When I play, I have the skills to express both the sound and feeling I want the audience to get from my music.

    When I make decisions about my performance, I consider audience expectations and cultural and social norms. 76.47% of students agree.

  • Anchor Standard 5: Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.

    SEL: Reflective Practice

    Elem/Middle School: My bandmates and I talk about difficulties in our performance and work on improving them when we practice.

    I take time to think about and respond to feedback so that my band and I continue to grow and improve. 89.41% of students agree.

    High School: My bandmates and I frequently talk about challenges in our performance and work on improving them, working to create rehearsal strategies that will help refine our musical practice.

    I am reflective and respond to feedback productively so that my band and I can continue to grow and improve. 87.06% of students agree.

    Digital instruments and tools help me make music and express my creativity.