Ben Strand/ Winonan

A long-standing tradition and crucial recruiting tool for Winona State University’s band, the annual Honor Band Festival, is approaching once again.

Every year Winona State’s band department sends out invitations to high school band directors from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois and Iowa to ask them to recommend their top band students.

Donald Lovejoy, director of bands and coordinator of Brass Studies at Winona State, said this year’s band will consist of about 100 people.

“We got recommendations from 27 different schools and a total of 105 students,” Lovejoy said. “Once we’ve made our choices, we ask the students to fill out an application for acceptance.”

Lovejoy said this is an important recruiting tool for Winona State and students who are thinking about attending the university.

“For most high school students, the honor band is the homerun of our recruiting process,” Lovejoy said. “They get a glimpse of what it would be like to play for our band, and that’s huge.”

The university has had the honor band for 37 years, and Lovejoy said this is the 15th year he has directed it.

“Every year I have a unique group of individuals to work with,” Lovejoy said, “and every year I have to figure out a way to work with what I have.”

Lovejoy said choosing music is a bit of a guessing game.

Lovejoy said the festival is a great chance for students to interact with other conductors and college band students to learn new music in a short period.

“The students get here on Friday, Nov. 7 and audition for where they will sit in the band,” Lovejoy said. “They spend about six to eight hours rehearsing, learning new music from scratch and are ready to perform in a day and a half for the concert.”

Lovejoy said most high school bands take around three weeks to prepare for a concert, whereas at Winona State they spend six to eight hours preparing this particular concert.

“We really push the students to limits they didn’t know they could be pushed to,” Lovejoy said “but they’re able to go back to their high schools with a new perspective on learning music.”

According to Lovejoy, there are 15 members of Winona State’s band who have played in the festival in the past.

“The current students of our band play a vital role in all this as well,” Lovejoy said, “They chaperone the students around and show them the ins and outs of what it’s like to be a part of a college band.”

Lovejoy said the students spend the night on campus in the dorms, have a continental breakfast from the cafeteria in the morning and then rehearse on Saturday before the concert in the evening.

“Sometimes it concerns me, letting them stay in dorms on the weekend surrounded by college kids, but it’s a part of the experience for them. That’s really important.”

The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 and is free for the public.

Lovejoy said it is always packed because of the amount of parents who come to see their students play and said to “make sure you get their early if you want a seat.”