Ohio Wesleyan to Host 52nd President's High School Band Festival
Event to Feature Free Community Concert Jan. 16 with OWU Symphonic Wind Ensemble
DELAWARE, Ohio – Each year since 1964, Ohio Wesleyan University has invited talented young musicians to participate in the annual President’s High School Band Festival.
This year’s two-day event will be held Jan. 15-16, with high school musicians from throughout Ohio and surrounding states participating in hands-on workshops, OWU scholarship auditions, and a free community concert.
The concert will begin at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 in Gray Chapel inside University Hall, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. Ohio Wesleyan’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble will join the high school musicians on stage, with OWU music professor Larry Griffin, D.M.A., conducting.
Music set to be performed at the community concert includes “Pinocchio” by Alex Poelman, “Fleodrodum” by Eric Swiggers, “Spirit of Life” by Meindert Boekel, “Call of Heroes” by Michael Geisler, and “Fusion” by Brian Balmages. The event also is scheduled to be streamed live online at www.owu.edu/stream.
Griffin, a renowned trumpeter and member of the OWU faculty since 1986, also serves as chairman of the annual band festival.
“High school students have commented the President’s High School Band Festival is a highlight of their year,” Griffin said. “They find attending the festival and touring our campus is a wonderful way to experience the highly intellectual, yet welcoming, culture of Ohio Wesleyan University.”
Visit the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Music website at www.owu.edu/music to learn more about the department, faculty, public performances, and upcoming 52nd President’s High School Band Festival.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 87 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,675 students represent 43 U.S. states and territories and 33 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.