Mt. Juliet, TN – March 16, 2020 – In partnership with the International Music Education Summit, Jupiter, Mapex and Majestic are proud to announce the 2020 Virtual Band Festival, allowing middle and high school bands throughout the United States to submit a video or audio recording to a panel of judges to receive quality feedback and a rating score. Adjudicators include freelance recording artist and clinician Patrick Sheridan, Director of Bands Emeritus at Tennessee Tech University Dr. Joseph Hermann and Senior Band Conductor and Director of Wind Ensembles at Vanderbilt University Dr. Thomas Verrier.
Recent measures to contain COVID-19 have had a profound impact on schools throughout the United States. While educators scramble to provide virtual experiences to continue the education of our students, it is difficult to facilitate the growth of a performing ensemble while schools are not in session. Many musical ensembles who have spent countless hours preparing were not able to attend their annual assessments to garner feedback essential to their musical learning. KHS America (Jupiter Winds, Mapex Drums & Majestic Percussion) sprung to action, looking to provide a way to help concert bands across the country get that feedback while also giving students and educators a sense of completion to their dedicated preparation.
KHS America Artist and Educator Relations Manager Rick DeJonge states, “As a former band director, I always found feedback from mentors accelerated my own professional growth, while offering my students a fresh perspective. I am pleased we are able to help provide this opportunity for band programs even though schools and contest festivals have been shut down.”
On May 2nd, schools will also have the opportunity to be showcased in a virtual concert, where students, friends and families can tune in to watch and listen to the ensemble’s performance. The longer schools are not in session, the more likely Spring Concerts will have to be postponed or canceled. KHS America hopes this opportunity will help to alleviate some of the disappointment students are facing with the loss of those traditional performance opportunities.
To register or to learn more about this event, band directors should visit https://musiceducationsummit.org/2020-band-festival.
KHS America is dedicated to the enrichment of lives through music performance and education by providing high-quality musical instruments and services designed to support musicians, educators, and our retail partners. KHS was established in 1930 and stands for Kong-Hsue-Sheh which translates to “Contribution to School and Society.” The name expresses the organization’s commitment to enhancing human quality of life and culture.