LBA FORMS & FEES Director Membership Fee - $53 You may now pay all LBA Director and Student fees through PayPal and Venmo! ***Make sure to add in the notes section your Name and School, and specify if you are a Band Director or a Student. - Our PayPal account is (will be added soon) - Our Venmo account is (will be added soon) Nomination forms will be emailed out by our Middle School Chair Roland Smith and our High School Chair Evan McCormick in January 2025. -Email the middle school nomination forms to roland.smith@vpsb.us -Email the high school nomination forms to evan.mccormick@bossierschools.org All nomination forms are due by Friday, February 16th, 2025 Director Membership Form Student Nomination Form Middle School Bands Student Nomination Form High School Blast and Jazz Bands LBA By-Laws

Welcome to the Louisiana Bandmasters Website If you are a current Louisiana band director, band parent, or band student in the middle through high school grades, then you are in the right place at the right time! Read more about our association here and click the different tabs above to learn how you can be a part of one of Louisiana's finest organizations for band youth and directors. If you have any questions, please email our president Amy Kutz at akutz@caddoschools.org . We look forward to meeting you as we aim for excellence together as an All-Star Louisiana Band family. "LBA provides every child with an unforgettable experience of making music with other musicians from around the state. Students will have the opportunity to learn from outstanding clinicians while making new friends. As an LBA member, I truly enjoy getting collaborate with other directors from across the state." Amy Kutz LBA President Meet Our Board Would you like to see the typical schedule for the All-Star Bands? A small packet will be emailed to all directors with the program information. If you misplaced it or do not have access to it, have no fear! Click the following document that applies to you. High School Blast and Jazz Bands Middle School All-State Honor Bands Band Master of the Year 2024-2025 TBA GET YOUR LBA PICTURES! Every year we take a professional panoramic picture of each performing LBA ensemble. This is a great way to capture memories from the event, display the honor of being in these all-state groups, and it serves as a reference to all the great musicians your student had the privilege of performing alongside in the 2023 LBA season. Please be ready to purchase with cash, card, check, or Venmo before or after the concert performance. You may preview the order form below. You may print out an order form ahead of time; however, we will have printouts at the event. Order Form Here Join Us! Fill out our form and pay dues here Click to Join

WE ARE LOUISIANA . WE STAND TOGETHER . TOGETHER WE MAKE MUSIC Louisiana Bandmasters Association is comprised of instrumental music directors from across Louisiana. Part of the mission for LBA is to provide a relaxing, enjoyable and musical learning environment for students and directors on a state level. The organization sponsors the Middle School All-Star Wind Ensemble, Symphonic and Concert Bands along with the High School All-Star Jazz Band and the High School Blast Band. Students are afforded the opportunity to socialize and perform with other musicians from around the state. Band Directors are provided a chance to meet and share classroom ideas & experiences with other Music Educators from around the state in a "low stress" educational environment as well as observe and talk with some of the finest clinician/conductors from across the country. The All-Star Middle School Bands are comprised of students in grades 6-8, the All-Star Jazz Band is comprised of students in the 9-12 grade who are nominated by their directors during the spring semester of each year and the All-Star Blast band is comprised of students in the 9-12 grade who are nominated by their directors during the spring semester of each year. The Blast Band conductors/clinicians are selected from among the finest high school directors in the state of Louisiana. The Jazz Band conductor/clinician is selected from among a list of the finest jazz educators. A nationally known clinician is chosen to conduct the All-Star Wind Ensemble, the Symphonic Band is conducted by LBA's own "Band Master of the Year" and the Concert Band conductor is selected from among the exceptional band directors here in Louisiana. Yearly active membership in LBA is for a calendar year from October to October. Members will receive student nomination forms in early January each year. The LBA Board and Membership meet biannually at the summer All-Star Band Clinic and the LMEA Conference in November.

Your LBA Board Members Who We Are Amy Kutz PRESIDENT Director of Bands Caddo Middle Magnet School LMEA District VIII akutz@caddoschools.org Jessica Fain PAST PRESIDENT Director of Bands Bluff Middle School LMEA District IV jessica.fain@apsb.org Betsy Stoupy 1ST VICE PRESIDENT Band Director FK White Middle School LMEA District V betsy.stoupy@cpsb.org Robert Blackburn 2ND VICE PRESIDENT Band Director Lutcher High and Gramercy Elementary LMEA District IV robertblackburn@tpsd.org Ryan Bourque RECORDING SECRETARY Band Director Tioga Junior High LMEA District II ryan.bourque@rpsb.us Amy Kutz INTERIM EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Band Director Caddo Middle Magnet LMEA District VIII akutz@caddoschools.org Evan McCormick HIGH SCHOOL COORDINATOR Band Director Benton High School LMEA District VIII evan.mccormick@bossierschools.org Aaron Theall JAZZ BAND CHAIRMAN Director of Bands DeRidder High School LMEA District V atheall@beau.k12.la.us Roland Smith MIDDLE SCHOOL COORDINATOR Director of Bands/Assistant Director of Bands Pickering High School LMEA District V roland.smith@vpsb.us TBA MEMBER AT LARGE CJ Pernici MEMBER AT LARGE Director of Bands Benton Middle School LMEA District VIII charles.pernici@bossierschools.org Karen Dusenbury MEMBER AT LARGE Director of Bands Houma Christian School LMEA District VII twoduses70@gmail.com twoduses70@gmail.com TBA MEMBER AT LARGE TBA MEMBER AT LARGE

2024-2025 LBA Audition Music ***Audio Files Due TBA May 2025 (The High School Blast Band and Jazz Band do not audition) Click your instrument below to access the audition material. All parts are written so they can be rehearsed as an ensemble. AUDIO AUDITION INSTRUCTIONS FOR BAND DIRECTORS: All auditions will be turned in into Roland Smith - he will send an email with instructions on where to turn them in. Email him at roland.smith@vpsb.us if you have not received an email with instructions. -All auditions are to be ONE TAKE ONLY! No stopping and starting, overdubbing, or splicing. -Directors, assistant directors or instructors should be recording each student's audition. -There will be NO SCRIPT for the audition recording. There should be NO talking on the audition recording. -DO NOT include the student's name in the audio file name. You may simply submit the file with the filename assigned to it by the recording device used. -Be sure that YOU are submitting the correct audio file with each student's form. -Audio audition files should be in the .mp3 format. There are many free file format converters online. Here is a link to an online converter that may work for you: https://online-audio-converter.com/ FLUTE Audition Music CLARINET Audition Music CONTRA ALTO CLARINET Audition Music OBOE Audition Music BASS CLARINET Audition Music BASSOON Audition Music ALTO SAXOPHONE Audition Music BARITONE SAXOPHONE Audition Music F HORN Audition Music TENOR SAXOPHONE Audition Music TRUMPET Audition Music TROMBONE Audition Music EUPHONIUM BC Audition Music TUBA Audition Music DIRECTOR'S SCORE Audition Music EUPHONIUM TC Audition Music PERCUSSION Audition Music Auditions are due in May Good luck and we will see you in June!

IMPORTANT LBA INFORMATION What are the dates for the All-Star Honor Band Clinic? High School Jazz and Blast Bands: June 1st-2nd Three Middle School Ensembles: June 2nd-3rd Where are the All-Star Band events held? LBA is usually held at the University of Louisiana - Lafayette (ULL), mainly in Angelle Hall - the main Performing Arts Building. It may change from year to year and will be voted on in November. If at ULL, here are some instructions: For check in, park in nearby parking garages and follow all the signs and arrows to check in at the front steps of Angelle Hall (which leads to the lobby of the Ducrest-Gilfry Auditorium). Students will be rehearsing on the Ducrest-Gilfry Auditorium Stage or in a large band or choir rehearsal space within the Angelle Hall Performing Arts Building. All performances will be on the Ducrest-Gilfry Auditorium Stage. More detailed information will be provided to band directors and families after nominations are sent and reviewed. Who are the main clinicians for the 2024-2025 All-Star Honor groups? LBA Middle School Concert Band - Aleisa Hudlow, Natchitoches Magnet School LBA Middle School Symphonic Band - TBA LBA Middle School Wind Ensemble - Carol Brittin Chambers, Composer LBA High School Jazz Band - Jana Roberson, Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders LBA High School Blast Band - Trevor Bailey, Associate Director of Bands/Director of Athletic Bands at Northwestern University & Dr. Oliver Molina Associate Professor of Music - Percussion & Assistant Director of Bands When are the nomination forms due? February 2025 - Band Directors should receive an email from our High School Blast Band, High School Jazz Band, or Middle School Band coordinators with info on deadlines and how the nomination process works. Please check out our "LBA Board Members" tab to see who you will need to contact for nomination information. When are Middle School audition recordings due? Middle School auditions are due May 2025. Once students are selected from the nomination lists, you can access their audition music for their instrument on the "Audition Music" tab of this website. Band Directors should receive an email from our Middle School Band coordinator with info on deadlines and how the audition process works. ***High School students will not need to audition once selected from the nomination forms. What is the schedule for the event? TENTATIVE SCHEDULE For the High School Blast and Jazz Bands, the schedule is as follows: Sunday, June 1st 9:00 a.m. – Registration 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Rehearsal 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Lunch on your own 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Rehearsal Monday, June 2nd 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Rehearsal 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch on your own 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Report to auditorium in jeans and L.B.A. T-shirt, Set Up 2:00 p.m. – Concert For the Middle School Honor Bands, the schedule is as follows: Monday, June 2nd 9:00am – Registration/Placement 9:30am – 12:00pm Rehearsal 12:00pm – 1:30pm Lunch on your own 1:30pm – Meet & Walk 2:00pm – 3:00pm Jazz & Blast Concert 3:00pm – 6:30pm Rehearsal Tuesday, June 3rd 8:00am – 12:00pm Rehearsal 12:00pm – 1:30pm Lunch on your own 1:30pm – Report to auditorium in jeans and L.B.A T-shirt, Set Up 2:00pm – Concert What are some good hotels to stay in? Here is a document that has a great variety of hotels to choose from in Lafayette when the event is held at ULL.