Deadline to send in Nomination Forms has been extended to Tuesday, November 10th!
Click here to see the full Junior High Symphonic Honor Band 2010 poster!
Festival Features:
- Medals and t-shirts for all student participants
- Three Festival Honor Bands
- Clinic session with Ed Huckeby
- Reception for all Directors
- Concerts by two invited middle school band programs
Festival Recommendation Form:
Message from the Director of Bands to all Middle School and Junior High Band Directors:
Dear Colleague,
The Auburn University Bands and the Department of Music are pleased to announce the First Annual Symphonic Honor Band Festival for Junior High/Middle School Students. This event will be held on our campus February 4-6, 2010. We would like to invite you to nominate your outstanding band students in grades 6-9 to participate in this stimulating weekend of concerts, rehearsals, clinics and social activities.
We intend to have three Festival Bands, one Symphonic and two Concert. The Symphonic Band will be comprised of the top auditioned students on their respective instruments with a set instrumentation. The two Concert Bands will be divided equally after the Symphonic Band has been selected. The directors of the Festival Bands will be Leslie Welker, Jerry Potter and Larry Cornelius. We feel very fortunate that these three very well known and accomplished instrumental music educators have accepted the invitation. In addition, our special guest conductor and clinician will be award-winning composer Dr. Ed Huckeby. Dr. Huckeby will conduct one selection with each of the three festival bands and will also present a "Meet the Composer" session for each of the bands during the festival weekend. Dr. Huckeby has written music education articles for The Instrumentalist, The American Music Teacher, and The Journal of the International Horn Society, and has held memberships in Music Educators National Conference, Oklahoma Music Educators Association, Oklahoma Bandmasters Association, ASCAP, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Phi Beta Mu, where he served as a member of the national board of directors and state chapter president. Dr. Huckeby was selected as an "Outstanding Young Man in America," is listed in the "International Who’s Who in Music," and was inducted into the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association "Hall of Fame" in 1996. He has created over 45 commissioned works and regularly serves as a clinician, adjudicator and conductor for instrumental ensembles around the world.
As with all festivals held on our campus, all attending students must be accompanied by their director. If for some reason the director cannot attend, an adult chaperone must be assigned to that student. Directors will be responsible for securing housing arrangements at one of the area hotels. The AU Hotel and Conference Center are holding a reserved number of rooms for the event. Registration cost for the Festival is only $55.00 per student. Everyone will be responsible for his or her own meals.
Participants will be selected for the Festival based on their musical accomplishments and their director’s assessment and recommendation. Enclosed is a nomination form that can be photocopied for your students. Please have the students complete the front page of the form and return the form to you. On the back of the form is your confidential assessment/recommendation. Once both sides of the form are completed, mail all of the completed forms to us in a single package. Students should not mail their individual forms. To be considered, nominations must be received in the Auburn University Band office by Friday, October 30, 2009. Students selected for the Festival will be notified in early December. The selected students will be listed on the A.U. Band website.
Please nominate only your truly outstanding band students who are interested and sincerely desire to participate in the Festival. Registration fees should not be sent with nominations. Housing information (a list of area hotels) and instructions for submitting the registration fee will be sent along with notification of acceptance.
The students and staff of the Auburn University Bands are indeed excited about our First Annual Symphonic Honor Band Festival for Junior High/Middle School Students. We believe that it will be an enjoyable and rewarding weekend for all. We look forward to having your outstanding students join us for this event!
To nominate your outstanding middle school or junior high student, you may download the above recommendation form. If you have any other questions, please email me at goodric@auburn.edu.
Sincerely,
Dr. Rick Good
Director of Bands
Auburn University