High School Bowling Star Named To All-State Chorus 2 Years In Row

Evergreen Park IL

15 December, 2021

3:07 PM

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EVERGREEN PARK, IL – Matthew Summers bowled a 267, and 485 series, at Arena Lanes Tuesday night amid a week packed with performances with the Evergreen Park Community High School Madrigal singers, including the school's Winter Concert set for the following night. The EPCHS senior has excelled in academics, athletics and activities since enrolling as a freshman, with his accomplishments on stage arguably even more impressive than his mastery of the lanes. Summers has been selected for the Illinois Music Education Association's All-State Chorus for the second year in a row, something EPCHS Music Department Chair Amy Kazin calls "a pretty big honor," and a feat no Mustang has achieved in a few years. "EP is in one of the most competitive districts in the state, so just to make it into the district chorus is a big deal, let alone to make state," Kazin said. Summers is particularly excited about this year's All-State Chorus because he'll actually get to perform as a member of it in Peoria next month. Last year's performance was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm ecstatic," Summers, a bass for the Madrigals, said of the upcoming all-state performance. "Covid has gotten us all down, so it's really exciting to be able to be ecstatic about something." Summers, an Evergreen Park native, hasn't always been this involved at school. Before his freshman year, he had never performed on stage or bowled competitively. But singing, he said, became his "main thing" soon after he found he had that talent as a freshman. "My friends convinced me to do it," he said. "It took some practice, but there's some natural talent and I have a good ear, from what I've been told." A well-rounded Summers wears many hats at EPCHS. In addition to his singing success and captain role on the bowling team, he plays the French horn in the Mustang band and is a strong student as a member of the school's National Honor Society. He will be on the auditorium stage in February as Mr. Cribs in the EPCHS Fine Arts' production of "The Spongebob Musical." "He jumped right in and tried new things, many of which he has participated in for four years," Kazin said. "I know that his wide range of talents and dedication to all he does will get him far on whatever path he chooses when he graduates." "Since Matt was a freshman and even throughout the pandemic, he has been a shining example of what it means to get a well-rounded education at EPCHS," she added. Summers will continue his music education in college, choosing either musical theater or vocal performance as his major, depending on the school he chooses to attend.