High School Honor Band
Nominations Now Open!
We are thrilled to invite you to nominate your students for the Minnesota State University, Mankato High School Honor Band to be held Friday, January 15, 2027 on the campus of Minnesota State, Mankato.
The ensemble is open to all deserving students in grades 10-12. The day will include full ensemble rehearsals, side-by-side rehearsals with university students, performances by Minnesota State, Mankato instrumental ensembles, and clinics with the applied faculty and music majors.
Please contact Professor Sarah Costello with inquires and questions. Sarah.Costello@mnsu.edu
Student Nominations
Each director is encouraged to submit up to six students on any wind or percussion instrument, as well as piano and string bass. Nomination forms are due by Monday, November 16. Please rank your students based on your own criteria. Make sure you list each student’s full name and their specific instrument, i.e., Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Treble Clef Baritone, including areas of strength for your Percussionists.
We will send out one electronic folder including each selection of music by student approximately four weeks prior to the event. Every school that submits a nomination form will be represented on stage. Please make sure to contact us if you do not receive a confirmation email acknowledging your student nominations.
Nominations are now OPEN:
Conductors
The High School Honor Band will include approximately 200 musicians and will be conducted by Dr. Amy K. Roisum Foley, Director of Bands, and Professor Sarah Costello, Director of Jazz, Co-Director of Athletic Bands, and Professor of Music Education.
Sarah Costello is an Assistant Professor of Music Education and Co-Director of Athletic Bands. Sarah worked for 13 years in the public school setting before joining the faculty at Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2024. In her time as a dedicated high school band teacher, she has directed concert band, jazz band, string orchestra, marching band, pep band, pit orchestra and chamber group ensembles. She was awarded the Teacher of the Year award in 2021, a great achievement as someone who persevered and gave wonderful virtual and socially distanced concerts. Costello has performed on clarinet with the St. Norbert College Community Band, Beaver Dam Area Orchestra and Eden Prairie Community Band. Costello studied at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin for her bachelor’s degree in Music Education. She then attended the American Band College through Central Washington University School of Music to earn her Master of Music in Music Education.
Amy K. Roisum Foley is currently in her 23rd year as the Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Minnesota State University, Mankato where she administrates and conducts the concert bands and chamber ensembles. Her teaching also includes graduate and undergraduate conducting, form and analysis, instrumental music education, and applied clarinet. Roisum Foley has served as a guest conductor and clinician for honor bands and festivals in the US, Canada, and Europe. Roisum Foley received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Performance from St. Olaf College, her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education and Wind Band Conducting from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Roisum Foley also enjoys building, fitting, and all things conducting batons.
Michael Thursby (on sabbatical Spring 2027) is the Director of Athletic Bands and Percussion at the Minnesota State University, Mankato where he teaches courses in percussion, and music education, assists with the MN State Mankato Instrumental Ensembles, and is Director of the Maverick ‘Machine’ Athletic Bands. Thursby's formal training included undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa where he earned his B.M. in Percussion Performance and Music Education. In 2010, he earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Northern Iowa. His primary conducting teachers were Dr. Myron Welch, Dr. Ronald Johnson, and Dr. Rebecca Burkhardt. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, Minnesota Band Directors Association, Minnesota Music Educators Association, and the Percussive Arts Society.
Cost
The cost of registration is $35 per student for the honor band and will be collected on the day of the festival. Registration includes clinics and rehearsals led by faculty conductors, lunch, a t-shirt and after concert refreshments. The concert is free of charge. Please let us know if your students require financial assistance. We would not want any student to miss this special day due to financial hardship.
Conflicts or Inclement Weather
Thes festival starts by 9 a.m. and concludes with the concert from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Students should plan to be on campus until 5:00 p.m. If a conflict should develop, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can contact an alternate nominee. If there is inclement weather on the day of the event, all ensemble directors will be notified morning of via email. Please contact Professor Sarah Costello with questions. Sarah.Costello@mnsu.edu
