HS Solo and Ensemble

High School Solo and Ensemble Chair is Elizabeth Knoll-Bowman

MSBOA District 10

High School Solo & Ensemble Report

Updated January 12, 2026

Winter General Membership Meeting - January 12, 2026

District High School Solo and Ensemble takes place on Saturday, January 31, 2026 at Wyoming High School Thank you to Shawn Gurk and Kayla Cordell for hosting!

The schedule was finished and published Friday, December 19th. The steps to view your school schedule are as follows:

• msboa.org

• Dashboard Menu

• Member Tools

• District Reports

• View District Master Schedule

COUPLE OF IMPORTANT NOTES:  

• OVERTIME TIMES: We are over time in a few rooms. These will be the FIRST events changed once a scratch come in. PLEASE let any student who currently has a time starting at 5PM or later that they WILL get a changed time.

• We have an INCREDIBLE 1067 events and it felt like 1062 of them wanted an early time. Unfortunately, that means that many students did not get their requested time slot. You can request changes but these should be based on absolutely not being able to perform at that time. 

• No accompanists are double booked but there are some back to back. Please remind your accompanists that they are welcome to step out once the performance is complete (before the judge makes their comments).

Work Assignments

CLICK HERE FOR THE WORKER SCHEDULE.

• Morning shift begins at 7:30 AM, afternoon shift begins at 12:30 PM

• All directors are responsible for fulfilling their work assignment at the assigned time. 

• Adjudicating obligations do not excuse you from your work assignment. You are still responsible for your work assignment and need to plan accordingly. 

• Student teachers may not sub for work assignments, but are welcome to tag along and learn for the day. You must switch with another director or find someone else in good standing with MSBOA.

• For any switches, changes, or issues please email me as soon as possible.

• Make sure you are on the District 10 listserv to receive emails! Contact Mark Wells if you need to be added.

Scratches and Changes

• Please check that times work for all your students.

• If you need to request any type of TIME CHANGE, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM by Wednesday, January 29th at 9:00pm. The finalized schedule will be printed the following morning. 

• If you have SCRATCHES, please fill out the same GOOGLE FORM by Friday, January 30th at 7:00pm. That allows me to pull sheets and update room schedules prior to the event Saturday.

  • Remember, time changes are a request and I cannot guarantee that I will be able to honor all of them. Please get your requests in as soon as possible and I will resolve them in the order in which they are submitted.

Reminders to Directors

• All pieces must be a minimum of two minutes in length; chamber music must be a minimum of three minutes (with exception to the "Suggested Chamber Music List"). 

• If a piece has an accompaniment, you must have an accompanist. Students are now allowed to utilize a recorded accomp. from the publisher to play along with at Solo and Ensemble Festival.  Students do not need to show proof of purchase of this recording, we are trusting the directors to ensure that the music played is from the publisher.  This is what is stated in the MSBOA Yearbook:

"Accompaniment may be live, a pre-recorded accompaniment provided by the publisher, or digital intelligent accompaniment software, e.g., SmartMusic. The solo part must not be audible in the pre-recorded accompaniment. It is the director’s responsibility to ensure copyright law is followed."

• ALL electronically printed and purchased music (e.g. anything that would be presented to a judge on copy paper as opposed to an original, hard bound piece) must get approval from the office PRIOR to checking in to the warm-up room. To expedite this process, please review your students' piece NOW, and, if necessary, have them gather necessary proof and complete THIS FORM that they will bring to headquarters for a signature.

• ALL EVENTS must complete a performer form. This will be given to the performance room worker for introductions and any notes. This form can be found HERE.

• General reminder: In order to be eligible for a rating, please verify with your students that their song is long enough, they have accompaniment if needed, parts are covered correctly, and their score is approved. It is ultimately the responsibility of the school director that these requirements are met.

• Regularly communicate with students about the date, time, and location of the festival.

• Please do not give out my contact information to students and parents. All issues must be handled between student/parent/director. I will answer questions from directors only.

Thank you all in advance for following the instructions and meeting the deadlines. If you have questions about the process, please don't hesitate to email me. Thanks for all of your work in preparing your students for this terrific festival and the time you will put into helping it run smoothly!

Respectfully submitted,

Elizabeth Knoll-Bowman

Zeeland Orchestras

Email: eknoll@zps.org

Cell: (616) 403-7636