Hello Band Directors,
We are thrilled to announce the nomination form (template attached) is now available 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:
Applications are due by December 3rd, 2025 - Please send these in by 5:00PM central time.
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:
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.
Have a great week, and I look forward to working with all of you again very soon!
We are thrilled to announce the nomination form (template attached) is now available 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:
- 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)
Applications are due by December 3rd, 2025 - Please send these in by 5:00PM central time.
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
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.
Have a great week, and I look forward to working with all of you again very soon!
Dear Directors,
We are excited to release the audition results for the 2026 Quad State Honor Band Festival at Murray State University, February 26-27. We are thrilled to welcome so many of you back to MSU as well as some new participating schools this year and to provide instruction and musical enrichment to your students as a compliment of the already rich musical training they receive from you each day.
Invoices were linked in the email that went out directly to band directors on Friday, January 30th, 2026. Please refer to that email for payment information, student cancellations, alternates, etc.
EXCITING NEWS:
Our composer in residence, Kelijah Dunton, has nearly completed a BRAND NEW WORK for bands that will receive its world premiere by the Symphony Band! Many of your students will get to be involved in giving this new piece a life!
You will find all the information for the festival in our
Director's Google Drive Folder:
If you have any seniors that wish to audition for scholarships at Murray State, and they have not already setup a time, please contact me at [email protected] right away! We have more time available!
We are excited to release the audition results for the 2026 Quad State Honor Band Festival at Murray State University, February 26-27. We are thrilled to welcome so many of you back to MSU as well as some new participating schools this year and to provide instruction and musical enrichment to your students as a compliment of the already rich musical training they receive from you each day.
Invoices were linked in the email that went out directly to band directors on Friday, January 30th, 2026. Please refer to that email for payment information, student cancellations, alternates, etc.
EXCITING NEWS:
Our composer in residence, Kelijah Dunton, has nearly completed a BRAND NEW WORK for bands that will receive its world premiere by the Symphony Band! Many of your students will get to be involved in giving this new piece a life!
You will find all the information for the festival in our
Director's Google Drive Folder:
If you have any seniors that wish to audition for scholarships at Murray State, and they have not already setup a time, please contact me at [email protected] right away! We have more time available!
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.