MSBOA

Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association. This is the group that sponsors Solo & Ensemble and Festivals for the instrumental programs, among other things. For more information, check out their web site: http://www.msboa.org

MSVMA

The Michigan School Vocal Music Association. Like the MSBOA, they sponsor Solo & Ensemble and Festivals, and support choral and vocal music education. http://www.msvma.org

Solo & Ensemble

Solo & Ensemble Festival is an event where students perform as soloists or in small groups and receive comments and suggestions from professional musicians and teachers. On the day of the festival students from all over southeastern Michigan gather at a local high school to perform the piece they have prepared. Adjudicators provide written suggestions and give verbal comments to the musicians, and give each soloist or ensemble a rating score. At the senior high level students who perform well enough to receive the highest rating have the option of continuing on to perform at the State Solo and Ensemble Festival.

More information is available here.

Important note: Solo & Ensemble usually occurs in January or February. Applications must be filled out and submitted in October or November and are available from the Directors. Check with your Director for more details.

Festivals

Once a year, many of our ensembles go to Festival. This is a district-wide event, giving school ensembles the opportunity to play for a judge. Judges are professional music educators -- often college music directors -- who provide the ensembles with comments and a rating for the performance.

A Pre-Festival Concert often is given just prior to Festival and is open to the public. This concert is sort of a dress rehearsal, where the ensembles play their pieces and receive comments from a local music educator -- often from the University of Michigan, Michigan State, or some other nearby university.

<go back to Main Page>