Honor Band students play in a concert. | Photo Credit / UT Martin News
On Jan. 25-27, UT Martin’s music department will host their 45th annual Honor Band Festival. Honor Band is a two-day event for high school and middle school students to join together and share their love of music. The beauty of Honor Band is the way students perform a magnificent concert in such little time. The event happily welcomes 350-plus students from grades seven through 12.
The application process is simple, each band director will register their students for the festival and rank them according to their skill. The music professors at UT Martin will then choose which students are selected to attend the festival. Once the student is selected, their band director will provide them with excerpts of various pieces of music to practice. The student will then audition with the given pieces when they arrive on campus. This audition determines the chair placement and band that each student will represent during the festival.
The festivities begin Thursday afternoon. Students should arrive on campus at 1 p.m., and auditions will run until 4 p.m. At 6:15 p.m., the Opening Convocation will be held in the Harriet Fulton Theatre. There, students will find out their chair placements and the band they are assigned to. A student can be assigned to four bands: Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band or Middle School. From 7-9 p.m., students will attend their first rehearsal.
Friday is a full day of practice for students. The day begins with rehearsals from 8:30 a.m. to noon, with 15 minute breaks in between each hour. Students will then be given a lunch break from noon to 1:30 p.m. Rehearsals kick off again from 1:30-5:30 p.m., following the same break schedule. Dinner will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m., allowing students to eat either on campus or off campus. At 7:30 p.m., there will be a UTM Showcase concert for the students to attend.
Saturday, Jan. 27, is the last day of the festival. From 9-10 a.m., students will attend a master class with the UTM Faculty. They will be given tips to enhance their musical skills. The Senior High Bands will rehearse from 10:10-11:45 a.m., followed by lunch. After lunch, the concerts will be held in the Harriet Fulton Theatre. The Middle School Concert Band will perform at 1 p.m., the Concert Band performs at 1:45 p.m., the Symphonic Band will perform at 2:30 p.m. and the Wind Ensemble will perform at 3:30 p.m. All concerts have free admission, and the public is invited to attend.
Aubrey Abbott is a member of the UT Martin Marching Band and is helping with Honor Band logistics.
