2026 High School Honor Band Festival
The thirty-eighth Annual Alabama High School Honor Band Festival will be held at the University of Alabama from February 5th-7th. The Alabama Honor Band Festival is an event that recognizes the achievements of exceptional high school musicians.
The festival includes clinics presented by the University of Alabama School of Music faculty and culminates with a final concert by all participants!
2026 High School Honor Band Application
REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED, AS OF 12.21.25 – Band Directors will be receiving a reccomendation form soon and all registered will be receiving info ASAP!
2026 High School Honor Band Audition Material
Link to audition material: https://alabama.box.com/s/zqeoyms3jb2hio8yz0am6fklcik39u1b
2026 High School Honor Band Schedule
All events are required for all participants.
February 5th
| 9:00 – 10:30 AM | Check-in: Marching Band Rehearsal Room, Moody Music Building |
| 9:30 – 12:00 PM | Chair Placement Auditions |
| 12:00 – 2:30 PM | Lunch (ON YOUR OWN) |
| 2:30 – 3:30 PM | Opening Meeting: CONCERT HALL: Alabama Wind Ensemble, Ken Ozzello, Conductor |
| 3:30 – 5:00 PM | Masterclass I |
| 5:00 – 7:00 PM | Dinner (ON YOUR OWN) |
| 7:00 – 9:30 PM | Rehearsal |
February 6th
| 8:30 – 10:00 AM | Rehearsal |
| 10:00 – 10:30 AM | UA Band Info Session |
| 10:30 – 12:00 PM | Rehearsal |
| 12:00 – 1:30 PM | Lunch (ON YOUR OWN) |
| 1:30 – 4:15 PM | Rehearsal |
| 4:15 – 5:45 PM | TBD |
| 5:45 – 7:30 PM | Dinner (ON YOUR OWN) |
| 7:30 PM | Alabama “Spectrum” Concert: CONCERT HALL |
February 7th
| 8:30 – 10:30 AM | Rehearsal |
| 10:30 – 12:00 PM | Masterclass II |
| 12:00 – 1:30 PM | Lunch (ON YOUR OWN) |
| 2:00 – 2:30 PM | Rehearsal |
| 3:00 PM | Concert |
2026 AUDITION RESULTS:
CLICK HERE
SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS
Students will be selected by a committee of the University of Alabama School of Music faculty. The information included on the student application and the band director’s recommendation (asked after closing of registration) will be the primary criteria used to select participants. In most cases, the committee will use the student’s application and band director’s recommendation as the sole sources of information about the students. Students and directors are encouraged to complete the application and recommendation in detail and be sure that the required information is thorough. At least one student from each school registered will be selected to participate in the festival. Students selected to participate must attend all rehearsals, master classes, and performances during the Honor Band Festival. Please note that attendance at ALL concerts, classes, rehearsals, and events for the entire Honor Band Festival is REQUIRED for all student participants! No one may leave early or arrive late.
HOUSING/MEALS/FEES
The Alabama Honor Band does not provide housing or meals. Arrangements for housing, supervision, transportation, and meals should be handled by the high school director. For the 2026 Alabama Honor Band, students chosen to participate will be required to pay a participation fee of $100.00, which includes admission to all clinics, and concerts and includes a Festival Participation t-shirt. This participation fee will be due AFTER students have been notified that they have been selected to participate in the Alabama Honor Band. Much more detailed information will be available to those students selected to participate in the festival.
2026 Guest Clinicians/Conductors
Dr. Elizabeth Peterson
Dr. Elizabeth Peterson, Emeritus Professor, retired from her position as Associate Director of Bands at the University of Illinois School of Music in May of 2022. Peterson conducted the Illinois Wind Orchestra, served as the placement coordinator for student teachers and taught several courses in instrumental conducting. Prior to her appointment at the University of Illinois, Peterson was a tenured professor of music education at the Ithaca College School of Music. During the seventeen years she spent at Ithaca College, Peterson conducted numerous ensembles including the Symphonic Band, Brass Choir and All-Campus Band. She taught courses in conducting, undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, and supervised student teachers. Peterson was the co-conductor of the Ithaca Concert Band, an adult community band for fifteen years.
Dr. Peterson continues to be active as a guest conductor, adjudicator, and school music consultant. Peterson has served as interim conductor of the Interlochen Arts Academy Wind Ensemble, the Penn State University Wind Ensemble and the Colorado State University Symphonic Band. She presents clinics at the local, state and national levels in the field of music education and has published two books: “The Music Teachers First Year: Tales of Challenge Joy and Triumph,” and “The Music Teacher’s Later Years: Reflection with Wisdom.”
Peterson is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she received a Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Arts in English and studied trumpet with Armando Ghitalla. She received a Master of Music in Music Education and Trumpet Performance from Northwestern University, where she studied trumpet with Vincent Cichowicz. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education from Shenandoah Conservatory. Prior to her appointment at Ithaca College, Peterson was an arts administrator and director of bands in the public schools of Ohio and Illinois. She played trumpet in the North Shore Community Band under the direction of John P. Paynter. Dr. Peterson is a member of the American Bandmasters Association and serves on the Board of Directors for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. Beth currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband, Steve and their Golden Retriever, Stanley.
Michael Pote
Michael Pote retired as Director of Bands at Carmel High School (Carmel, IN) in 2025 after spending 35 years in music education. The band program at Carmel High School serves nearly 600 students with 6 concert bands, 5 jazz ensembles, marching band, chamber ensembles, private lesson program, percussion ensembles and 3 winter color guards.
Carmel High School’s Wind Symphony 1 performed at the 2005 Midwest Band and Orchestra clinic, the 2020 North Central Division CBDNA Conference, numerous state conference performances and clinics and has been a 4-time participant in the Music For All National Concert Band Festival. Wind Symphony 1 is a 10-time ISSMA Concert Band State Champion including the last 7 consecutive years.
The marching band at Carmel High School has been a Bands of America National Finalist 27 consecutive years dating back to 1996 and were the ISSMA State Champions in 1990, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2018 and 2022. CHS is a 28-time Bands of America Regional Champion and were named the Bands of America Grand National Champions in 2005, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
The Carmel band program has received the National Band Association Program of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award as well as being a two-time recipient of the prestigious Sudler Shield.
Michael was a music ensemble consultant for the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps during the 2022 and 2023 seasons and is currently on the brass staff of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. A clinician for the Yamaha Master Educator Collective, Michael has presented clinics across the country including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, the South Carolina Music Educators Conference, the Boston Brass Summer Winds Seminar, the North Carolina Music Educators Conference Florida Music Educators Association and the Arizona Music Educators Association.
Michael was elected to membership in the American Band Masters Association in 2021 and in 2019 was awarded the Phi Beta Mu Indiana Chapter Outstanding Bandmaster. Michael’s three wind ensemble method books, “Process”,“Ensemble: an integrated approach to the Yamaha Harmony Director” and “The Pure-Tempered Bach” are published through Fannin Music Productions.
Dr. Myra K. Rhoden
Dr. Myra Rhoden serves on the faculty at the University of West Georgia where she conducts the UWG Symphonic Band and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Music Education. As the founder of Athena Music and Leadership, Rhoden has created programs and opportunities to empower young women through music while equipping them with lifelong leadership skills that can be used in any profession. Drawing on over thirty years of experience as a high school band director, Rhoden frequently serves as a guest conductor for all-state, regional, and university honor bands and is honored to have presented sessions at The Midwest Clinic, the Bands of America Summer Symposium, national, state and regional conferences, and for school systems and professional development clinics throughout North America. Her concert bands have performed at national and international venues while her marching bands have won numerous Grand Championships and earned finalist positions at Bands of America Regional and Super Regional competitions.
A native of Tuskegee, Alabama, Rhoden has received national recognition for her contributions to music education including having the honor of being elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, and the John Philip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor. She has been awarded the Tau Beta Sigma Outstanding Service to Music Award, the Women Band Directors International Golden Rose Award, the 2018 Band Director of the Year from the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), multiple National Band Association (NBA) Citations of Excellence, and has been named STAR Teacher and Teacher of the Year. She had the distinct pleasure of being a guest conductor for the United States Air Force Band and the United States Army Field Band of Washington, D. C. She has served as National Chair of the NBA Programs of Excellence and is a Conn Selmer Educational Clinician.
In addition to conducting and teaching, Rhoden is the author of Through My Music: Inspiring the Next Generation of Leaders (GIA Publications), as well as a contributor to The North American Wind Symphony: Inspiring a Renaissance in North American Music, Wind Band and Instrumental Music Education by Mark Camphouse.
Dr. Rhoden received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Southern Mississippi where she studied with Dr. Thomas Fraschillo. She received her Master of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Alabama.
Dr. John Seybert
John M. Seybert, Ph.D., serves as the Performing Arts Curriculum Leader and Director of Bands in the Upper St. Clair School District. He previously served as Professor and Coordinator of the Music Education Program at Seton Hill University. Seybert earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music Education from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he also completed minor fields in Jazz Studies and Wind Conducting. His principal teachers included David Baker (jazz), Otis Murphy and Tom Walsh (saxophone), and Stephen Pratt and Ray Cramer (conducting).
Seybert has held leadership roles in several state and national organizations. His service includes Performance Development Coordinator for Florida’s Race to the Top Performing Fine Arts Assessment Project, Research Reviewer for the National Core Arts Standards, President of the Florida Collegiate Music Educators Association, member of the Florida Music Educators’ Association Executive Board, Vice President of the Florida Jazz Educators Association, and State Representative for the American School Band Directors Association.
Concert and jazz ensembles under Seybert’s direction in Indiana, Florida, and Pennsylvania have earned consistent superior ratings and distinguished themselves through performances at prominent regional, state, national, and international events. He has collaborated with nationally recognized composers, including Brian Balmages, Michele Fernández, JaRod Hall, Mike Kamuf, and Mike Tomaro. Commissioning and premiere projects include JaRod Hall’s Strength and Honor, Brian Balmages’s And the Music Played On, Michele Fernández’s high school premieres of Unidad en Ritmo and Iluminada, and Harrison Collins’s There Radiant Moments. Ensembles under his leadership have also been selected as Honor Bands for university festivals, including featured performances at Marywood University. Seybert earlier served as Assistant Director of the Lawrence Central High School Marching Band in Indianapolis, Indiana, a program that earned consecutive Indiana State School Music Association Championships and regularly placed among the top ensembles at the Bands of America National Championships. His ensembles have performed for state inaugurations and national events involving President George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates, and Governor Tom Ridge, as well as for international dignitaries, including the Prince of Monaco.
A sought-after clinician, adjudicator, and consultant, Seybert works with band and performing arts programs throughout the country. He has served for state festivals hosted by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and the Florida Bandmasters Association. He continues to appear as guest conductor for district, regional, and state honor ensembles.
Seybert’s contributions to the profession have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Outstanding Teaching Award by the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, the Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award from the University of Oxford, and the Award for Distinguished Teaching and Scholarship from Southeastern University. Additional recognitions include honors from the Florida Bandmasters Association and the National Band Association, the State of Indiana’s Top Twenty-Five Teacher Award, the Superintendent’s Award for Excellence in Education, and the Educator of Distinction Award from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. As a performer, he has toured internationally and appeared with artists such as Chuck Mangione, Bobby Shew, The Four Freshmen, Chris Vadala, Michael Philip Mossman, Jamey Aebersold, and Antonio Hart. His scholarly activity includes research presentations for the College Band Directors National Association, the Jazz Educators Network, the National Association for Music Education, the National Band Association, and the American School Band Directors Association, along with peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including The Journal of Research in Music Education.
Seybert and his wife, Misty, are the proud parents of two daughters, Amelia and Claire.