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The School of Music at Western Illinois University will host their 22nd annual SHOWCASE OF BANDS on February 27-28, 2009.
This event is a forum for the promotion of serious wind music and high school concert band performance.
Each year, three high school bands with proven concert success are invited as SHOWCASE BANDS to spend two days
immersed in music, sharing their dedication, their talent, and their energy. The track record of these chosen bands represents
the very finest musical example of high school music in Illinois. The bands attend master classes with Western's acclaimed wind
and percussion faculty, rehearse with university and guest personnel, and achieve an esprit de corps that only living and working
together can bring. Past bands have gone on to outstanding performance in many other arenas, including invitations to appear at
Carnegie Hall, the Bands of America Concert Festival, the Mid-West Band and Orchestra Clinic, Music Educators Regional and National
Conferences, and Superstate at the University of Illinois. School size is no criteria for the determination of musical excellence,
and schools of all sizes in Illinois have participated.
The guest conductor for the 2009 SHOWCASE BANDS will be Gary Green, Professor and Chair, Department of Instrumental
Performance, and Director of Bands, at the University of Miami.
The Showcase Bands performing at the 2009 Showcase of Bands are —
In addition, WIU Bands will host the 2009 HONOR BAND on the same weekend, February 27-28, 2009. For this ensemble of
talented musicians, band directors are invited to nominate their students to attend and participate in rehearsals, master classes with WIU
School of Music faculty, and a final performance. Students attend from throughout Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. This is an enriching musical
experience for young people, and the 2009 Honor Band will be given the opportunity to learn from
"Dr. Daniel Schmidt", Director of Bands at the Northern Arizona University.
On Friday evening, February 27, the WIU Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform in concert at 7:30 PM in the College of Fine Arts and
Communication Recital Hall. Final performance of the three
SHOWCASE BANDS will be at 1:00 p.m. followed by the WIU Concert Band and HONOR BAND at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday,
February 28, 2009, in the College of Fine Arts and Communication Recital Hall. Admission is free.
Showcase Bands are selected approximately one year in advance. If you would like to apply to be a Showcase Band, please contact Western
Illinois University Bands at 309-298-1505 or e-mail MJ-Fansler@wiu.edu.
If you would like your students to be a part of our HONOR BAND, nominate them by selecting the
Honors Band Info link at the top of this page.
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