Rebecca Mueller/Winonan
The first weekend in November is one of the busiest for the Winona State University department of music. The 35th Annual High School Honor Band Festival will begin on the morning of Friday, Nov. 2 and end with a concert on Saturday, Nov. 3 that features both the Honor Band and the Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
The weekend also includes a concert presented by the Symphonic Wind Ensemble on Sunday, Nov. 4.
Michael Meyer, president of the Student Band Organization Executives, said, “Being able to sit in on the rehearsals is fun, being able to watch them improve.”
The high school students will put together a concert after five rehearsals over the course of two days. They received audition excerpts from the concert repertoire three weeks prior to the event, but do not receive their full parts until after seating auditions on Friday morning. The works they will perform are “Fanfare for La Perí,” “Lauda,” “Short Stories,” “Three London Miniatures,” “Dreams” and “The Great Escape.”
In mid-August, the department of music sends a mailing to 1800 high schools. This mailing includes the music department recruiting poster and information for both the Honor Band and Honor Jazz Band Festivals. The department then sends invitations to the nominated high school students.
Dr. Donald Lovejoy, director of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, said high school band directors nominate students who are strong players and want the experience of visiting Winona State. This year, around 130 students were nominated.
At last count, 92 high school students will participate in the Honor Band Festival, representing 24 high schools. The schools are mainly in Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as one in Iowa, from as far away as Milwaukee and as close as Winona.
Lovejoy works with event coordinator Tracy Rahim to organize the event. They must arrange housing for students that have requested to live on-campus on the Friday night of the event and plan meals for the Honor Band. During the concert weekend, Lovejoy and Rahim will be assisted by the Student Band Organization executives in making sure the event runs smoothly.
“We’re basically Dr. Lovejoy and Tracy Rahim’s right-hand men,” Meyer said. The executives will be in the Performing Arts Center at all times to help Lovejoy and Rahim whenever necessary.
Everyone in the Winona State Symphonic Wind Ensemble has volunteered to help out with various tasks throughout the weekend. These tasks include leading the high school students to meals and sectionals, moving equipment, hosting students in their residence halls on Friday night, and anything else that could help the weekend run smoothly.
Both the high school students and the university benefit from the Honor Band Festival. The high school students will get the chance to perform as part of a more proficient ensemble than usual, and they will experience life both in the department of music and at Winona State overall.
“We’re hoping by the time they’re done they’ve made some additional friends,” Lovejoy said. Many of the high school students will meet each other for the first time. The Honor Band Festival provides an opportunity for them to meet future colleagues and fellow musicians.
For Winona State, the Honor Band Festival is a major recruiting opportunity.
“It might be a deciding factor of whether they want to come to school here or not after they graduate from high school,” said Meyer.
Five to six students who have participated in the Honor Band Festival in the past join the Symphonic Wind Ensemble each year. Lovejoy estimate at least 20 students, perhaps more, participated in the Honor Band Festival prior to enrolling at Winona State.
The high school students will head for home on Saturday night, but the weekend is not over for the Symphonic Wind Ensemble. They will perform a second concert on Sunday afternoon including all the pieces the honor band played, plus one additional longer piece.
The second concert is not held every year. This semester, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s schedule also includes five weekends performing at home football games as the WSU Pep Band, as well as a holiday concert in December. Rather than add another concert weekend to the schedule, Lovejoy has combined two concert weekends into one.
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