Each May, the members of the Iowa Bandmasters Association (IBA) hold an annual conference in Des Moines. It’s a professional development conference with clinics, discussion sessions, exhibitors, sight-reading sessions, and performances by Conference Honor Bands selected from across the state of Iowa. Bands submit recordings and are in competition state-wide to earn these coveted Honor Band spots. They are selected by a state-wide panel of adjudicators representing all six geographic districts of IBA, every level of teaching, and each school-size classification. The adjudicators do not know who has submitted the recordings, judging the groups purely on the level of technical ability and musical merits.
The committee is tasked with selecting up to one high school band is selected in each of the 4 high school classifications, as well as one HS jazz band, one MS/JH jazz band, two middle school bands, and one elementary band. This is considered the highest honor a band in the state of Iowa can achieve.
This year, for the first time since 1956, Marion High School’s Wind Symphony was selected to perform as the selected honor band in class 3A.
Their performance will be on Thursday, May 15th at 7:00pm in the Des Moines Downtown Marriott.
The performance is free and open to families/supporters of the band.
A preview concert of our set will happen on Monday, May 12th at 7:00pm in the Marion Performing Arts Center.
Congratulations to Marion High School's Wind Symphony on this incredible honor. Our students have worked incredibly hard to be selected for this achievement.