EKU Department of Music - Festivals, Clinics, and Special Events: Opportunities for Middle & High School Students

Eastern Kentucky University

EKU Pre All-State Choral Music Workshop

The EKU Pre All-State Choral Music Workshop is a one-day event designed to help students prepare for the Kentucky All-State Choir auditions. Led by EKU’s Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Richard Waters, the event hosts students from throughout the state who come to experience a unique learning opportunity with their fellow choral musicians. The day features choir sectionals and full rehearsals on the selected All-State audition music, as well as audition and sight reading workshops to prepare students in all areas of the audition process. In addition, there will be performances by EKU student ensembles and faculty.

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Contact: Dr. Richard Waters
Email: richard.waters@eku.edu
Phone: 859-622-1336

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EKU High School Honors Bands:

The EKU Honors Bands is open to all band students in grades 9-12 upon the recommendation of theirband director. Three honors bands will be selected. Students will be selected based on the teacher recommendation process, grade level and on auditions the first morning of the event. Final band placement will be based on the auditions. Students will be sent audition materials in advance.

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Marching Colonel For A Day:

Participants will perform music and drill on Hanger Field at Roy Kidd Stadium with the marching band in the pre-game and half-time shows.
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Middle School Honors Band:

The Department of Music at Eastern Kentucky University is pleased to announce that it will host the annual Middle School Honors Bands Festival. The tentative schedule for the day may be found inside this brochure. This program is designed for the advanced student rather than beginners.

A clinic session for the students will be presented in the afternoon by members of our faculty. In addition, clinic sessions for teachers will be presented throughout the day.

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The EKU Clarinet Festival:

The EKU Clarinet All-State Festival for high school students occurs in the Fall on the EKU Campus. The Festival will be a half day event held in Brock and Foster that is free and includes a clarinet master class, recital, mock All-State auditions, and the opportunity to play in a clarinet choir. Registration will be in the Foster Music Building Lobby.

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EKU Guitar Festival:

Eastern Kentucky University will host Kentucky's first Pre-Collegiate Guitar Ensemble Festival in the spring of 2012. Guitar ensembles and individual guitarists from around the state and region are invited to participate and perform at this festival. The Festival Concert will feature select groups and all festival participants will perform in the finale concert with the EKU Guitar Festival Orchestra. Attendees do not need to belong to a high school guitar ensemble to participate. High School ensemble Directors are encourage to contact Dr. Davis to discuss performance opportunities for their ensemble. Pre-High School guitar participants should contact Dr. Davis to make sure their skill level allows them to participate.

While performances by electric guitar ensembles are welcome, participants performing with the EKU Festival Guitar Orchestra will need to bring an acoustic guitar. All ensembles and participants will need to provide their own equipment and are encouraged to have extra strings, a footstool or strap, a wire music stand, and if needed, cables, power-strips, extension cords, and other necessities. All items, especially their music folders, should be clearly marked with the participant’s name and contact information.

The EKU Pre-Collegiate Guitar Ensemble Festival will be a fun filled day of guitar activities! For those new to the concept, guitar orchestras are a blast to perform with, listen to, and are quickly becoming the most popular and important new “large ensemble” genre in the nation. Guitar Orchestras are the guitarist’s equivalent to other large ensembles, such as Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Concert Choir, and the Symphony Orchestra. Educators and students will want to be a part of this inaugural event. Click on the following links to see and hear examples of these activities (large and small ensembles):

Guitar Foundation of America Guitar Orchestra Trailer

The EKU Guitar Ensemble Concert Clips:
Boccherini Quintet
Electric Mozart

Foster Guitar Camp Concert Clip

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EKU Guitar Program

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Stephen Foster Music Camps:

Located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camp has provided outstanding musical experiences to the young musicians of the Commonwealth and surrounding states for 69 years. The Sixty-ninth Season promises to be no exception to the tradition that has made the Foster Camps so special to those who have attended. Whether you are an instrumentalist, keyboard, guitarist, or vocalist, we promise that you will not go home without capturing some of the spirit that has characterized Foster for these many years. What is that special difference that makes the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camps so unusual?
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