Honor Orchestra

Following the success of another annual event here at PLU, the Northwest Honor Band, we have created a similar opportunity just for string players with the PLU Honor Orchestra for Strings. It is a two-day festival held annually over a weekend in January, offering individual high school string players from throughout the region the opportunity to perform excellent literature for string orchestra with a nationally recognized guest conductor. Please recommend your outstanding student musicians for participation. Each nominating organization is guaranteed participation in the Honor Orchestra for Strings if the nomination form is received by the DEADLINE: November 7, 2021.

Fee: There will be a $95.00 NON-REFUNDABLE fee for each student musician participating in the Honor Orchestra for Strings. This fee includes dinner on Saturday and lunch on Sunday. This fee is due TBD.

Please note that no refunds will be allowed after event registration has been completed, and no registration or payment will be accepted following the deadline of TBD.

Huw Edwards

Huw Edwards has just started his seventeenth season as Music Director of the Olympia Symphony.  There has been a continued sense of excitement in Olympia about Huw’s tenure and he is credited with greatly improving the quality of the Orchestra, selecting challenging yet rewarding programs and being very active in the community.  Some notable highlights from last year’s lauded 66^th Season include Debussy’s La Mer, the Fifth Symphony of Sibelius, Ravel’s complete ballet score Mother Goose, and Route 66 by Michael Daugherty.

Mr. Edwards was the Music Director of the Portland Columbia Symphony in Oregon from 2000-2012, and after his final concert was immediately named the Orchestra’s Conductor Emeritus and Principal Guest Conductor.  From 2002-2005 Mr. Edwards was Music Director of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras and a faculty member at the Marrowstone Music Festival from 1998-2005.  Mr. Edwards moved to Seattle after seven wonderful seasons (1995-2002) as Music Director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) in Oregon—a tenure which included numerous innovations, recordings, a coveted ASCAP Award and landmark tours to Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Active as a guest conductor and clinician Mr. Edwards has performed with the Oregon Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Yakima Symphony and has worked with the symphony orchestras of Dallas and Memphis, as well as with ensembles in Illinois, New York, Idaho, Vermont, Utah, Minnesota, Oregon, Nebraska, Washington, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, and throughout the United Kingdom.  Recent guest engagements have included Orchestra Seattle, the Symphony Orchestra at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, the Stradivari Academy Orchestra at the University of Portland, an Honor Orchestra in Vancouver, a celebrated return to conduct the PYP at the Schnitzer Hall, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s July 4 “Concert-on-the-Square” in Madison, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra in Burien, and a year-long residency at PLU.  Huw also be teaches classes at the South Sound Senior Center and gives illustrated talks at SPSCC about the OSO concerts.

Born in Wales, Great Britain, Mr. Edwards holds degrees from the University of Surrey in England and Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Mr. Edwards was also a lecturer at Northwestern University and a Doctoral candidate (1991-95). Mr. Edwards has been active as a conductor since the age of 17 when he was appointed Music Director of the Maidstone G&S Society in England—a post he held for six years—and came to the United States in 1988 on scholarship to attend SMU in Texas. His principal teachers have been Simon Johnson and Barry Wordsworth (London), Anshel Brusilow and Eduardo Mata (Dallas), and Victor Yampolsky (Chicago).

How to Get Involved (Nominations):

Acceptance in the PLU Honor Orchestra for Strings:

Seating will be determined by audition on January 15 just before the first rehearsal. The audition material will be chosen from the repertoire for the orchestra.

Important Dates:

• November 7: Nominations due
• TBD: Notification of acceptance will be sent to the nominees and their directors.
• TBD: Registration and non-refundable fees are due.
• January 15: Seating auditions – an audition will determine the principal players in each section and seating placement.

Participant Information

Important Dates:

November 7: High school directors’ nomination deadline

TBD: Registration and non-refundable fees are due.

January 15: Seating will be determined by audition just before the first rehearsal. The audition material will be chosen from the repertoire for the orchestra.

• Directions to PLU
• List of hotels near PLU
• Honor Orchestra Schedule

Participant fees: $95 (non-refundable)

Concert CD: $20

Confirmation and Acceptance: Once nominations have been reviewed Honor Orchestra for Strings participants will be notified of acceptance via email and provided access to registration. Once received, please complete registration and payment using the OpusEvent link provided by January 5th.  NOTE: To achieve appropriate instrumentation, it is extremely important to notify PLU if a student is not able to attend.

PLUHO 2020 Music and Audition Material

Seating will be determined by audition on January 25 just before the first rehearsal. The audition material will be chosen from the repertoire for the orchestra.