QUINCY — Saturday night will see the spotlight land once again on Les Fonza, a stalwart of both the music and education scenes in Quincy.
At its 75th Anniversary Gala, Arts Quincy will present Fonza with the George M. Irwin Lifetime Achievement Award. This will be the first time the Irwin Award has been presented since 2019.
“Les is what I would call a first-balloter,” said Arts Quincy Executive Director Laura Sievert. “There is no doubt whatsoever that he is deserving of this recognition.
After graduating from Quincy High School in 1963, Fonza earned a music education degree from Western Illinois University. He began his teaching career in Dwight and then in Jacksonville before joining the QHS music faculty in 1988. Since that time, both in and out of the classroom, Fonza has been a force in the Quincy music scene, from leading the Marching Blue Devils to his time as part of the legendary Ben Bumbry and the Messengers.
“He’s just a titan of the arts in Quincy,” Sievert said. “His contributions to both education and local music are countless, and it can be seen in the thousands of students he inspired in his time as an educator.”
A few notable credits for Fonza include the Quincy Park and Concert bands, the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, Big River Swing Machine, Jacksonville Symphony, and the Quincy Community Theatre pit orchestra.
“Les has made an incredible mark on Quincy’s young musicians, and has continued to share his gifts with his hometown,” Sievert said.
“I’m honored and humbled to receive this award,” Fonza said. “I’m not sure I’m the one who deserves it, though. When you look at the students we have that go through the high school, they go on to be musicians and doctors, lawyers and stage performers, they go on to all walks of life. That’s a credit to the entire music program.
“The arts in Quincy are second to none. You’d have to go to Chicago or St. Louis to find anything like it.”
Sievert noted that Fonza is a large part of that result, even if he’s not the first to see it.
“Personally, I’m touched to be able to present him with this award,” she said. “I can honestly say if it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if I would be working in the arts today.”
The award will be presented Saturday at the black-tie gala for Arts Quincy. Marking the 75th year, Arts Quincy — also known as the Quincy Society of Fine Arts — is America’s first community arts council. The organization promotes music, dance, visual arts, theater, literacy, history and humanities programs. Named after the founder of Arts Quincy, the George M. Irwin Award is the group’s most prestigious accolade.
