2024 Honor Band Information and Schedules

About the Honor Band & Strings Program

Every year, in several regions that we serve, our school music directors select their top band and string students from each of the schools we serve to come together for a unique and very enriching musical experience.

Honor Band and Strings is a chance for enthusiastic, motivated, and talented band students to come together with other top performers from the region to practice and perform together. Think of it as “Band All-Stars.”

This is a great opportunity for student musicians to expand their skills and play in a large, exceptional performance group. The Honor Band & String programs vary from region to region but below is a basic outline of how the program works:

1. Invitation

Directors distribute Honor Band & Strings invitations to selected students. 4th and 5th graders who are chosen will be a part of the Junior Honor Band. 6th through 8th grader can be selected for either Concert Band or Concert Band & Wind Ensemble.

The Wind Ensemble is the most elite group, and will perform the most advanced and challenging music. Honor Band & Strings alumni high school students are also invited to return and perform with the Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, or String groups.

2. Registration

Invited students bring home their invitations to be signed by a parent and returned to their school director or a Paul Effman Music office (by a designated due date), along with a participation fee of approximately $40. The participation fee will help us to cover such expenses as cost of venue, supervision for rehearsals, and other personnel and administrative expenses.

3. Rehearsals

The Honor Band and Strings rehearsal schedule will consist of 3-5 evening rehearsals, held at a host school (generally, host schools are selected based on their ability to house the large rehearsal groups, as well as their geographic proximity to the participating schools).

We do our best to pick venues that are reasonably accessible to all involved schools. Many families will choose to carpool to the rehearsals. Evening rehearsals for the Junior Band & Concert Band members are generally 2 hours long, and Wind Ensemble members will have that rehearsal time extended by an additional hour, for a total of three hours.

We understand that it may not be possible for every student to attend every rehearsal, so students are allowed to miss one of the evening rehearsals. Students will not be eligible to participate if they miss more than one evening rehearsal. There are regular breaks scheduled during rehearsals.

4. Performance

Students typically have a rehearsal and a warm-up prior to the concert. The performance is generally around 1-hour combined for all the groups. Each group plays a selection of challenging pieces. Parents, family and friends are welcome to take photographs and/or video of the performances ensuring it’s not disruptive or distracting for other guests or performers.