Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--More than 300 high school musicians from fives states will converge on campus Jan. 27-29 to participate in the 59th annual Mississippi State University Honor Band Clinic.
One of the oldest and largest in the Southeast, the clinic was founded in 1953 by former music department head Thomas West.
"While on campus, students will take part in rehearsals and activities designed to give them some of the best experiences a university-level honor band clinic can provide," said Elva Kaye Lance, MSU bands director. "This is among our largest recruiting events of the year."
Participants were selected from competitive auditions held across Mississippi in November and December. They will attend various clinics such as wind symphony, two festival concert bands, and the Honor Jazz Ensemble directed by associate director of bands Cliff Taylor.
The event's three public performances include:
--Jan. 27, 6:30 p.m., MSU Jazz Ensemble, McComas Hall main theater, Cliff Taylor directing;
--Jan. 28, 8 p.m., MSU Wind Ensemble, Bettersworth Auditorium in Lee Hall, Elva Kaye Lance directing;
--Jan. 29, 1 p.m., Honor Band final concert, also in the Bettersworth Auditorium.
The 2011 Honor Band Clinic will welcome three guest clinicians. Jeff King of Duncanville, Texas, will lead the Wind Symphony clinic, while Tony Pike of Mobile, Ala., and Cindy Bullock of Odessa, Texas, will be guest clinicians for the festival concert bands.
King currently serves as director of bands at the Duncanville Ninth Grade School and an assistant band director at Duncanville High School. He also is the author of the widely-used book "Foundations for Superior Performance."
Pike is the current band director for the Davidson High School band, "The Sound of Mobile," while Bullock is a retired educator of 29 years who recently received the 2010 Meritorious Achievement Award by the Texas Bandmasters Association.
For more information on the event's public performances, contact Lance at 662-325-2713 or e-mail her at eklance@colled.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, visit http://www.msstate.edu/.