Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2009-01-06

More than 500 high school and middle school musicians will participate in the Samford University Honor Band program this weekend (Jan. 8-10).

The students, representing 88 schools in north and central Alabama, were chosen for the honor by recommendation of their band directors.

Clinicians are Samford director of bands Dr. Jim Smisek and Jeff Atkins, director of bands, Oak Mountain Middle School; Joel Mason, director of bands, Mountain Gap Middle School, Huntsville; and Carlton Wright, director of bands, Minor High School, Birmingham. Masterclasses will be taught by Samford School of the Arts instrumental faculty members.

The schedule includes chair placement auditions on Thursday afternoon, with rehearsals and master classes all day on Friday and Saturday morning.

Honor Band participants will present a concert Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Samford's Wright Center Concert Hall. The public is invited free of charge.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.