By the time Leah Chapman heads downstairs, the rest of the house is quiet.

A music stand waits in the basement, pages already marked. Chapman, a freshman in the choir program, runs each selection twice—enough to build confidence, not enough to spiral into overthinking.

“If you run it too much, you get too stressed out about it,” Chapman said, “and you just become a perfectionist about everything.”

That routine helped Chapman land one of Community’s most selective music honors: a spot in the All-State Honors Chorus, where she sang alongside upperclassmen from across Illinois.

Chapman was one of 26 Community students who auditioned for All-State on Aug. 14. On Dec. 3, 11 were selected—nine seniors, one junior and Chapman as the lone freshman.

Chapman is not new to audition season.

“I did choir my first year of sixth grade,” Chapman said. She continued through seventh and eighth.

But high school posed stiffer competition—and larger stages to showcase her talents.

When the ILMEA audition results came in, Chapman said, excitement hit first—then reality.

“When I found out that I made All-State, I was really excited, but my first thought was, like, ‘Am I going to be alone? What’s the plan for this?’” Chapman said. “Then I realized that I was the only freshman.”

After the nerves settled, she reframed it as an opportunity to grow into the program’s larger culture.

“Everyone in this program,” led by choir director Mr. Ben Luginbuhl, “are all super great people,” Chapman said, adding that it helped her feel like she “fit right in perfectly.”

Luginbuhl, who has taught Community’s vocalists for 28 years, said freshman All-State selections are rare, especially because freshmen were not eligible until recent years.

“At Community, it’s not very common,” Luginbuhl said.

He said Chapman’s voice part makes the achievement even tougher to earn.

“Soprano one, especially,” Luginbuhl said, “is probably one of the most difficult voice parts to make All-State in our region, because there’s just a lot of people who sing soprano,” estimating there were “probably 80 or more people who auditioned” for that part.

Luginbuhl also pointed to what judges are listening for—and what Chapman delivered.

“She has a really good, mature sound for someone her age,” he said. “It’s well developed. She knows how to place the vowels in the right spot for choral singing.”

Her voice? “It has a nice, warm, rich tone.”

Chapman said music has always been part of how she connects with other people, not just how she performs.

“I just love how the sounds blend together—with sopranos and altos and baritones,” Chapman said. “I just love the full sound of choir.”

That love of harmony, that unity, translates to relationships offstage.

Chorus, Chapman said, has been the place she’s felt most at ease connecting with her classmates.

“It’s a great way to make friends,” Chapman said. “It’s a great way to grow relationships with other people.”

Her family, she said, has been part of the support system behind the work. She texted friends and relatives as soon as she found out, and she credited her dad—who she said has a music background—with helping her through the audition process.

“They were super, super excited,” Chapman said.

For Chapman, the selection is both a spotlight and a starting line. She has three more years in the program, and she wants to keep taking swings at opportunities that feel bigger than her grade level.

“It’s given me confidence,” Chapman said.