This year, six award-winning conductors will lead the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) premier All-National Honor Ensembles (ANHE) in Orlando, Florida.
NAfME is pleased to announce the return of both the Modern Band and Guitar Ensembles to the ANHE program. The nation’s top high school musicians will audition for the opportunity to rehearse and perform in a one-of-a-kind national music honors program. The students must first compete at their local, district, and state level to become eligible for this distinguished honor. On November 5–8, these exceptional musicians will gather at Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando to showcase their expert musicianship and perform a gala concert celebrating music education and the arts.
The All-National Honor Ensembles consist of a concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed choir, jazz ensemble, guitar ensemble, and modern band ensemble, now in its second year. The concert band and symphony orchestra will each have approximately 120 instrumentalists, the jazz ensemble 20 instrumentalists, the mixed choir approximately 240 vocalists, the guitar ensemble 60 guitarists, and the modern band ensemble 20 musicians.
Eligible students have qualified for their state-level honor ensemble program and competed against top students for a spot in these national honor ensembles. As many states do not have an All-State Guitar Ensemble, students who participate in their school’s guitar ensemble program are permitted to apply for the All-National Guitar Ensemble. Similarly, as many schools do not have modern band ensembles, students are permitted to apply for All-National Modern Band if they are sponsored by a NAfME member. The audition deadline is May 1, 2020, at 11:59 PM Eastern time.
Ensemble members will perform under the direction of six of the most prominent conductors in the United States.
Rodney Dorsey, Professor of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, will lead the 2020 All-National Concert Band.
Nobuyoshi Yasuda, Orchestra Director at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Music Director of the Chippewa Valley Symphony, will lead the 2020 All-National Symphony Orchestra.
Frances Fonza is the Director of Worship and Arts at Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland, and teaches at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. She will lead the 2020 All-National Mixed Choir.
Todd Stoll will lead the 2020 All-National Jazz Ensemble.
Chuck Hulihan, Assistant Department Chair for Performing Arts at Glendale Community College (GCC), will lead the 2020 All-National Guitar Ensemble.
Tony Sauza is the Los Angeles County Regional Program Director, where he supports teachers in developing their Modern Band programs across the Southern California area. Sauza will lead the 2020 All-National Honor Modern Band.
