UAH Honor Band

08/31/2017

Attention all Winds and Percussion students/parents:

The University of Alabama in Huntsville Invitational Honor Band is pretty much the only symphonic honor band during the Fall semester and is quite elite.  This honor band requires that directors nominate 8 students for participation.  Instead of just picking 8 of our top students, I prefer to nominate students who will for sure participate if chosen.  This includes students of any grade level and ability.  First, follow the link and check out the information about the honor band event to be sure you would be able to attend (Nov 9-11).  Students who are chosen for any honor bands are excused from school and other band-related conflicts (i.e. the Veterans Day Parade (on Nov 11th) and potentially the BHS Veterans Assembly, which we perform for each year).  If you/your student are/is interested and able, respond to this email and let me know you/your student would like to be nominated.  I will take the first dozen or so responses and choose 8 based on “deserving factors” like the need for opportunity, those who are “anxiously engaged” in expanding their instrumental capacity on a day-to-day basis, and of course playing ability though that won’t necessarily be the deciding factor.
I will submit nominations 3 weeks from yesterday.

Chair Audition Information

  • For chair auditions, we will be using an abbreviated version of the 2018 Alabama All-State Band Audition Requirements.
  • The audition will consist of:
    1. Chromatic Scale: from the lowest note you can comfortably play to the highest, at the fastest tempo which allows for maximum accuracy.
    2. The first 16 or so bars (as marked) of the Alabama All-State technical audition excerpt.
    3. The first 16 or so bars (as marked) of the Alabama All-State lyrical audition excerpt.
  • Students in grades 9-12 will use the SENIOR HIGH excerpts, found HERE.
  • Students in grades 6-8 will use the MIDDLE SCHOOL excerpts, found HERE.
  • Percussionists should choose 1 main instrument to audition on and prepare that excerpt as described above. Percussionists will have an opportunity to demonstrate interest and ability on other instruments voluntarily. For instance, a student who auditions on Snare shall play the first 16 bars of the Snare excerpt after which they will be invited to demonstrate their interest and skills on mallets and/or timpani, if they wish to do so, informally and optionally.
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