Good morning, wonderful colleagues!

It's that time of year again!

Applications and nomination forms for the 2025 NYC High School Honors Music Festival are now available.  The festival, taking place on March 14 and 15, 2025, will feature Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Modern Band, and Full Orchestra. 

Hosted at The Grand Street Campus (850 Grand Street) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the festival is a two-day event, including a Friday 4-9pm rehearsal (with dinner break), Saturday 9am-1pm rehearsal, and concert at 2pm.   

A guest conductor selected by the Festival Committee leads each ensemble.  Conductors are selected either from a Higher Ed Organization or from the professional music world to give students an experience they typically would not get during their NYC school experience. This year's ensembles will be led by the following guest conductors:  

Chorus - Angelica Brooks

Full Orchestra - Jennifer Drake

Jazz Ensemble - Kevin Day

Symphonic Band - Cheldon Williams

Modern Band - Tom Zlabinger

Each ensemble prepares a 15-20 minute program, with the literature chosen by the conductor, assisted by the ensemble chair.

For Modern Band, the guest conductor will collaborate with selected students in the weeks before the festival in order to determine the program, as original compositions and/or arrangements can be included in this ensemble’s presentation.   

TO PARTICIPATE:

Modern Band:  Students must complete an application and submit a brief audition video at this link, based on the NAfME All-National Modern Band guidelines. 

Jazz, Chorus, Full Orchestra, and Symphonic Band:  Participants must be nominated using this nomination form by their school music teachers and selected by the chair(s) of their respective ensemble. Auditions are not required for Symphonic Band, Full Orchestra, or Chorus. However, there is a short video audition required for the Jazz Band, with information about this included in the form. 

Applications and nominations are due by November 22, 2024.

Please join us for this year's event, and spread the word to any high school music educators you know!

Sondra Braeutigam - she/her