Honors String Orchestra & UWM Symphony Orchestra and High School Honors Band performance
November 21 | 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Date & Time
Saturday, November 21, 2026 (7:30–9:30 p.m.)
Location
Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts, Bader Hall and Virtual
This performance begins with a unique collaboration between the high school students selected for the 2026 UWM Honors String Orchestra and the UWM Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Prof. Jun Kim. The 2026 UWM High School Honors Band will perform on the second half of the concert, and led by our featured guest conductor, Dr. Brett Bawcum of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. This Saturday evening concert is a culmination of a weekend of rehearsals, lessons and experiences meant to show festival students what it’s like to be a musician at UW-Milwaukee.
Students in the annual UWM High School Honors Band & String Orchestra Festival are first nominated by their school music teachers and then selected by university faculty to participate in the weekend event. The High School Honors Band Festival provides the region’s most motivated and accomplished high school instrumentalists an opportunity to work with each other and with regionally and nationally recognized conductors. In addition, students interact with UWM performance staff and experience performances by UWM ensembles.
UWM’s Symphony Orchestra is comprised of graduate and undergraduate music majors, as well as other students. The ensemble presents seven to eight concerts each year and regularly collaborates with UWM Choirs and Opera Theatre.
The orchestra has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Center, and the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. It was selected as one of two orchestras to perform at the College Orchestra Directors Association National Conference in Los Angeles and has appeared at the Wisconsin Music Educators Association State Conference. It also features student soloists selected through the annual UWM Symphony Concerto Competition.
In-person Tickets
| General | $10 |
| Seniors 65+, *UWM Faculty, Staff & Alumni | $8 |
| Youth 17 and Under | $5 |
| *UWM Student | FREE |
| *PSOA Student (events ONLY in your department) | FREE |