High School Honor Band

Get ready for an extraordinary musical journey! Join a select group of talented young musicians and elevate your skills in an inspiring ensemble experience that will leave you energized and ready to conquer new heights.

TU Wind Ensemble Photo by Melissa McCabe

The Annual TU High School Honor Band

The Towson Bands are thrilled to present the 41st annual TU High School Honor Band, a unique and exhilarating opportunity for 11th and 12th grade high school winds, brass and percussion instrumentalists. 

Selected 11th and 12th grade high school musicians will come together from around the state and beyond for an inspiring weekend of community building and high-level music making. The festival will culminate in a finale concert at the Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall located in the Center for the Arts (7700 Osler Dr, Towson, MD 21204).

Check out our TU Bands Facebook page!

When is it? 

The Honor Band Festival will take place at Towson University Saturday, December 14, 2024.

Who is selected and how?

Students from across Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic will be selected to participate in the festival based on High School Band Director Nominations and complete registrations with a recorded video audition for seat placement. The festival features two honor bands: the Tiger Band and the Gold Band. 

What TU staff is involved?

All participants will have the opportunity to work with Towson University faculty, staff and students in rehearsals and masterclasses. Ensembles will be conducted by the TU Interim Director of Bands, Dr. LaToya A. Webb, and the TU Interim Assistant Director of Athletic Bands, Mr. Tim Mason. 

Nomination Process for Band Directors

1

Assemble Your List

You may nominate up to 4 outstanding musicians in grades 11–12 for consideration. We will aim to include at least one student from each school, within the limitations we face in achieving balanced instrumentation. 

Assemble your list details ahead of time so that you are prepared to rank your nominees #1 – #4.

Required Nominee Information:

  • Full Name
  • Grade Level
  • Instrument
  • Parent/Guardian Full Name
  • Parent/Guardian Email
  • Parent/Guardian Contact Number

2

Fill Out the Nomination Form

Enter your nominees into the nomination form in rank order. Enter your #1 ranked student first, then enter your #2 ranked nominee, and so on. 

Nominations open Monday, Sept. 16.

The last day to submit is Friday, Nov. 1.

3

Double Check Your Form and Submit

Double check each entry for accurate spelling of ALL student nominees and parent/guardian email addresses. Typos result in failure to deliver proper communications and provide opportunities to deserving musicians.

When you are sure everything is accurate, submit the form by Nov. 1.

What to Expect after Nominations

Students, parents and band directors will be notified of nominees' status on or before Friday, Nov. 8. 

Students invited to participate will be required to:

  1. Complete a registration form and submit a non-refundable $35 payment online through the TU Box Office.
  2. Submit a seat placement audition via video submission. Instructions will be provided in the Acceptance Letter.

What the Festival Will Include

On Saturday, you can expect:

  • An electrifying welcome session by the TU Pep Band
  • Master classes by TU Department of Music faculty
  • Instruction and supervision from TU band faculty and students
  • Engaging rehearsals
  • Honor Band T-shirt
  • Provided lunch 
  • Exciting concerts by the TU Jazz Orchestra and Wind Ensemble 

Schedule Overview

6:15am - 7:15am, Check-in
7:20am - 7:50am, Welcome Session
8:00am - 9:00am, Masterclass Sessions
9:10am - 11:20am, Rehearsal
11:30am - 12:50pm, Lunch
1:00pm - 1:30pm, TU Jazz Performance (Kaplan Concert Hall)
1:40pm - 4:45pm, Rehearsal
5:00pm - 5:30pm, TU Wind Ensemble Performance (Kaplan Concert Hall)
5:30pm - 7:00pm, Dinner/Change into Concert Attire
7:05pm - 7:30pm, Sound check
7:30pm - 8:00pm, Gold Band Performance (Kaplan Concert Hall)
8:00pm - 8:15pm, Audience Rotation
8:30pm - 9:05pm, Tiger Band Performance (Kaplan Concert Hall)

FAQs for Selected Musicians 

Audition Information

Accepted participants must submit a recorded audition video link including all required components by November 22, 2024. The audition video will be used for your seat placement into the Tiger and Gold Honor Bands. Participation is chosen by instrumentation numbers; once each instrumental section is filled, alternates will be assigned in order of their audition ranking. 

All participants will receive an email notifying them of one of the following statuses:

  • Accepted
  • Alternate and #
  • Not Accepted

Audition Requirements

Submit a complete recorded video audition.

  • Prospective musicians must perform the provided music audition components.
  • Please use a high-resolution device (i.e., cellular phone, computer/laptop. iPad/tablet).
    • Please ensure the recording is of high quality and without technical problems.
  • EACH video component must be included in ONE shareable link (continuous), linked in ONE shareable folder (all portions), or as an unlisted YouTube Playlist.
  • Your face, fingers, valves, keys, or slides must be always visible in the video.
  • Upload your complete link to a File Sharing service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, etc.
    • If using Google Drive or Dropbox, please enable your video link sharing settings so that anyone with the link can view. If using YouTube, please select the 'Unlisted' video option, NOT private.
  • Provide a short introduction of yourself (hello/first and last name)
  • Audition Excerpts:
    • Read all information carefully and perform the provided audition excerpts and outlined scales (see link above)
    • Percussionists should perform the excerpts for snare, vibraphone, timpani, and cymbals if confident and fluent in all areas. If not comfortable with all 4 excerpts, pick the excerpts that best demonstrate your musical skills.

Paying the Registration Fees

After being selected, each musician will need to pay a non-refundable $35 participation fee by the deadline in the acceptance letter.

You can pay the $35.00 Accepted Registrant Fee online through the TU Box Office.
There will be a $3.00 debit/credit card service fee.

Receiving Your Honor Band T-Shirt

Selected participants will receive a festival t-shirt during check-in.

Parents/Guardians

Parents/Guardians, if you are driving your student(s) to the honor band, we recommend that you drop your student off, along with their instrument and music, at the Center for the Arts at Towson (7700 Osler Dr, Towson, MD 21204) and then park if you choose to do so.

*Participants that are driving themselves to the event must review the parking guidelines and map to park in the designated parking lots near the Center for the Arts.

You (parents/guardians) are NOT required to attend and stick around for the entire event and activities, but we certainly hope you will accompany your musician(s) to dinner (if needed due to age), and attend the finale concert. 

Dinner is from 5:30 - 7:00pm. All musicians must change into their dress attire during the dinner break.

Getting Lunch and Dinner

Lunch is provided for each participant as part of the application fee. Each student will receive a meal voucher.
 
Dinner is not provided; participants will need to travel with a parent or chaperone and be transported to and from dinner. There are options for meals both on campus and in close proximity to the university.  

Dress Attire

Participants must change into their concert attire during the dinner period (preferably after eating) before returning for the sound check and concert.

Performance Attire is ALL Black (a combination of any of the below works): 

  • Black button-down shirt/black blouse (short/long sleeved), black sweater, black blazer/jacket/vest
  • Black dress or long skirt (shoulders and knees must be covered)
  • Black slacks or black dress pants (black chino pants are acceptable)
  • Black closed toe dress shoes
  • Black straight or bow tie
  • Black socks, black/or nude hosiery

Purchasing Tickets for the Finale Concert

Tickets to attend the finale concert of the Tiger and Gold Honor Bands can be purchased through the TU Box Office.

  • Attend the Gold Band Concert (in-person) - $10.00
  • Attend the Tiger Band Concert (in-person) - $10.00
  • Attend BOTH Concerts Bundle (in-person) - $12.00
  • Watch BOTH Concerts (live-stream) - $5.00

Finding Parking

There are FREE and Pay to Park options on Saturday.

Lot 3, 4, 5 and the Union Parking Garage are the closest to the Center for the Arts. Parking Options and Pay to Park information are located at the Visitors Parking website.

To find Lot 3, 4, 5 and the Union Parking Garage, view the parking map.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please email the Interim Director of Bands, Dr. LaToya A. Webb at .