SDSU Honor Band Festival
We invite high school students from throughout the region (South ֱ, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and North ֱ) to apply to participate in the fourth annual Honor Band Festival, to be held Feb. 27-28, 2026. The SDSU Honor Band Festival is designed to be an exceptional honor band experience for talented students and is sure to be a memorable time for all those involved!
Nomination form will open fall 2025.
Highlights for the 2026 festival will include:
- The opportunity to rehearse and perform in SDSU’s newly expanded Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center.
- Workshops and masterclasses with the faculty of the School of Performing Arts.
- Scholarship audition opportunities for high school seniors.
- A side-by-side performance with members of the SDSU Wind Symphony.
- The chance to make music with the most talented student musicians from a multi-state radius.
Students who play the following instruments are invited to apply: piccolo, flute, oboe, bassoon, B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, French horn, trumpet, tenor trombone, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba, string bass and percussion (mallet, battery/auxiliary and timpani). String bass and piano auditions will also be considered, depending on repertoire selected by the conductors.
There is no application fee! Students selected to the group will be charged a $40 participation fee (payable either by the individual student or their school). Student participants are responsible for securing their own accommodations and transportation for the duration of the festival; however, select meals will be provided.
Upon receiving a nomination, students will be invited to submit a short audition recording on their instrument to include:
Woodwinds, brass, piano and string bass
- Two major scales of the student’s choosing (multiple octaves where appropriate).
- Selection from a prepared solo/etude (30-60 seconds) of the student's choosing.
Percussion
- Selections from prepared solos/etudes (30-60 seconds) of the student's choosing for all three of the following:
- Timpani
- Snare drum
- Keyboard percussion (marimba, vibraphone or xylophone)
Director nominations are due by Friday, November 7, 2025.
Student auditions are due by Monday, November 24, 2025.
Selected students will be notified by Friday, December 1, 2025.
Honor Wind Ensemble Conductor 2026
Scott A. Jones is professor of music, associate director of bands, and director of the Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Center for Integrated Arts and Enterprise at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. His primary teaching responsibilities include conducting the Symphonic Band and leading the undergraduate conducting curriculum.
A deeply collaborative musician and educator, interdisciplinary partnerships frequent Jones’ teaching and creative work. Collaborative partners with ensembles under his direction have included visual artists, composers, folk artists, the literary arts, digital media, dancers and choral ensembles among others.
An ardent supporter of living composers, Jones has commissioned more than 40 new compositions for wind band and chamber winds. A firm believer in creating opportunities for students to interact with great artists of our time, the musicians under Jones’ leadership have also collaborated with Libby Larsen, Frederick Fennell, Eiji Oue, Aaron Jay Kernis, Frank Battisti, Seiji Ozawa, Augusta Read Thomas, Eddie Daniels, The Empire Brass Quintet, The American Brass Quintet, the Imani Winds and a host of other distinguished musical figures.
Jones was honored with an Alumni ֱ for Distinguished Teaching at Ohio State in 2015 and was recipient of the Ohio State School of Music Distinguished Teaching ֱ in both 2014 and 2020. His guest conducting engagements regularly include all-state bands and honor bands, as well as international engagements throughout Asia.
Festival Band Conductor 2026
Joseph Higgins serves as director of bands at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches courses in conducting and literature. During his tenure, the program has grown to include multiple directors, three concert ensembles and the new “Pride of the Profs” Marching Band. Ensembles under his direction have premiered over 40 new works and collaborated with many world-class artists, including a recent residency with contemporary chamber ensemble Eighth Blackbird. For his exceptional leadership in the classroom, Higgins was awarded the Frances S. Johnson Innovative Teaching ֱ. He also received the Rowan University Values ֱ for Inclusivity in recognition of curating a “Music of Social Justice” performance series. The Rowan University Wind Ensemble performed at the 2020 College Band Directors National Association Eastern Division Conference, and Rowan bands are often invited to state and regional festivals and conferences.
In addition to his work at Rowan University, Higgins serves as the new music director of the Philadelphia Wind Symphony. He is a frequent guest conductor-clinician with outstanding professional, community and student ensembles throughout the country, and he teaches at conducting workshops and masterclasses for young musicians and educators each year. His current season includes performances in Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Higgins is a passionate advocate of socially conscious programming that encourages greater connection among performers, audiences and their environments. He served as co-chair of the Rowan University Catalysts for Sustainability initiative and is actively engaged with sustainability research, climate activism and environmental education. Higgins founded and produced the first Sound Planet Music Festival in 2023.
He earned Doctor and Master of Music degrees in conducting from Northwestern University, where his primary teacher was Mallory Thompson, and a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from the University of Georgia. Prior to graduate study, Higgins taught at North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia.
