High Plains Band and Choir Festival

The CSC Music Department will host the 54th High Plains Band and Choir Honor Festival on February 2-3, 2026. Eligible participants are high school students who have an interest in music, would like to further their musical knowledge, and want to have FUN making music with other students who share the same interest.

Students selected for the High Plains Band and Choir Music Festival participate in two days of rehearsals and activities culminating in a concert at the end of the second day at Chadron State College located in beautiful northwest Nebraska. Ensembles include an Honor Band, Honor Choir (SATB), and a guitar ensemble.

The final concert will begin at 5:00pm MST on Tuesday, February 3 in Memorial Hall Auditorium.

On Monday, February 2 at 4:30pm, immediately following the rehearsal, the CSC Music faculty are pleased to present a concert for all the students and music directors. This year, we will perform Eric Sammuts' "Sugaria," a concerto for solo marimba with percussion, vibraphone, amplified bass, and piano. Following the concerto, the CSC Faculty Jazz combo will perform some jazz standards.

High Plains Festival Schedule Information

2026 High Plains Directors Schedule

2026 High Plains Students Schedule

2026 High Plains Band & Choir Program

Concert Livestream Links

Livestream for the Tuesday, February 3 Honor Band and Choir Concert

Student Lunches During the Festival

The campus dining facility is open for lunches during the festival. Music directors should send an email to Shelley Johns, with the caterer, Fresh Ideas, at SJohns@freshideasfood.com.

Please include the number of students (meals) in your email. Fresh Ideas would prefer that directors collect the money for the meals and provide that to the cashier in one payment. The typical cost for a lunch is about $10.

Registration Forms

High Plains Registration is closed.

Audition Submission Fee

There is a fee of $20 for each person who submits an audition.

With our new registration system, we will be able to invoice high schools for the audition fee. Directors do not need to send in a list of the students who submitted auditions. We will include the list of students who submitted auditions with the invoice.

Please submit payments by school check or purchase order only. Make checks payable to: CSC Department of Music.

Mail the payments to: Music Office Administrator, Memorial Hall, Chadron State College, 1000 Main St. Chadron, NE 69337.

Audition deadline for this year's High Plains Festival is Friday, November 14, 2025.

Audition Materials

Audition material are posted beginning around the beginning of September each year and remain posted until the audition deadline around the middle of November.

Choral Audition Excerpt Accompaniment

Guitar and Electric Bass Registration

The High Plains Guitar and Electric Bass Ensemble is open to all high school students.

There is no audition required to register for Guitar or Electric Bass.

Students are encouraged to submit performance videos of a song or excerpt that they are currently working on, but it is not required for registrations. The videos will be used to help select appropriate music and lessons for the festival.