2025 MSBOA Spring Honors Festival: Outstanding Soloist & Ensemble Competitions, Honors Chamber Groups, and Showcase Concert

Please read through this entire article as we have revamped the registration process for the Spring Honors Festival, not to mention the turnaround time is VERY short.

This year’s Spring Honors Festival Showcase Concert will take place once again at Western Michigan University on Friday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. Performing on this concert will be the four (4) winners of the Outstanding Soloist Competition, the winners of the Outstanding Small Ensemble Competition, the selected Outstanding Jazz Combo, and the selected members of the three (3) Honors Chamber Ensembles. Our guest conductors for the Honors Chamber Ensembles are as follows:

Woodwind Chamber Ensemble – Dr. Scott Boerma,

• Director of Bands-Western Michigan University

Brass Chamber Ensemble – Dr. Trey Harris

• Associate Director of Bands-Western Michigan

String Chamber Ensemble – Dr. Bruce Uchimura

• Director of the WMU Orchestra & Professor of Cello

Students have the potential to be nominated for the Outstanding Soloist Competition or the Outstanding Ensemble Competition because of their performance at State Solo and Ensemble Festival this year. They also have the opportunity to be chosen as a member of one of the three (3) Honors Chamber Ensembles. Below are links to a list of all students who have been nominated by a State Solo and Ensemble adjudicator and/or who have been placed in one of the three (3) Honors Chamber Ensembles because of their outstanding score on their Proficiency Examination. The three (3) links below will take you to those lists. After looking at the lists, please contact your director on how to register/accept the nomination.

• Outstanding Soloist Nominations Link
• Outstanding Ensemble Nominations Link
• Selected Honors Chamber Ensemble Members Link

Outstanding Soloist Competition Registration/Information:

This year’s Outstanding Soloist Competition will take place on Friday, April 4 on the campus of Eastern Michigan University (Alexander Hall-music building). The deadline for completing the registration process is Tuesday, March 25 and must be done online by your director. The fee to participate is $20. If paying by credit card, your director must complete the registration process and submit the credit card transaction by 11:59 p.m. on the 25^th of March. If paying by check, your director must complete the registration process and mail the check to the MSBOA State Office. Please put the word “Soloist” followed by the student’s name in the memo. WE MUST HAVE THE CHECK IN HAND BY THE 25^TH OF MARCH, not postmarked, in order for the student to be scheduled.

Your director will also be able to send a pay link to parents. In this scenario, Parents must adhere to the same deadline constraints as above.

The audition schedule will be posted on the website and emailed to all directors on Thursday, March 27 mid-afternoon. As this audition schedule is extremely tight, there will not be any opportunity for time switches or late performances. If a student does not perform at their assigned time, the student has forfeited their audition. The first round of auditions will take place from approximately 9:00 a.m. until noon. The first round of auditions will narrow the field from approximately 90 students to 10-16 students. These 10-16 students will then perform again in the second round of auditions. The second round of auditions will take place from approximately 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Lunch will be on your own. The four winners will be invited to perform in the Spring Honors Showcase Concert in May. On the day of the concert (May 9), the selected soloists will need to report @ 4:00 p.m. in the Dalton Center (music building), WMU.

• Soloists must perform the same piece for which they were nominated at State S&E
• Soloists must provide their own accompanist-please check with their availability on April 4 (competition) and May 9 (showcase concert)
• Soloists must provide two (2) scores for the adjudicators
• The student must be receiving credit for band/orchestra in a MSBOA member school
• Soloists must have a performance of no longer than eight (8) minutes
• Solos do not have to be a Concerto
• Solos do not have to be memorized

Outstanding Ensemble Competition Registration/Information:

The deadline for completing the registration process for the Outstanding Ensemble Competition is Monday, April 7 and must be done online. The fee to participate is $20 per ensemble. If paying by credit card, your director must complete the registration process and submit the credit card transaction by 11:59 p.m. on the 7^th of April. If paying by check, your director must complete the registration process and mail the check to the state office. Please put the word “Ensemble” followed by the leader’s name in the memo. WE MUST HAVE THE CHECK IN HAND BY THE 7^th OF APRIL, not postmarked, in order for the ensemble to participate.

Your director will also be able to send a pay link to parents. In this scenario, Parents must adhere to the same deadline constraints as above.

In addition, each ensemble must submit their recording of the piece for which they were nominated at State Solo and Ensemble Festival. This recording must be in MP3 format and emailed to msboa@msboa.org by the deadline, Monday, April 7. In the body of the email please list the following:

• Name of your school
• Type of ensemble (ex. Saxophone Quartet)
• Name of the ensemble’s director (band/orchestra director)
• Title & Composer/Arranger of the piece performed
• First and Last Name of each performer in the ensemble

A panel of adjudicators will listen to the submitted recordings and select the ensembles to perform at the Showcase Concert in May. The selected ensembles will be informed of their invitation on Wednesday, April 9. Invitations must be accepted by Monday, April 14 after which we will invite the ensemble “next in line.” On the day of the concert (May 9), the selected ensembles will need to report @ 4:00 p.m. in the Dalton Center (music building), WMU.

Honors Chamber Ensemble Acceptance/Information:

We are continuing to expand the festival with the addition of a 3^rd Honors Chamber Ensemble. This year, we will be inviting students to participate in a Woodwind, Brass, and String Chamber Ensemble. Students will be selected based solely on their Proficiency scores. The list of selected students will be posted on the website as well as emailed to the directors on Tuesday, March 18. The registration process (acceptance of the invitation) must be completed by Wednesday, March 26 and must be done online. The fee to participate is $20 per student. If paying by credit card, your director must complete the registration process and submit the credit card transaction by 11:59 p.m. on the 26^th of March. If paying by check, your director must complete the registration process and mail the check to the state office. Please put the word “Chamber” followed by the student’s name in the memo. WE MUST HAVE THE CHECK IN HAND BY THE 26^th OF MARCH, not postmarked, in order for the student to participate.

Your director will also be able to send a pay link to parents. In this scenario, Parents must adhere to the same deadline constraints as above.

Music will be mailed to the students on Tuesday, April 1. On the day of the concert (May 9), students participating with the Honors Chamber Ensembles will need to report at 1:00 p.m. in the Dalton Center (music building), WMU.