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Mechanics Hall is the premier event venue and concert hall in Central Massachusetts.
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John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band Concert
July 17, 2024 @ 7:00 pm
“Anybody can write music of a sort. But touching the public heart is quite another thing.” – John Philip Sousa
Wednesday, July 17th 7:00 PM Students & Seniors: $10 | Adults: $20 Buy Tickets
The John Philip Sousa Foundation is proud to present the 15th biannual edition of the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band, showcasing some of the highest achieving young wind band musicians the United States has to offer. The festival will take place at Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center in Boxborough, MA, July 14-17, 2024 . The final performance will be on Wednesday evening, July 17, 2024 at 7:00pm in the Great Hall at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA. The John Philip Sousa Foundation offers many dynamic programs to support the cause of wind band music around the country as a way to bring honor to that most famous and respected of bandsmen, John Philip Sousa. One of the Foundation’s most popular events is the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band. The band is open, by application, to all outstanding high school band students from throughout the United States. This program has been in existence since 1980 and has created outstanding opportunities for some of the most competent high school musicians in the country to come together and make music in the finest honors band setting.
Michael J. Colburn
Conductor
Michael J. Colburn is a freelance guest conductor and clinician who regularly leads professional and student ensembles in festivals, residencies, and a variety of other settings throughout the country In June 2024 he was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Orchestra of Northern New York, a professional orchestra based in Potsdam, NY. He is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Me2 Orchestra in Burlington, VT, a classical music organization devoted to erasing the stigma of mental illness through supportive rehearsals and inspiring performances, and he also serves as an Affiliate Artist at the University of Vermont. In 2024 he became a member of the Educational Consultant team at the Conn Selmer Division of Education. From 2014 until 2022, Colburn served as the Director of Bands at Butler University in Indianapolis, where he conducted the Butler University Wind Ensemble and offered instruction in conducting, euphonium, and the history and literature of the wind band. Before his tenure at Butler, Colburn served for 27 years in “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, where he held a variety of positions including Principal Euphonium (1991-1996), Assistant Director (1996-2004), and Director (2004-2014). As Director, Colburn was music advisor to White House and regularly conducted the Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra at the Executive Mansion and at the Presidential Inaugurations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He was promoted to Colonel by President Bush in a private Oval Office ceremony in 2007, and in 2014 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by Gen James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Medal of Honor by the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic Board of Directors. Committed to the promotion of new music, Colburn has commissioned band works from several highly accomplished composers including John Williams, Michael Abels, Stacy Garrop, Michael Gandolfi, David Rakowski, Melinda Wagner, Michael Schelle, and Frank Felice. He has served as the chair of the Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award, and as an adjudicator for the Sudler Award, the Barlow Endowment, Music for All, and the Col. George S. Howard Award for Excellence in Military Bands. Colburn is a Past President of the American Bandmasters Association, has been a board member of the National Band Association, and currently serves as Vice President for Project Enhancement for the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
About the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band The John Philip Sousa Foundation offers many dynamic programs to support the cause of wind band music around the country as a way to bring honor to that most famous and respected of bandsmen, John Philip Sousa. One of the Foundation’s most popular events is the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band, which is organized every two years. The band is open, by application, to all outstanding high school band students from throughout the United States. This program has been in existence for many years and has created outstanding opportunities for some of the most competent high school musicians in the country to come together and make music in the finest honors band setting. Beginning after 2000, the John Philip Sousa Foundation also decided to create regional junior high school-level honors bands as a way to recognize the very special talents of junior high school-aged band students in grades 7, 8 and 9.
Wednesday, July 17th 7:00 PM Students & Seniors: $10 | Adults: $20 Buy Tickets
The John Philip Sousa Foundation is proud to present the 15th biannual edition of the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band, showcasing some of the highest achieving young wind band musicians the United States has to offer. The festival will take place at Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center in Boxborough, MA, July 14-17, 2024 . The final performance will be on Wednesday evening, July 17, 2024 at 7:00pm in the Great Hall at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA. The John Philip Sousa Foundation offers many dynamic programs to support the cause of wind band music around the country as a way to bring honor to that most famous and respected of bandsmen, John Philip Sousa. One of the Foundation’s most popular events is the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band. The band is open, by application, to all outstanding high school band students from throughout the United States. This program has been in existence since 1980 and has created outstanding opportunities for some of the most competent high school musicians in the country to come together and make music in the finest honors band setting.
Michael J. Colburn
Conductor
Michael J. Colburn is a freelance guest conductor and clinician who regularly leads professional and student ensembles in festivals, residencies, and a variety of other settings throughout the country In June 2024 he was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Orchestra of Northern New York, a professional orchestra based in Potsdam, NY. He is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Me2 Orchestra in Burlington, VT, a classical music organization devoted to erasing the stigma of mental illness through supportive rehearsals and inspiring performances, and he also serves as an Affiliate Artist at the University of Vermont. In 2024 he became a member of the Educational Consultant team at the Conn Selmer Division of Education. From 2014 until 2022, Colburn served as the Director of Bands at Butler University in Indianapolis, where he conducted the Butler University Wind Ensemble and offered instruction in conducting, euphonium, and the history and literature of the wind band. Before his tenure at Butler, Colburn served for 27 years in “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, where he held a variety of positions including Principal Euphonium (1991-1996), Assistant Director (1996-2004), and Director (2004-2014). As Director, Colburn was music advisor to White House and regularly conducted the Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra at the Executive Mansion and at the Presidential Inaugurations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He was promoted to Colonel by President Bush in a private Oval Office ceremony in 2007, and in 2014 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by Gen James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Medal of Honor by the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic Board of Directors. Committed to the promotion of new music, Colburn has commissioned band works from several highly accomplished composers including John Williams, Michael Abels, Stacy Garrop, Michael Gandolfi, David Rakowski, Melinda Wagner, Michael Schelle, and Frank Felice. He has served as the chair of the Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award, and as an adjudicator for the Sudler Award, the Barlow Endowment, Music for All, and the Col. George S. Howard Award for Excellence in Military Bands. Colburn is a Past President of the American Bandmasters Association, has been a board member of the National Band Association, and currently serves as Vice President for Project Enhancement for the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
About the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band The John Philip Sousa Foundation offers many dynamic programs to support the cause of wind band music around the country as a way to bring honor to that most famous and respected of bandsmen, John Philip Sousa. One of the Foundation’s most popular events is the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band, which is organized every two years. The band is open, by application, to all outstanding high school band students from throughout the United States. This program has been in existence for many years and has created outstanding opportunities for some of the most competent high school musicians in the country to come together and make music in the finest honors band setting. Beginning after 2000, the John Philip Sousa Foundation also decided to create regional junior high school-level honors bands as a way to recognize the very special talents of junior high school-aged band students in grades 7, 8 and 9.