Ottawa High School awaits scores from Chicago school to determine state standings

Ottawa High School is at the top of the IHSA state music series standings for now, but the program will not know the final results for a few days.

The high school finished with a perfect 300 score at the organization contest Saturday to stay ahead of Sycamore High School for the Class A title, garnering a total of 798 points between the solo and ensemble contest in March and Saturday’s organization contest. Sycamore registered 774.

Scoring, however, has not been finalized for Chicago (High School for the Arts), which had 639 points after the solo and ensemble contest. The school can score as high as 300 points, giving it 998 points and exceeding Ottawa’s total for the state title.

The IHSA state music series is broken into two competitions. The solo and ensemble has more variables with students competing in hundreds of events. The second part of the two-part competition — the organization contest — has four performances, with a maximum of 300 total points available.

Ottawa has won 22 state music titles, winning its last Class AA state title in 2017-2018. The program has finished either second or third place since.

The choir program is led by Ali Stachowicz and band is led by Andrew Jacobi.