The 2020-2021 Highland Park MS Honors Band has been named a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors, by the Foundation for Music Education. 
The Mark of Excellence seeks to recognize and award outstanding achievement in performance by high school and middle school bands, choirs, and orchestras. It is a competition, entered through recorded submissions, in which the top 25% of the groups are selected as National Winners and the second 25% received Commended Honors. Over the past 14 years, the project has received entries from thirty-eight states. All the groups receive recorded and written comments from the adjudicators, and a compilation recording of the National Winners. With 236 entries for the project, the Highland Park Middle School Honors Band’s live UIL recording from the spring of 2021 earned a spot on the highest list for the first time in school history!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL 2021 LIST
Here are our recordings that will be shared with directors and students across the nation for placing onto the National Winner List:
Adjudicators for the National Wind Band Honors for 2021 were Richard Floyd (State Director of Music Emeritus, University Interscholastic League), Kevin Sedatole (Director of Bands, Michigan State University), and Timothy Rhea (Director of Bands, Texas A&M University).
Placement onto the National Winner list speaks to the high quality of individual musicians and strength of ensemble playing going on in the HP Band program. I am very proud of the students for pushing through the many challenges that were present last year to maintain the standard of excellence that has come to be associated with the HP Raider Band program.
Additionally, we are proud to announce that the Highland Park High School Wind Symphony was also named a National Winner in their classification! This is the first time that both groups have appeared as a National Winner (they have previously been named a Commended Winner). Please join me in congratulating these fine student musicians on their big achievement and national recognition!