Student Registration
Honors Band registration is now closed. If you have any questions, or have missed the deadline to register, please contact the UWM Bands office at honors-band@uwm.edu or (414) 229-5641.

All students who intend to participate in Honors Band Festival must print and complete the Liability Release Form and bring the signed document to the onsite check-in on Friday, November 21, 2008. Without this document, you may not participate in Honors Band Festival activities!

Honors Band Festival
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Bands will host the 42nd Annual UWM Honors Band Festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 21 through November 23, 2008 on the UWM campus. The Festival takes place in the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts and in the Music Building of the Arts Center, just west of beautiful Lake Michigan. The festival serves about 600 students in two concurrent programs: one for high school (grades 9-12) and the other for middle school (grades 6-8).

We believe that experiences like the UWM Honors Band Festival help young musicians grow. The festival provides the region's top middle and high school students with an opportunity to work with each other and with nationally recognized wind band conductors. In addition, students participate in master classes with the UWM Department of Music’s performance faculty and they have the opportunity to hear performances by many UWM ensembles.

DIRECTORS
Directors, we hope that you will consider nominating your finest students to join us for the festival.

Nominations will be accepted between September 25 and October 17, 2008.

Click here to view the letter to directors. After reading the letter, you may begin nominating your students by clicking on the "Nominate Your Students" link below.

PARENTS & STUDENTS
Students who are nominated by their school band director and accepted by the festival will be mailed a registration packet by October 27, 2008. The packet will include instructions for registering and fee information. Registrations must be received by November 10, 2008.

Tickets for the final festival performances on Sunday, November 23, 2008 will be available for purchase at the time of registration.

Choose from the following below:
Nominate Your Students
Map & Directions
Registration
Placement Audition
Items to Prepare for your Audition
Lodging
Parking
Meals
Music
Concerts
Recordings
Featured Conductor-Clinicians
Hosts
Tentative Schedule

NOMINATE YOUR STUDENTS top
School Band Directors Only
Nominations for the 42nd Annual UWM Honors Band Festival will be accepted from September 25-October 17, 2008. Click here to nominate your students.

Map & Directions top
Click here for map and directions to campus.

Registration top
Students who are nominated by their school band teacher and accepted by the festival will be mailed a registration packet by October 27, 2008. The letter will include instructions for registering fee information. Registrations must be received by November 10, 2008. The registration fee is $55 per student; students are responsible for the cost of all local transportation needs, meals and housing.

Placement Audition top
All students who participate in the festival will play a short audition upon their arrival to determine their ensemble and chair placement.

Items to Prepare for your Audition top

Middle School Students
Prepare major scales in (your instrument's) keys of C, F, B-flat, G, and D. Not all scales will be performed at the audition, but students should prepare all 5 keys. Students should perform as many octaves as is possible for their own capabilities.

Prepare a portion (totaling no more than 3-4 minutes) of a Wisconsin State Music Association Class-A or Class-B solo.

High School Students
Prepare major scales in (your instrument's) keys of C, F, B-flat, G, and D. Not all scales will be performed at the audition, but students should prepare all 5 keys. Students should perform as many octaves as is possible for their instrument and their own capabilities.

Additional audition music will be mailed to the accepted high school students' home addresses. The additional material will consist of excerpts from the planned repertoire for the High School Honors Wind Ensemble and the High School Honors Symphonic Band.

Lodging top
Housing can be arranged at local Milwaukee hotels and motels for students who live outside of reasonable commuting distance. Click here for a list of the recommended hotels and ask for the UWM Honors Band rate.

Parking top
You are encouraged to use metered street parking or the underground parking garage at the UWM Union. All parking venues are free on Sundays for the performances.

Meals top
Various dining options are available in the UWM Student Union. A wide variety of restaurants are within four-block radius of campus. Participating students will not be accompanied by Festival staff to and from meals. Click here for a list of options near campus.

Music top
All music will be furnished by the UWM Band Department. Students must provide their own pencils, folding music stand, and all other necessary equipment for rehearsals.

Concerts top
All of the festival concerts will take place in the Bader Concert Hall of the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts. All seats at all concerts are reserved.Tickets may be ordered at the time of registration, or by contacting the Peck School of the Arts box office at 414-229-4308.

The UWM Symphony Band and Jazz Ensemble will perform on Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 4pm. No tickets are necessary for this concert for festival participants and their parents.

Each middle school ensemble will perform a separate concert on Sunday, November 23, 2008 starting at 1:00 pm. Watch the festival schedule for exact times. The high school concert will begin at 4:00 pm on Sunday, November 23, 2008 with the UWM Wind Ensemble.

Recordings top
All final festival concerts will be recorded. A CD for the high school performances and another CD for the middle school performances will be available for purchase online at the time of registration. Students may purchase CDs in advance for $15 per CD; if ordered on the day of the performance, the cost will be $20 per CD.

Featured Conductors-Clinicians top

DR. JOHN CLIMER
Conductor – High School Honors Wind Ensemble
Dr. John Climer is Professor of Music and the newly appointed Director of Bands at UW-Milwaukee. He is excited to serve as the conductor of the Honors Wind Ensemble, and jump right in to meeting Wisconsin's most talented students and their teachers! Dr. Climer will also conduct a wonderful concert with the UWM Wind Ensemble in conjunction with the Honors Band Festival.

MAJ. DONALD SCHOFIELD
Conductor – High School Honors Symphonic Band
Maj. Schofield is currently stationed as Conductor/Commander of The Band of the United States Air Force Reserve in Warner-Robins, Georgia. He is excited to finally come to Milwaukee (after being invited last year, only to be deployed at the last moment), and share his musicianship and his reflections on his professional career in the military bands system.

DR. DANNY DOYLE
Conductor – The "Georgia" Middle School Honors Band
Dr. Doyle is the Director of Bands at Daniell Middle School in the Cobb County School District, just outside of Altanta, Georgia.

MR. CHRIS GLEASON
Conductor – The "Wisconsin" Middle School Honors Band
Mr. Gleason is in his 5th year as the Band Director at Patrick Marsh Middle School in Sun Prairie, WI. Mr. Gleason graduated from UW-Eau Clare, and is a true veteran of music education, having taught in LaCrosse and East Troy, prior to his tenure in Sun Prairie. We are excited to welcome of Wisconsin's own to Milwaukee!

MS. STACEY L. LARSON
Conductor – The "Illinois" Middle School Honors Band
Ms. Larson is the Director of Music Education and Assistant Director of Bands at the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois. She has a wonderful reputation as a conductor-teacher of students on all levels, and she is excited to come to Milwaukee this November!

FESTIVAL HOSTS top
Dr. John Climer – Professor of Music and Director of Bands, UW-Milwaukee
Prof. Scott Corley – Assistant Director of Bands, UW-Milwaukee

Tentative Schedule top
The final schedule will be included in the acceptance packet, which will be sent by October 27, to all students accepted to the festival.

Friday, November 21, 2008
2:00 pm - 5:30 pm – Placement Auditions
5:30 pm - 6:45 pm – Dinner Break
6:45 pm – Seating of Ensembles
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm – Rehearsal

Saturday, November 22, 2008
8:30 am - 11:30 am – Rehearsals and Master Classes
11:30 pm - 12:45 pm – Lunch
1:00 pm - 3:45 pm – Rehearsal
4:00 pm – Concert by the UWM Jazz Ensemble & UWM Symphony Band
5:30 pm - 6:45 pm – Dinner Break
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm – Rehearsal

Sunday, November 23, 2008
9:00 am - 11:00 am – Rehearsal
1:00 pm – Middle School groups begin performances
4:00 pm – UWM Wind Ensemble Performance
4:45 pm – High School groups begin performances