The University of Tennessee at Martin will host its 46th Honor Band program beginning at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 25, in the Harriet Fulton Performing Arts Theatre in the Fine Arts Building.
Dr. John Oelrich, professor of music, said 380 high school and middle school students from 75 schools in three states will take part in this year’s production.
Students wanting to take part in Honor Band fill out an online application. Those applications are reviewed by UTM Department of Music faculty.
“The students with the highest qualifications are selected,” Oelrich said. “They are then placed into four groups. Middle school students go into the middle school band, ninth- and 10th-graders will go into their concert band, the 11th- and 12th-graders go into the 11th- and 12th-grade symphonic band and the kids who really want an extra-challenging experience will audition for the wind ensemble, which is the most select group, and is for ninth through 12th grade.”
The students will come to campus on Thursday, Jan. 23, to audition for chair placements and ensemble placements from noon to 5 p.m. Rehearsals will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24.
“We present a concert of UTM offerings on Friday night,” Oelrich said. “Then, on Saturday morning, there is a master class given by faculty and students. Then, there are more rehearsals, and on Saturday, from 1 p.m. to about 4 p.m., each group gives a concert.”
Honor Band is a prestigious event for students, as they are selected from several applicants. Oelrich said that although it is a musical event, several of the students who take part and come to UT Martin may not be music majors.
“We recruit for every major on campus, because not every kid who comes here is going to major in music,” he said. “They’re going to want to major in agriculture or whatever else.”
Being able to list experiences with the Honor Band on a student’s high school graduation resume would go far, no matter what major that student is seeking.
What those students learn through Honor Band will go with them, no matter what career field they aspire to. Plus, they can show their fellow students back home the skills that they learned, and pay those skills forward.
“This also is a service to students to provide enriching experiences,” Oelrich said. “They come and perform with the top kids in the region. They can go a little bit further, they are pushed a little bit more, and they learn different ways to perform or be an ensemble musician.
“We make it very clear that these skills are not just for them. They are for them to take back home with them to make their home area a little richer. We serve as an enrichment and stimulus for the region; that’s our charge. It’s not just to bring this way but to give that way.”
Oelrich said it is also an opportunity for these students to meet other students with similar musical interests.
“To come and play in a band between 70 and 100 kids, it’s like, ‘Wow! I’m the only one of me at my school, but here, there are 12,’” he said. “It’s exciting for these kids to not only have that musical experience but to meet other people who are like them – not just with musical instruments but also like them, a band kid. They can resonate with them and share contacts with them and follow each other online.”
The Honor Band concerts are free and open to the public.
For more information about Honor Band or the UTM Department of Music, call 731-881-7418.
PHOTO: Dr. John Oelrich, professor of music, is shown conducting an ensemble in 2023. Oelrich will direct 380 middle-school and high-school students selected to take part in this year’s Honor Band.
