MVNU to host OMEA District 10 Honor Bands

The event will feature 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 featuring scales and an etude excerpt. Those chosen also take part in a rehearsal a week prior to the performance.

The day will include a morning 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 year’s District 10 Honor Bands event will feature guest clinician, Ms. Nancy Ditmer directing the high school band. Ms. Ditmer is Professor Emerita at The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where for 35 years she served as Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Education, retiring in August of 2019.  Ms. Ditmer founded, and for 21 years, directed the Wooster Music Camp, a summer experience for middle and high school band and orchestra students.  An active member of the Ohio Music Education Association, she served in various roles including president of the organization, and from 2012-2014 served as President of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). In April of 2016, she was the recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award at her undergraduate alma mater, Capital University, in recognition for notable accomplishments in her profession as well as service to the university and contributions to humanity.

Dr. Matthew Talbert will serve as clinician for the middle school band.  He is an Associate Professor of Music Education at Ohio University and joined the faculty there in fall of 2016. His responsibilities include teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, with additional teaching responsibilities in the Patton College of Education. Prior to his appointment at Ohio University, Dr. Talbert served on the faculty at Berea College in Berea, Ky., where he taught courses in Music Education and directed the Berea College Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble. He also enjoyed a successful tenure as a public school teacher in North Carolina, where ensembles under his direction consistently earned superior ratings and students earned placement in district and state honor bands. 

To learn more about MVNU’s Music Department, visit mvnu.edu/music.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to nearly 2,000 students from 25 states and 11 foreign countries.

###