West Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association
We are excited to announce that this year’s Professional Development (PD) sessions will be presented by our members! If you are interested in sharing your knowledge, skills, and expertise with others, we encourage you to apply to lead a session.
Please use the link below to submit your application by Monday, December 7:
Directors,
Registration for All-West auditions is now open. Please use the following spreadsheets to register your students. To complete your registration, please do the following:
Registration for the TMEA Middle School Honor Ensembles is due on Friday, October 2nd.
October 2 – Registration Deadline
October 23 – Payment and Audition Materials Due
November 9 – Audition Results
Orchestra has the smallest number of registrations so far!
Here’s the link for more info: https://www.tnmea.org/middle-
On behalf of the Lyon College music faculty, we invite high school music educators to nominate students for our High School Invitational Honor Ensembles (band and choir) on Wednesday, November 18.
• What are the Lyon College Honor Ensembles for?
• Who performs?
• Criteria for musician selection• Concert Repertoire
What are the Lyon College High School Invitational Honor Ensembles?
The Lyon College High School Invitational Honor Ensembles offer students a chance to elevate their musicianship, develop leadership skills, and represent their school with pride. It’s an opportunity for motivated students in grades 9-12 to challenge themselves and grow both personally and musically. Participation highlights dedication and provides valuable experience for future endeavors.
Who will perform:
Participating School Educators audition potential performers at their school, with input from appropriate school officials, to meet their school’s established selection criteria. Each school should select up to 8 band musicians in grades 9-12 and up to 8 vocal members who are motivated to prepare independently with their high school faculty, with Lyon College Faculty, and honor ensemble members to prepare a challenging program of approximately 30 minutes of music.
Recommended Criteria for selection:
· First is the student’s maturity, values positive progress, and ability to work cooperatively.
· Second is the student’s performance. Musicians should have good facilities for their instruments/voices. Students need not be All-State performers, but should have basic ensemble performance skills and etiquette.
· Third, the repertoire is mixed, including sacred and secular music from all periods. I chose quality music for its beauty, educational merit, and suitability for participating performers. Students should perform all compositions.
· Finally, consider how your students need to grow and what benefits they have to themselves and your program. They will use what they learn with us, build confidence, and help energize your program.
We will construct up to four ensembles of approximately 50 performers each. Based on the director’s recommendation, instrumentation, and the time of submission, at least three performers will represent your school in each ensemble. Other students will be alternates.
Submissions must be received by October 16, 2026, to be considered. Please submit your school’s entries by this date to secure your spot in the ensembles.
Submission Link: https://forms.gle/FKqWivgrekV643op8
Student Fees: The Lyon College HS Invitational Honor Ensemble experience fee is $30 per performer.
Students receive a Lyon College Student Swag Bag, T-shirt, Breakfast, lunch at our Dining Hall, and a snack.
Directors may pay fees on-site by check or cash. Schools that have students who cancel or don’t attend are still financially responsible for their spots. Alternates may pay on-site if selected.
We invite directors to volunteer and collaborate with us, emphasizing the importance of building relationships and supporting your teaching community. Your involvement helps create a welcoming environment that values teamwork and shared success.
Transportation: Each participating school is responsible for organizing and paying for the transportation of participating students/chaperones to and from Batesville. Musicians must arrive in time to attend all rehearsals; schools that arrive after rehearsals begin put themselves at a disadvantage and hinder the entire group’s progress.
Student Guidelines:
1. Students come with all the music prepared.
2. Students actively participate in rehearsals, performing and following instructions.
3. Students come with a great attitude and accept constructive feedback from the director/staff.
4. Students follow our schedule and arrive at rehearsals and departures on time.
5. Students demonstrate appropriate rehearsal etiquette and concert decorum.
Up to Two Bands each w/ flexible Instrumentation (50)
1 flute/piccolo
5 flutes
2 Oboes
2 Bassoons
6 clarinets
1 bass clarinet
4 alto saxophones
1 tenor saxophone
1 baritone saxophone
6 trumpets
4 horns
6 trombones
2 euphoniums
3 tubas
6 percussion
Up to Two Choirs each w/ flexible vocal sections (50)
16 Sopranos
12 Altos
12 Tenors
10 Basses
Thank you to all the directors and music teachers for encouraging this activity. We appreciate your time and effort in preparation for this event. I hope that we can create an opportunity for superior musicianship and fellowship. Please contact us with any questions. (870) 307-7080 or music@lyon.edu
Greetings from Austin Peay!
We are proud to announce the 2027 APSU Honor Band, to be held on February 25-27, 2027! This year’s edition will feature Composer in Residence, Maire A. Douglas, who has brought a fresh and exciting voice to the wind band literature. Our conductor/clinicians are Dr. Cory Schmitt, Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at APSU; James Webb, an excellent and innovative teacher and arts leader in his community of Anchorage, Alaska; and recently retired legendary educator/conductor/composer/designer John Fannin.
Applications are now open, and are due on November 15.
We are excited to offer two improvements to our event! We are proud to offer our traditional 7-9 grade and 10-12 grade Honor Bands, in addition to a reimagined “Festival Band”, which is comprised of students in grades 9-12. And we have brought on board to our staff Kacee Sanders as the Event Coordinator, who will help make the structure, communication, and flow of our event even better.
-APPLICATION AND VIDEO AUDITION-
If a student is applying on multiple instruments, a separate application will be submitted per instrument.
Winds Audition Requirements
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS: Perform your assigned region or district audition literature for your grade level (e.g., Midstate, All-West, All-East, Kentucky Region, etc). All 7-12 grade applicants will submit a video. No scales are required. You will submit this video via link to a YouTube video – be sure the video link works and is set to ‘unlisted’ or ‘public’ (not ‘private’) before submitting.
Percussion Audition Requirements
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS: Perform your assigned region or district audition literature for your grade level (e.g., Midstate, All-West, All-East, Kentucky Region, etc). All 7-12 grade applicants will submit a video. For 10–12 auditions, applicants are required to perform mallet, snare drum and timpani excerpts. For Festival Band auditions, timpani is optional but encouraged. For 7–9 auditions, applicants may select one, two or all three areas to include in their video audition. Applicants who demonstrate proficiency on multiple percussion instruments may be given preference. You will submit this video via link to a YouTube video – be sure the video link works and is set to ‘unlisted’ or ‘public’ (not ‘private’) before submitting.
Video Note To Directors
We specifically asked for the “region honor band prepared material” as the video audition to encourage both APSU HB applications, as well as motivation to create your region honor band video recordings. If you have any technical or personal issue which prohibits uploading a video to YouTube, please contact us via email at apsuhonorband@gmail.comwith the student name and a description of the issue. These emails will be due TWO WEEKS PRIOR to the due date (Nov 1), so a solution can be discussed before the deadline.
Tempo & Omitting Measures Note To Directors
We would like to clarify that for the APSU Honor Band application, it is acceptable to perform the material under tempo and/or to not perform the entire excerpt. We DO REQUIRE a video of the appropriate honor band audition material to assess the applicant’s skill set, but adjustments are acceptable. Please note that submissions of the entire selection at tempo will be prioritized in rankings, but we welcome all applications.
It is important that we are able to accurately assess the applications. Video audition materials are used to help us appropriately rank students and determine band placement. As a reminder, most high school students who are not accepted into the 7–9 or 10–12 bands will be accepted into the Festival Band upon successful completion of their application.
Registration for the Orchestra Solo and Ensemble is now open. Click here to register.
Europe Trip Parent Interest Meeting with American Music Abroad
On Saturday, September 12th, American Music Abroad would like to meet your students and parents in an interest meeting for their upcoming trip to Europe! The meeting will be held in person in the Collierville High School Orchestra Room. 11605 E. Shelby Dr., use entrance 3 and enter near the greenhouse. If your student is interested but unable to attend this meeting, scan the QR code or click here to receive more meeting options via Zoom.
The 2027 Stars & Stripes Tour will take place June 12–27, traveling through Germany, Austria, and Italy. In addition to performances, students will experience a variety of cultural and educational opportunities, including a day trip to Venice; guided tours of Verona, Bologna, and Milan; visits to the Salzburg Salt Mines and Austria’s Hintertux Glacier; and a meaningful educational visit to a World War II concentration camp.
The minutes for Saturday’s meeting have been posted.