Band Events

Listed below are brief descriptions of annual band events for student participation.

District Band is an ensemble that occurs in early February and is comprised of the top musicians from the district.  Students are selected through an audition process that occurs in early December.  Students must bring an intent form (signed by the director and a parent) to the audition.  All students are eligible to audition.

All-County Band is an ensemble comprised of top 7th and 8th grade students in the county.  This event occurs in late March and students are selected into two separate ensembles (by grade level). 8th Grade students must audition to participate (requirements are the same as District Band).  7th Grade students are selected through a panel after having submitted an intent form to the director.  Both 7th and 8th Graders must complete the intent form in order to be eligible to particpate.  7th graders return the form to the director and 8th graders bring the form with them to the audition. 

Solo and Ensemble Festival is an event that occurs on a Saturday in late April. Students many learn a solo piece of his/her choice or perform in an ensemble (duet, trio, quartet) with other classmates.  Students perform their piece for a judge (generally another teacher in the county) for comments and an overall rating.  Students do NOT perform in front of a large audience.  This event is open to ALL students (6th, 7th, and 8th).

There are two summer band camps that run consecutively starting in mid July at Benton Middle School.  Both camps end with a performance at the end of the week.  There is a reasonable fee associated with each camp.  If financial constraints are a concern please contact the director.  A limited number of scholarships are available for students with financial limitations.  Students may participate in one or both of the camps and a discount is offered to students who attend both.  Students receive a free camp T-shirt with registration. 

The first week is a Jazz Camp which is open to all students with at least one year of playing experience.  Students will meet for a half day schedule to learn about jazz articulations, rhythms, and style.  All students (any instrument) are invited to participate.

The second week consists of a Concert Band Camp.  This camp runs a full day and includes lunch and mid-day activities for students (basketball, kick ball, etc.).  The concert band camp also offers clinics with chamber groups (each section works with an instructor on music just for their instrument).  

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District Band Festival is an event which serves as the music curriculum version of the state Standard of Learning (SOL) assessment.  Middle and High School ensembles (band, orchestra, and choir) have the opportunity to perform for a panel of judges made up of esteemed music educators from throughout the state.  Each ensemble enters as a grade level depicting the difficulty level of literature from I (beginning) to V (advanced high school level).  The ensemble is also evaluated on their ability to sight read new music.  Each ensemble receives valuable comments and a rating from each of the adjudicators which is averaged together to determine an overall evaluation (I-Superior, II-Excellent, III-Good, IV-Fair, V-Poor).