Honors Bands and Musical Opportunities
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Below are some summer music camps that students have participated in or that I would suggest. All are different, please read the links provided for more details.
The TOB All-Star Band be marching in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade. Click here for more information.PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) Music Festivals:NOTE: We are in PMEA District 3 (considered part of Jefferson County as far as PMEA goes) PMEA FESTIVAL CONTRACT (needed for pretty much everything PMEA related...) CHECK ALL DATES BEFORE APPLYING!!! YOU WILL SAVE ME AND YOU BOTH A LOT OF HEADACHES LATER ON!! District Band: students must submit their completed application to Mr. Sensor by the announced deadline. Open to 10-12 grade students. Students are selected by a somewhat random system, so not every student that submits his or her forms will be selected. The director will attempt to get students into the band giving preference to older students and those that have a suitable work ethic and dedication on their instrument. Students that have participated in previous auditioned honors bands and shown their ability to prepare their music will have an advantage! Certain instrument sections fill very quickly, it varies every year, so there are no guarantees! Students must prepare a concert program of challenging literature and will rehearse and perform at a concert with students form many other area schools. Students will audition for chair placement and the top students will advance to Region Band. Region Band: qualifying students from District Band will perform at Region Band. They will audition and only the very best will advance to All-State Band. Students placing in the top half of their section will be automatic returns for next year's district band, bypassing the somewhat random selection process. District Orchestra: similar to District Band, only utilizing the instruments of the orchestra (ie. strings, certain wind and percussion instruments). District Orchestra is actually three PMEA distrcits combined, so it is a much larger pool to select from, and therefore can be more difficult to get students in, particularly winds and percussion. Talented 9th grade string players are eligible, but cannot advance to Region Orchestra. Region Orchestra: similar to Region Band, but again with a larger geographic area. A larger number advance (about half!) to the State level since there are only two Region Orchestras in the state (as opposed to six Region Bands). District Jazz: A pre-auditioned group (meaning you must audition to get in!). Auditions are held in October each year. There are no auditions at the actual festival. Read below for how to get into All-State Jazz.... there is no Region-leve Jazz Festival. All State Jazz Band Audition info Non-PMEA Festivals: Clarion University/ PA YOUTH WIND SYMPHONY: open to grades 7-12 (technically for high school students, but some high schools in our area are 7-12). You must audition on a prepared solo. You should also fill out the application. I usually have copies of all the required solos, or I can order them if necessary. IUP Honors Band: Similar idea, only there are no geographical or age limits for auditionees. Very competitive. Auditions are in early November. This is always a very high quality band! |
