Marshall University School of Music is proud to announce the Middle School Honor Band Festival will be held at the Marshall University on November 21st, 2025.
2025 registration is now open!
The Middle School Honor Band Festival is an event developed for the purpose of recognizing the achievements of exceptional middle school musicians. The festival includes rehearsal/final concert preparations with quality clinicians from successful public school teachers. This year, we will seat two middle school honor bands at the festival. The Festival Honor Bands will be made up of a Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. Students will be placed appropriately in the festival honor bands.
Honor Band Details
This year we are excited to have two outstanding band directors joining us.
Kimberly Cook, Lincoln County High School
Tracey Filben, John Marshall High School
John Johnson, Boyd County High School
Band Directors: You will submit nominations in 20-student increments here, using this online nomination form. Please include all necessary information for you and your students and nominate them in order of preference. You can nominate up to 20 students at one time. If you have additional students you would like to nominate, you can simply submit another nomination form after the first. Please note: Your first 20 students will receive priority when it comes to placing students in bands but it is not guaranteed that every student will be able to participate, however, we will do our best.
The deadline for nomination submissions is Friday, October 10th. Students will then be placed into one of two bands of balance performance levels and we will try to distribute music shortly after. Notification of who made the honor band and which band they are in will be provided by Friday, October 17th.
Once the students are placed in ensembles, we will email all directors an invoice for their student(s). Directors, boosters, budget keepers, or parents can pay online via the links that will be sent with the invoice. The cost of attending the MU Festival Band is $30.00 per student. Students will receive a t-shirt and certificate of participation, as well as a positive musical experience. Credit cards and checks are accepted. Checks must be made out to “Kappa Kappa Psi” and please provide us one check for the total amount. If this is an issue, please contact us. The deadline for Honor Band payment is due by Friday, November 7th.
The schedule below is tentative and subject to change slightly.
Meals
All campus dining facilities at the Memorial Student Center and Harless Dining Hall will be open. Students may also go off-campus to eat. There are several restaurants and fast food places within easy walking distance from campus. We will not offer lunch on Friday through our music department as we have in the past.
Hotels
There are many hotels in the Huntington/Barboursville/Ashland area available for housing during the Honor Band Festival.