High School Honor Band
The Annual TU High School Honor Band
The Towson Bands are thrilled to present the 42nd annual TU High School Honor Band, a unique and exhilarating opportunity for high school winds, brass and percussion instrumentalists.
Selected high school musicians will come together from around the state and beyond for an inspiring weekend of community building and high-level music making. The festival will culminate in a finale concert at the Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall located in the Center for the Arts (7700 Osler Dr, Towson, MD 21204).
When is it?
The Honor Band Festival will take place at Towson University on Saturday, December 13, 2025.
Who is selected and how?
Around 85 students from across Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic will be selected to participate in the festival based on High School Band Director Nominations and complete registrations with a recorded video audition for seat placement.
What TU staff is involved?
All participants will have the opportunity to work with Towson University faculty, staff and students in rehearsals and masterclasses. The Honor Band will be conducted by the TU Director of Bands, Dr. Branden Steinmetz.
Nomination Process for Band Directors
1
Assemble Your List
You may nominate up to 10 outstanding musicians in grades 9–12 for consideration. We will aim to include at least one student from each school, within the limitations we face in achieving balanced instrumentation.
Assemble your list details ahead of time so that you are prepared to rank your nominees #1 – #10.
Required Nominee Information:
- Full Name
- Grade Level
- Instrument
- Parent/Guardian Full Name
- Parent/Guardian Email
- Parent/Guardian Contact Number
2
Fill Out the Nomination Form
Enter your nominees into the nomination form in rank order. Enter your #1 ranked student first, then enter your #2 ranked nominee, and so on.
Nominations open Friday, October 10, 2025.
The last day to submit is Friday, November 7.
3
Double Check Your Form and Submit
Double check each entry for accurate spelling of ALL student nominees and parent/guardian email addresses.
When you are sure everything is accurate, submit the form by Nov. 7.
What to Expect after Nominations
Students, parents, and band directors will be notified of nominees' status on or before Friday, November 14.
Students invited to participate will be required to:
- Complete a registration form and submit a non-refundable $35 payment online through the TU Box Office.
- Submit a seat placement audition via video submission. Instructions will be provided in the Acceptance Letter.
What the Festival Will Include
On Saturday, you can expect:
- An electrifying welcome session by the TU Pep Band
- Master classes by TU Department of Music faculty
- Instruction and supervision from TU band faculty and students
- Engaging rehearsals
- Honor Band T-shirt
- Provided lunch
- Exciting concert by the TU Wind Ensemble
Schedule Overview
7:00am-7:50am - Check-in
8:00am-8:20am - Welcome Session (Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall)
8:30am-9:20am - Sectionals (w/TU Faculty and Students)
9:30am-11:50am - Rehearsal (Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall, breaks included)
12:05pm-1:25pm - Lunch (Glen Dining Hall)
1:40pm-4:30pm - Rehearsal (Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall, breaks included)
4:45pm-5:20pm - TU Wind Ensemble Performance (Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall)
5:30pm-6:50pm - Dinner/Change into Concert Attire (dinner not provided)
7:00pm-7:25pm - Sound check
7:30pm-8:00pm - Honor Band Performance (Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall)
FAQs for Selected Musicians
Part Placement Audition Information
Accepted participants must submit a recorded audition video link including all required components by November 23, 2025. The "audition" video is a way for us to make sure everyone is put in a successful position. Don't stress too much - play YOUR best!
Part Placement Audition Requirements
Submit a complete recorded video audition.
Once selected, participants must perform a part placement audition consisting of 3 major scales, a chromatic scale, and a 1-minute excerpt that you and your student feel best demonstrates their ability and musicianship. Percussionists should perform the scales on a mallet instrument, and the 1-minute excerpt on snare drum or timpani. The scale sheets can be found for each instrument in this folder: TU HONOR BAND SCALES.
Please use a high-resolution device (i.e., cellular phone, computer/laptop. iPad/tablet).
Please ensure the recording is of high quality and without technical problems.
EACH video component must be included in ONE shareable link (continuous), linked in ONE shareable folder (all portions), or as an unlisted YouTube Playlist (PREFERRED).
Your face, fingers, valves, keys, or slides must be always visible in the video.
Upload your complete link to a File Sharing service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, etc.
If using Google Drive or Dropbox, please enable your video link sharing settings so that anyone with the link can view. If using YouTube, please select the 'Unlisted' video option, NOT private.
Provide a short introduction of yourself (hello/first and last name)
Paying the Registration Fees
After being selected, each musician will need to pay a non-refundable $35 participation fee by the deadline in the acceptance letter.
You can pay the $35.00 Accepted Registrant Fee online through the TU Box Office.
There will be a $3.00 debit/credit card service fee.
Receiving Your Honor Band T-Shirt
Selected participants will receive a festival t-shirt during check-in.
Parents/Guardians
Parents/Guardians, if you are driving your student(s) to the honor band, we recommend that you drop your student off, along with their instrument and music, at the Center for the Arts at Towson University (7700 Osler Dr, Towson, MD 21204) and then park if you choose to do so.
*Participants that are driving themselves to the event must review the parking guidelines and map to park in the designated parking lots near the Center for the Arts.
You (parents/guardians) are NOT required to attend and stick around for the entire event and activities, but we certainly hope you will accompany your musician(s) to dinner (if needed due to age), and attend the finale concert.
Dinner is from 5:30pm-6:50pm. All musicians must change into their dress attire during the dinner break.
Getting Lunch and Dinner
Lunch is provided for each participant as part of the application fee. Each student will receive a meal voucher to eat on campus at Glen Dining Hall.
Learn more about the food options at Glen Dining Hall.
Dinner is not provided. Participants will need to travel with a parent or chaperone and be transported to
and from dinner. There are options for meals both on campus and in close proximity to the university.
Dress Attire
Participants must change into their concert attire during the dinner period (preferably after eating) before returning for the sound check and concert.
Performance Attire is ALL Black (a combination of any of the below works):
- Black button-down shirt/black blouse (short/long sleeved), black sweater, black blazer/jacket/vest
- Black dress or long skirt (shoulders and knees must be covered)
- Black slacks or black dress pants (black chino pants are acceptable)
- Black closed toe dress shoes
- Black straight or bow tie
- Black socks, black/or nude hosiery
Purchasing Tickets for the Finale Concert
Tickets to attend the finale concert of the Honor Band can be purchased through the TU Box Office (link coming soon).
Finding Parking
There are FREE and Pay to Park options on Saturday.
Lot 3, 4, 5 and the Union Parking Garage are the closest to the Center for the Arts. Parking Options and Pay to Park information are located at the Visitors Parking website.
To find Lot 3, 4, 5 and the Union Parking Garage, view the parking map.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please email the Director of Bands, Dr. Branden Steinmetz.