We are thrilled to announce the final selections for the 78th Annual Quad State High School Honor Band Festival, February 26-27, 2026 on the campus of Murray State University.
Please note - we have made some changes to this year’s festival. Here is a summary of those changes:
Please, only submit Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets format - NO PDFs! There is a template attached for Microsoft Excel, or you can create your Google Sheet File from THIS TEMPLATE. It is important that you complete the nomination form fully for your students to get full consideration for the festival. We ask that you nominate students that will be successful in an honor band environment. Please use the nomination form to rank your students with your best at number 1 and so on.
Applications are due by December 3rd, 2025.
The fee for selected students will be $45 and will once again include an official Quad State T-Shirt, music, etc. Once students have been selected, we will return an invoice for you to process and keep for your records.
Please return nomination forms via share in google sheets OR send your excel sheet via email to me at [email protected] and save your file with your school name as follows: YOURSCHOOL_QSHS_2026
Anticipated timeline:
December 3rd - Nominations due
December 12th - Students selected to audition will be sent out to directors with links to audition music
January 16th - Audition recordings due back to MSU
February 3rd - Final selections and seating announced with links to music
February 26th - Registration at MSU begins at 12:30PM
February 27th - Final Concert at 7:00PM
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY
You will also find our Quad State Soloist Application available at this link. This opportunity is open to current high school seniors. I encourage you to have your students apply for this rare opportunity to perform for 300 of their peers. The Soloist winner will also receive a music scholarship to study at Murray State!
The student schedule of events for the festival is available for your review: QUAD STATE 2026 SCHEDULE. Again, please note the changes to this year’s schedule. We will be eager to get your feedback afterward about the changes!
Again, we are slimming down the festival to three bands instead of four - We realize that means less students will get to participate, but we are hoping the new format makes the event more engaging for those that are selected.
Please note - we have made some changes to this year’s festival. Here is a summary of those changes:
- This year we will offer 3 honor bands - Symphony Band, Blue Band, & Gold Band
- You will still send nominations as usual, but we will be asking for students to submit video auditions for band seating (this will be explained more after the nomination process)
- This year we are welcoming Composer-In-Residence Kelijah Dunton. Each of the Quad State Bands will perform one of his pieces and spend time with him in rehearsals!
- The schedule has changed this year to include smaller, more personalized masterclasses with the Murray State instrumental faculty.
- The start time on Thursday, will be earlier (registration begins at 12:30PM)
- The Honor Band Concert will take place Friday evening at 7:00PM instead of Saturday morning (this will reduce transportation and overnight costs for all participating bands)
Please, only submit Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets format - NO PDFs! There is a template attached for Microsoft Excel, or you can create your Google Sheet File from THIS TEMPLATE. It is important that you complete the nomination form fully for your students to get full consideration for the festival. We ask that you nominate students that will be successful in an honor band environment. Please use the nomination form to rank your students with your best at number 1 and so on.
Applications are due by December 3rd, 2025.
The fee for selected students will be $45 and will once again include an official Quad State T-Shirt, music, etc. Once students have been selected, we will return an invoice for you to process and keep for your records.
Please return nomination forms via share in google sheets OR send your excel sheet via email to me at [email protected] and save your file with your school name as follows: YOURSCHOOL_QSHS_2026
Anticipated timeline:
December 3rd - Nominations due
December 12th - Students selected to audition will be sent out to directors with links to audition music
January 16th - Audition recordings due back to MSU
February 3rd - Final selections and seating announced with links to music
February 26th - Registration at MSU begins at 12:30PM
February 27th - Final Concert at 7:00PM
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY
You will also find our Quad State Soloist Application available at this link. This opportunity is open to current high school seniors. I encourage you to have your students apply for this rare opportunity to perform for 300 of their peers. The Soloist winner will also receive a music scholarship to study at Murray State!
The student schedule of events for the festival is available for your review: QUAD STATE 2026 SCHEDULE. Again, please note the changes to this year’s schedule. We will be eager to get your feedback afterward about the changes!
Again, we are slimming down the festival to three bands instead of four - We realize that means less students will get to participate, but we are hoping the new format makes the event more engaging for those that are selected.