The 2026 solo festival took place Tuesday, Feb. 17. Many judges attended to guide performances and create musical learning experiences for students.
Musicians in the Spartan band challenge themselves throughout the year, but they have one opportunity to stand out: the Solo Festival. Band directors and experienced judges coordinate the event.
Lesson teachers help students select songs that test the musicians’ ability in areas they want to improve, mostly based on past performance results and personal goals. Directors distribute surveys to learn what students hope to achieve for their next performance.They also consider the student’s aptitude and practice habits when selecting music.
“The area of focus is the starting place because I can think of the type of music, or a genre that will fit, and then the level of difficulty will be determined by how often the student practices and how confident they feel. The end goal is that if the student is interested in that area of focus, and I can find a solo they like, they will enjoy or want to practice it,” wrote Band director and lesson teacher Brian Kling.
Aside from individual students, the festival relies on professional musicians who serve as judges, providing feedback and scores for soloists. Band directors put in efforts to bring judges to the high school on solo night.
Pleasant Valley Band director Tara Daurer shares some insight on contacting the judges. “I call and email people who we respect as musicians and educators and see if they are available to come in and give feedback that night,” she said. “We had 10 centers this year, some of the centers, the 1st person I reached out to was good to go. One center, I had to go through nine different people before I found a good fit for our low brass center.”
The directors consider credentials such as a music degree, a teaching background and prior interactions at events. The selected judges also receive some form of compensation for their work. “I fill out a lovely little form on our Freyo program for each adjudicator, and upload their W9 so that they can get paid from the district for coming,” Daurer mentioned.
Moreover, the judges also meet with the Band directors. Food arrangements are made based on dietary surveys. Hospitality is important to creating a positive environment for the festival and ensuring judges feel appreciated.
For the day of the performances, reserving centers for the various instruments requires coordination with school teachers.
Kling described the effort of the band directors: “I contacted teachers around the building to make sure we could use their classrooms, Mrs. Daurer and Mr. Anderson contact and schedule the educators who come in and listen to all the students, and Mr. Gaskin prepared all of the ballots,” he said.
Overall, the solo festival allows the development of individual skills for students and is supported by the careful work of the Spartan Band directors and judges with musical and mentoring experience who fulfill their assigned roles.
