2025 OWU Honor Band Festival
February 14-15, 2025
Acceptance Announcement & Next Steps for all Nominees
(PDF version)
Event Description
The Ohio Wesleyan University Performing Arts Department is excited to announce the OWU Honor Band Festival for band students in grades 7-12. Music students and their directors are invited to rehearse and perform with distinguished conductors and applied music faculty for an enriching 2-day event of rehearsals, clinics, concerts, and more!
Seating auditions are only required for high school honor band members. Part assignments in middle school bands will be determined by music teacher nomination. Teachers may nominate up to 10 students per school and all nominating schools will have at least one student represented in the festival.
Avious Jackson – 2025 High School SENIOR Honor Band
Ryan Alexis – 2025 Middle School RED & BLACK Honor Band
Diana Wightman – 2025 Middle School BISHOP Honor Band
Featured Experiences
Three amazing concerts in historic Gray Chapel:
- Friday, February 14, 2025 at 7:00 PM. Host Concert by the OWU Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
- Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM. Chamber concert for the Percussion Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, and Woodwind Ensemble.
- Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM. Grand Finale Concert for all honor ensembles.
Festival highlights for all students:
- Rehearsals with featured conductors
- Host Concert featuring OWU’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Choral Arts Society
- Two meals catered by OWU’s marketplace dining hall (Friday lunch and dinner)
- Grand Finale Concert performance in Gray Chapel
- Festival T-Shirt!
- Full production concert video with live stream
Festival Fees
$90 per student covers all festival activities with conductors and clinicians, full dining hall buffet lunch and dinner on Friday, and a commemorative t-shirt. Festival fees not received by the due date (Monday, January 13, 2025) may result in the loss of a student’s spot in their ensemble. Fees may be paid online or by check. See payment instructions for details.
Band Enrollment & Nomination Process
Membership in honor bands is highly selective based on music teacher nominations and balanced instrumentation needs. Teacher nominations should be ranked by ability and effort regardless of the student’s instrument.
Middle School Bands do not use auditions and will have parts assigned based on music teacher recommendation only. High School Honor Band members will complete a brief 5-minute audition (in person) on the morning of Friday, February 16 at OWU to determine part assignments. High School Honor Band audition instructions and excerpts will be provided by Friday, December 13, 2024 based on select excerpts from the concert music.
Target size for all honor bands is a 90-member ensemble:
- 8 Flutes (includes Piccolo)
- 12 Clarinets (may include E-flat Clarinet)
- 4 Bass Clarinets (may include Contrabass Clarinet)
- 2 Oboes (may include English Horn)
- 4 Bassoons (may include ContraBassoon)
- 4 Alto Saxes (may include Soprano Sax)
- 2 Tenor Saxes
- 1 Bari Sax
- 12 Trumpets
- 8 Horns
- 10 Trombones
- 4 Euphoniums
- 6 Tubas
- 1 String Bass
- 8 Percussion
Festival Schedule
Check-in Times are 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM for all ensembles and campus venues.
Rehearsal times include multiple activities at the conductor’s discretion to balance rehearsal goals with student endurance. In addition to rehearsing festival music, holding sectionals, or leading music games, HS ensembles will break every 90 minutes and MS ensembles will break approximately every 60 minutes.
Friday, Feb. 14, rehearsals: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM (includes lunch, sectionals, dinner, and host concert at 7 PM)
- 7:00 PM in Gray Chapel (UNIV): Host Concert performed by the OWU Symphonic Wind Ensemble and OWU Percussion Ensemble.
Saturday, Feb. 15, rehearsals: 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM (same locations as Friday)
- 2:00 PM in Gray Chapel (UNIV): MS & HS BANDS Grand Finale Concert
Concert Attire
Dress for the concert is whatever your school wears for concert performances. For some, this may be band uniforms, concert black, or Sunday dress. If more than one person is attending the festival from your school, please make sure you confer with them about their attire so that there is uniformity from school to school.
Parent and Director Participation
If accepted, students are expected to practice festival music in advance and we request that music teachers help their students prepare parts for each ensemble. Middle School Honor Band part assignments will be determined by teacher recommendation. High School part assignments will be determined by live audition on the morning of Friday, February 14, 2025.
Except for seating auditions, family members and band directors are welcome to attend any festival activities throughout the day.
Student Supervision
Participants will be supervised by festival staff at all times during scheduled events. For lunch on Saturday, we ask that a parent, guardian, or director pick up their student(s) to provide lunch. If a teacher or family member is unable to be with their student on Saturday, OWU can arrange an extra lunch for an additional fee if paid by the festival payment due date.
Attendance Expectations
Students are required to attend all scheduled activities. Festival participants are selected based on their musicianship, effort, and positive attitude. Any unannounced no-shows would compromise the integrity of the festival and reflect poorly on you, your band, and your school.
Event Venues
Ohio Wesleyan University:
- Sanborn Hall: 23 Elizabeth Street, Delaware, OH 43015
- Hamilton-Williams Campus Center: 40 Rowland Avenue, Delaware, OH 43015
- Chappelear Drama Center: 45 Rowland Avenue, Delaware, OH 43015
- Merrick Hall: 65 S. Sandusky St., Delaware, OH 43015
- University Hall (Gray Chapel): 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware, OH 43015
Driving Directions & Campus Map
Dining Options
A full OWU dining hall buffet lunch and dinner are provided on Friday, February 17. On Saturday, students will be dismissed for approximately 2 hours to get lunch with their directors or families prior to the grand finale concert at any of the delightful restaurants in Downtown Delaware just a 5 minute walk from campus.
If a family member or teacher is unavailable to escort a student to lunch on Saturday, they may sign up for their student to receive lunch from OWU for an additional charge.
Hotels
Out-of-town students, directors, and parent chaperones may arrange housing on their own in Delaware area hotels. Central Ohio residents typically commute. All housing arrangements are the responsibility of the student, parent, and/or music teacher.
- Pacer Inn – (740) 362-0050
259 S Sandusky St, Delaware, OH 43015. Located about half a mile from the OWU campus. - Quality Inn & Suites – (740) 363-8869
1251 Columbus Pike, Delaware, OH 43015. Located about 2 miles from the OWU campus. - Baymont Inn – (740) 363-3510
1720 Columbus Pike, Delaware, OH 43015. Located about 2 miles from the OWU campus.
FAQs
2024 Highlights
- 2024 Concert Program
- Host Concert VIDEO (2/16/24)
- Grand Finale Concert VIDEO (2/17/24)
2023 Highlights
2023 PROGRAM: Host Concert (Friday) & Grand Finale Concert (Saturday)
2023 FINAL GET READY ANNOUNCEMENT!
2023 OWUMF Roster Announcement!