February 12-13, 2027
The annual University of Wisconsin-Platteville Tri-State Honors Band Festival provides rewarding music experiences for high school band students and directors. The two-day event includes clinics, master classes, rehearsals, and concerts led by a guest conductor/clinician and UW-Platteville music faculty.
Festival Sheet Music will be available in a couple months.
Schedule
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Time Description 8:30-10 a.m. Student Registration (Center for the Arts Lobby)
Chair Placement Auditions (Doudna Hall) Immediately after Registration10 a.m. Festival Honors Band Seating in Concert Hall 10:15 a.m.–Noon Festival Honors Band Rehearsal (Center for the Arts Concert Hall)
UW-Platteville Scholarship Auditions for Seniors starting at 11 a.m.10:30–11:45 a.m. Training Multifaceted Trumpet Players – Jon Schipper (CFA Inst. Room 109) Noon–1:30 p.m. Lunch at Markee Pioneer Student Center
(separate room reserved for faculty and directors)1:30–2:30 p.m. Sectionals with UW-Platteville Wind and Percussion Faculty 2:45–5 p.m. Rehearsal 5 p.m. Check into housing; Dinner at Bridgeway Commons 7:30 p.m. Montage Concert
All UW-Platteville Tri-State Honors Band Festival concerts are presented in the Brodbeck Concert Hall, Center for the Arts. The public is cordially invited to attend all concerts. There is an admission charge for Saturday’s concert.
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Time Description 8:30–9:45 a.m. Master Classes with UW-Platteville Wind and Percussion Faculty 8:30–10 a.m. Directors Clinic with Dr. Thomas Gamboa 10:15–11:30 a.m. Directors New Music Reading Session (CFA Instrumental Room) 10:15–11:45 a.m. Festival Honors Band Rehearsal 11:45 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Lunch—Band at Bridgeway Commons
Directors at Steve’s Pizza Palace at the top of Main Street
Directors luncheon sponsored by West Music.1:30–2:30 p.m. Rehearsal 2:30–3:30 p.m. Break, dress for concert 3:30 p.m. Call for Concert 4 p.m. Festival Band Concert with UW-Platteville Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Festival Honors Band
Admission is $5 (general admission seating)
All UW-Platteville Tri-State Honors Band Festival concerts are presented in the Brodbeck Concert Hall, Center for the Arts. The public is cordially invited to attend all concerts. There is an admission charge for Saturday’s concert.
Guest Clinician
Thomas Gamboa
Dr. Thomas Gamboa serves as the Director of University Bands and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts. At UW-Milwaukee, Dr. Gamboa oversees all aspects of the band program, guides the graduate wind conducting area, and serves as music director of the New Music Ensemble and the Wind Ensemble, the University’s premier wind band.
Registration
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Participating directors are requested to complete the director registration form. There is no registration fee for directors and we will buy your lunch and dinner on Friday. Please let us know in advance if you plan to attend. Director's activities include observation of rehearsals by our clinicians, the low brass and director's clinic, concert attendance, and a luncheon on Saturday sponsored by West Music. If you need housing on Friday evening, the Holiday Inn Express in Platteville, and Country Inn and Suites are available. Director's spouses, parents, administrators, and others are cordially invited to attend all clinic events.
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Eligibility
Students enrolled in grades 9-12 must be nominated by their high school director. As the festival is designed for the more proficient and experienced instrumentalists, it is assumed the director will nominate his/her most capable players.
Enrollment Procedure
To recommend talented students interested in participating in the Tri-State Honors Band Festival, directors should use the student nomination form and provide concise comments regarding the students’ musical accomplishments.
Deadline
Student nominations are due by noon on Jan. 8, 2027. Selected students from your school and finalized festival information will be forwarded to you by Jan. 15, 2027.
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Fees
To confirm a student’s nomination, they will be asked to register online. Specifics will follow in later correspondence. Please do not complete the student registration or pay the fee until after nominees are notified of their selection. The festival registration fees for students are as follows.
Residential fee: $175
This includes all meals (lunch and dinner on Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturday), housing, t-shirt, and complete supervision of your students.Commuter fee: $125
This includes lunch and dinner on Friday and lunch on Saturday for students who commute to the festival.Arrival and Departure
Registration and chair placement auditions will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Friday morning. The final concert is Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Festival Placement Auditions
After registration check-in, students will perform a brief audition on their festival music for chair placement within their assigned section.
Detailed Festival Information
Accepted students will receive a complete description of the festival procedures (registration form, music, festival schedule, etc.) by Jan. 15, 2027. These materials will be emailed to the director for distribution to the invited students.
If you would like to audition for the UW-Platteville Department of Music, bring two contrasting selections to play and we will set up an audition time for you on Friday. Please contact Daniel Rowland at rowlandd@uwplatt.edu. Learn more about the audition process for music scholarships.