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The event will feature over 200 young musicians from Ashland, Coshocton, Delaware, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morrow and Richland Counties and over 60 participating schools. To be eligible for the OMEA Honors Band, students must be nominated by their director. High school students must also submit an audition piece featuring scales and an etude excerpt. Those chosen also take part in a rehearsal a week prior to the performance.

The day will feature a morning full of instruction for both bands, and will culminate with a final concert at 3:30 p.m. in the R.R. Hodges Chapel/Auditorium on the MVNU campus. The concert is free and open to the public. This event will feature guest conductors for both the middle school and high school bands. Dr. Richard Miles, Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, will serve as the High School Honors Band director. Dr. Miles holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Florida State University and graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois and Appalachian State University. In addition to the supervision and administration of the MSU Bands, Dr. Miles teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting. Since coming to MSU in 1985, the Symphony Band under his direction has received national and international recognition having performed for conventions of the Music Educators National Conference, the College Band Directors National Association, the National Band Association, the Kentucky Music Educators Association, and concert tours to The People's Republic of China, Brazil, and Spain. Professor Miles has co-authored, compiled and edited the internationally recognized wind band series: Teaching Music through Performance in Band, Volumes I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, Teaching Music through Performing Marches, Teaching Music through Performance in Beginning Band Volumes I and II, and Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz.

Dr. Miles is a Past President of the Kentucky Music Educators Association, and Past President of the College Band Directors National Association - Southern Division. Internationally, he has conducted concerts and clinics in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, The Canary Islands, The People's Republic of China, Colombia, throughout Europe and The United Kingdom, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, and South Africa. Recently, Dr. Miles was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Appalachian State University, the Presidential Recognition Award and Distinguished Leadership Award from the Kentucky Music Educators Association, the Kentucky Outstanding Contributor to Bands Award and is the 2006 - 2007 recipient of the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, International Outstanding Contributor to Bands Award presented at the 60th Annual Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic.

Mrs. Barbara Siler, will serve as the Middle School Honors Band director. Mrs. Siler is the Assistant Director of Bands at Bellbrook High School, and also directs bands at Bellbrook Middle School, both secondary schools within the Sugarcreek Local Schools system. Mrs. Siler is the director of the high school Symphony Band and assists with the Wind Ensemble and Marching Band, and is also the director of the Clarinet Choir at BHS and the pit orchestras for musicals. In addition to her duties at the high school, Mrs. Siler teaches beginning band, Honors Wind Ensemble, and two Symphony Bands at the Middle School. She has been a music teacher in the Sugarcreek Local Schools since 1988. During this time, she has also taught elementary general music, middle school choir, and high school choir. Mrs. Siler is a graduate of Beavercreek High School. In 1986, Mrs. Siler received her Bachelor of Music degree in education from Wright State University, where she double majored in piano and clarinet and was recognized with Magna Cum Laude status. She continued her education at Wright State and graduated with a Master of Music degree in 1988 (4.0 honors), with an emphasis on clarinet and music education. For more information, call (740) 397-9000, ext. 3000. 3000.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students and working adults. With a 400-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and several convenient Graduate and Professional Studies sites throughout the state, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education to more than 2,600 students from 26 states and seven countries/U.S. territories.