Middle School Honors Band Festival

The UWM Middle School Honors Band Festival is one of the longest-standing events of its kind. Our festival provides the region’s most motivated and accomplished middle school instrumentalists with an opportunity to work with one another and with regionally and nationally recognized wind band conductors. In addition, students interact with UWM performance staff and experience performances by UWM ensembles.

Director Nominations

Only students who are nominated by their band director are eligible to attend. Nominations are open to all band directors. If you or your organization plan to pay for some or all student fees, please contact us during the director nomination period.

Students will be notified via email of their acceptance to the festival, or their wait-list designation, after being processed by UWM Bands staff.

1. Please download the nomination form and use any spreadsheet software to edit. Be sure to fill in your director information in the header portion.
2. Review nomination data formatting as organized by column headers and the first-row sample. Afterwards, please delete the sample row.
3. Enter student data for each nomination. Remember to assign a rank that represents their overall ranking among ALL of your nominees, regardless of instrument or grade level. NOTE: Each rank number should only appear once.
   • We will use this data to form three equal and randomly assigned festival bands and create chair rankings within each band. Please consider the data you provide on each student carefully. 
4. Once all nominations have been entered, save the file with this filename format: “DirLastName_SchoolName.” Email the file to ms-honors-band@uwm.edu prior to the October 15 nomination deadline. 
5. If you need to revise nominations after you have submitted them, please notify Dr. Corley directly at scorley@uwm.edu. 
6. Directors will be notified of their nominees’ festival status (accepted or wait-listed) around October 23. The accepted students’ pre-registration period is October 25-November 8. Separate information regarding this process will be sent directly to those families/homes.  

Only students who are nominated by their school band director before Monday, October 19 are eligible to attend the festival.

Student Registration

Students are notified via email of their acceptance determination, and if accepted, their individual honor band assignment. Students notified as alternates are added to a wait list and will be notified if an opening occurs.

Accepted students will be emailed by Friday, October 23 and should complete registration between October 24–November 7 using the link found in their acceptance email. If assistance is needed, please contact the Box Office.

Registration is $95 per student, which includes all instruction, rehearsal spaces, music, and administrative fees. A $40 discount is available for students who are also enrolled in UWAY or the UWM String Academy by emailing their respective UWM instructors to receive a discount code. It also includes admission to the final concert for the students’ family and other supporters (no physical tickets necessary). All Festival registration payments are non-refundable.

Guest Conductors

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Matt Mealey | New Richmond High School

Matt Mealey is honored to serve as a guest conductor for the 2026 UW-Milwaukee Middle School Honors Band Festival. A dedicated music educator, Mr. Mealey has served as the Director of Bands at New Richmond High School in Wisconsin for the past 24 years. Throughout his career, he has worked with band students of all ages, from the middle level up through collegiate music programs, including previous appointments directing the jazz bands at the University of Rochester (NY) and UW-Stout. In high demand as a clinician, he has served as a judge at numerous jazz and concert band festivals throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota. Beyond the traditional school year, he frequently invests his time inspiring young musicians at regional camps, having taught concert and jazz sessions at the International Music Camp, the Northland Youth Music Program, and the Shell Lake Arts Center. He has also spent the past five summers serving as the Camp Band Coach for the Kids From Wisconsin.

Mr. Mealey holds a Bachelor’s degree from UW-Eau Claire, a Master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, and he has completed a year of DMA studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Alongside his distinguished career in music education, Mr. Mealey maintains an active national profile as a freelance trumpet artist. He has toured the country extensively, performing as lead trumpet for legendary artists and ensembles including Wayne Newton, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Frankie Valli, Mannheim Steamroller, Johnny Mathis, and the New York Voices. His diverse professional credentials also include work with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Gap Mangione, Five by Design, and the National Broadway Tours of 42nd Street and Monty Python’s Spamalot. Mr. Mealey is thrilled to bring his pedagogical and performance experience to the festival to collaborate with the region’s outstanding young musicians.

Ian Melrose | Central Heights Middle School

Ian Melrose is a middle school band teacher at Central Heights Middle School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, where he teaches 7th and 8th Grade Band and General Music, and leads a before-school jazz band and an co-leads after-school pep band. In 2025, the 8th Grade Band performed at the WMEA State Music Convention in a session titled “Creativity & Connection in Middle School Band,” highlighting collaborations with orchestra and choir, student improvisation and composition, and student-led introductions and programs. He previously taught at Sun Prairie’s Cardinal Heights (8th & 9th Grade) and at Beloit Turner High School.

Ian holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from UW-Madison, a master’s degree in Tuba Performance from the University of Georgia, and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership, also from UW-Madison. As a performer, he was a member of the Bulldog Brass Quintet at UGA, which placed nationally in both the Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition and the MTNA Chamber Music Competition. He also won the UGA Wind Ensemble’s concert competition performing Rolf Wilhelm’s Concertino for Tuba and Wind Instruments and was later named a semi-finalist in the Leonard Falcone International Tuba Competition. He has also performed with Mama Digdown’s Brass Band and is currently the sousaphone player in the Red Hot TradJazz Band.

Ian’s work in music education extends into the marching arts. He began his teaching career with the Capitol Sound Drum & Bugle Corps and has since worked with the Madison Scouts and the Lassiter High School Marching Band. He previously directed the Sound of Sun Prairie Marching Band and now serves as its Business Manager.

Beyond the classroom, Ian is currently co-chairing revisions to the Wisconsin DPI Standards for Music and serves on the WMEA Standards Committee. He has also served as tuba coach for the WMEA Middle School State Honors Band. At Central Heights, he is a member of the school’s Guiding Coalition, Equity Team, and Scheduling Team.

Ian lives in Sun Prairie with his partner, Cindy, and their three children.

Dr. Carl Rowles | Jefferson High School

Carl Rowles serves as Director of Bands at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has held similar positions at Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs (IA) Kansas Wesleyan University, Wayland Baptist University (TX), and New Hampton High School (IA).

Dr. Rowles is active as a guest clinician, conductor, and presenter at several state conferences. He has presented sessions on repertoire, conducting, and rehearsal strategies at the Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas state bandmaster conventions and was featured in SBO+ Magazine as Iowa’s 22-23 representative for “50 Directors Who Make A Difference”.

Dr. Rowles earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Band Conducting at The University of Iowa, Masters of Arts from Tennessee Technological University, and a Bachelors of Music in Music Education from Simpson College. He holds memberships in the National Band Association, Iowa Bandmasters Association, National Association for Music Education, Iowa Music Educators Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Kappa Kappa Psi (Honorary). 

Preliminary Festival Schedule

Schedule subject to change. Participating students must commit to the full duration of all activities. A more detailed schedule will be distributed during the on-site check-in. Plans, costs, and custodial care are each family’s responsibility during all festival meal breaks.

Friday, November 20

Saturday, November 21

Sunday, November 22

Festival Finale Concerts

Concerts take place on Sunday and are free and open to participating students, their families, and band directors – no tickets necessary.

Special Instrumental Needs

• Flute Students: Should bring a piccolo if you have access to one and want to be considered for piccolo parts. Piccolo assignments will be made under the leadership of the guest conductor/clinician.
• Brass Students: Trumpet and trombone students should bring straight mutes. Other mutes may be requested during the weekend.
• Percussion Students: Please bring the following four items. If borrowing instruments from school consult your band director first.
  • A pair of general-purpose snare sticks
  • Keyboard mallets
  • Timpani mallets
  • Either a triangle with beater or a tambourine

Attire

Casual school clothing is appropriate for festival rehearsals and other activities. For the concert, please wear what you would wear for your own school band concerts. Other suggestions are:

Meals

Limited UWM Union dining facilities will be open during the festival to attendees and to the public. Other restaurants near campus are also available within a four-block walk. Students and parents are free to make meal arrangements that fit their needs. UWM Bands staff releases custodial care to parents/guardians during all festival meal breaks and participants will not be accompanied during this time.  

Emergencies

Office staff is available at (414) 229-5641 during the festival schedule in case of emergencies. UWM Police Non-Emergency line is (414) 229-4627.

Parking

UWM has many parking options, including metered street parking, university parking structures and lots. Participants and patrons are responsible for following posted parking regulations. Students are responsible for arranging prompt pick-up and drop-off plans. For campus details please see the campus map.

Parent/Guardian Information

• The UWM Honors Band Festival releases participants to the custodial care of their parent/guardian during non-instructional times (see schedule above).
• Parents are not required to stay with students during Festival activities. When students are released from UWM’s custodial care (during any non-instructional time), parents may wish to designate another adult for their supervision or make arrangements with a “carpool” group to help facilitate mealtime plans and/or commuting to/from campus. 
• Meal and lodging plans (if necessary) are the responsibility of each participant’s family. Food and lodging are not provided by the Festival. 
• All UWM Honors Band Festival rehearsals are open, public events. All interested parents and teachers are welcomed to observe.