Join us for the 2023 University of Alabama Middle School Honor Band!
The University Bands is proud to announce the Ninth Annual Alabama Middle School Honor Band Festival will be held at the University of Alabama from December 14-15, 2023. The Alabama Honor Band Festival is an event developed for the purpose of recognizing the achievements of exceptional middle school musicians.
THE HONOR BAND
We will select applicants to seat up to two Middle School Honor Bands.
December is a busy time of year so we have adjusted our schedule to have the students finished by 5:30 pm on both days. This helps students not miss any school concerts on those nights.
Application Instructions
- CLICK HERE TO APPLY! – Applications will open August 1st, 2023
- There is a $5 application fee to apply for this year’s ensemble.
- Deadline to apply is November 1st, 2023 @ 11:59 PM
- Acceptance will be be sent to students on or before November 15th, 2023
SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS
Students who are selected to participate must attend all rehearsals, master classes, and performances during the Honor Band Festival. Everyone who applies will be sent an email notification of selected or waitlisted status.
Audition Information (in person the morning of December 14th)
- Audition pieces will either be the lyrical or technical etude from this year’s Junior High School Alabama All-State Band audition material
- Percussion: please play ONLY the etude for each instrument: Mallets, Snare, and Timpani.
- 2023 UA MSHB Audition Material will be selected from the 2023-24 Alabama Middle School All-State Material found on https://alaband.org/
Schedule (Subject to change prior to December 11th, however start and end times for each day will not change)
Thursday, December 14, 2023
7:30 – 8:30 AM Check in at Moody Music Building: Room 1000
8:00 – 10:00 AM Chair Placement Auditions
10:15 – 10:25 AM Welcome Meeting in Room 1000
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Honor Band Rehearsal
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch (on your own)
1:30 – 3:00 PM Honor Band Rehearsal
3:00 – 4:00 PM TBD
4:15 – 5:30 PM Honor Band Rehearsal
5:30 PM Dismissal
Friday, December 15, 2023
9:00 – 10:30 AM Honor Band Rehearsal
10:45 – 12:15 PM Instrument Masterclasses with UA Professors
12:15 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch (on your own)
1:30 – 3:00 PM Honor Band Rehearsal
3:10 PM Students change into Concert Attire
3:30 PM Honor Band Rehearsal
4:00 PM Concert
5:00 PM Homeward Bound!
HOUSING/MEALS/FEES
The Alabama Middle School Honor Band does not provide housing or meals. The high school director should take care of arrangements for housing, supervision, transportation, and meals. For the 2023 Alabama Middle School Honor Band, students chosen to participate will be required to pay a participation fee of $85.00 (non-refundable), which includes admission to all clinics, concerts, participation t-shirt, name tag, and lapel participation pin. This participation fee will be due AFTER students have been notified that they have been selected to participate in the Alabama Honor Band. More detailed information will be available to those students selected to participate in the festival.
2023 GUEST CLINICIANS
Kim Bain
Ensembles under her leadership have consistently been cited for musical excellence at both the state and national levels throughout her 28+ years of teaching. In 2019 she was named Alabama Outstanding Music Educator by the Alabama Music Educators Association. Ms. Bain was named 2012 Teacher of the Year for the Vestavia Hills City Schools. In 2013, her Symphonic and Concert Bands performed at the Music For All National Middle School Music Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. The John Phillip Sousa Foundation awarded the Sudler Cup to the Pizitz Band program that same year. She was awarded the Phi Bet Mu, Rho Chapter, Outstanding Bandmaster Award in 2014. That same year the Pizitz Symphonic Band performed at the CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference at the University of North Florida. In December of 2014, the band performed at the 15th Annual Southeastern United States Middle School Clinic at Troy University. The Pizitz Band was declared a national winner of the National Band Association’s Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence in 2015, and in December of 2015 her band performed at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. Under her direction, Pizitz Ensembles have performed at the Alabama Music Educator’s Conference and the Music for All Regional Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. She had the honor of taking the Pizitz Band to perform at the CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference at the University of South Florida.
Ms. Bain received National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in November 2010. She has served as a clinician for the Alabama Bandmaster’s Association and guest conducted numerous honor bands and camps in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education, a Master of Arts in Music Education, and an Education Specialist degree from the University of Alabama. She also holds a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Ms. Bain’s professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, Alabama Music Educators Association, Alabama Bandmasters Association, the National Band Association, and Phi Beta Mu. In addition to her teaching activities, Ms. Bain is an active freelance musician in the Birmingham area, and saxophone instructor at Samford University.