Dorian Band Festival

March 2-3, 2025

Calling all band directors! Each year we invite band directors to nominate high school band students to attend the Dorian Band Festival. Approximately 500 students are typically accepted to participate in the festival where students are placed in one of four bands: Festival Mass Band, NEW Smaller Festival Mass Band, the select Festival Symphonic Band, as well as the select Festival Jazz Band. In addition to rehearsals, students will have the chance to participate in a private lesson with Luther College faculty. This lesson may serve as a time to work one on one with faculty, an audition to be an outstanding concert soloist, or it may serve as a music scholarship audition for seniors who are interested in attending Luther College. The Luther College Concert Band and Jazz Orchestra perform for the festival participants on Sunday evening, along with our outstanding Dorian Concert Soloists. The four festival bands perform in a Grand Concert on Monday evening.

If you are nominating a senior who is interested in attending Luther, you can sign them up for a scholarship audition during this festival weekend!

The ‘2025 Student Nomination Form’ will close on Monday, December 2nd.

Student Nomination Form

Director Information Form

Band Festival Resources

Dorian Band Festival Audition Requirements 2025

Mass Band: No Video Audition Requirement. Selection is based on the teacher nomination form.
NEW Smaller Mass Band: No Video Audition Requirement. Selection is based on the teacher nomination form.
Symphonic Band: Video Audition Required
- Piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, all saxophones, bassoon, trumpet, french horn, trombone, euphonium TC, euphonium BC, tuba, double bass (acoustic, upright).
  - Video Audition will include:
    - A 90 second – 2 minute recording of a solo or etude that showcases both lyrical and technical ability of the student. The passage can be no longer than two minutes.
    - A chromatic scale featuring the student’s full range on their instrument
    - If accepted into the Symphonic Band, we will assign you to a part and the appropriate music will be shared with teachers. From there, an in-person audition on the Sunday of the festival will take place for chair placement. In the case of smaller numbers in a section, the in-person chair placement audition element may be eliminated for certain instruments.
- Percussion
  - Video Audition will include:
    - Submit two recordings, each one 90 seconds – 2 minutes. One should feature a solo or etude on a keyboard instrument, and the other a solo or etude on a battery instrument. No scales are necessary.
    - Additionally, please answer the following questions in your video submission, or send a separate email with the answers to these questions: Do you have any piano experience? If so, how many years? What instrument do you play the most in band (mallets, battery, auxiliary etc.) What solos have you recently performed?
    - There will be no in-person audition element for percussion.
Jazz Band: Video Audition Required
- - Video Audition will include:
    - Play the jazz excerpts specified for the instrument: saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar, piano, bass, drum-set. AUDITION EXCERPTS FOUND HERE.
    - A chromatic scale from the lowest to the highest note that the student can play comfortably. The tempo should be quarter note = 140 BPM, played all slurred ascending and all tongued descending.
    - (Optional) Improvise on a jazz standard or a blues tune of the student’s choice. The improvisation may be accompanied by a play-along recording. Play first the melody and then take two choruses.

Jazz Band Audition Excerpts 2025

Click the tab below to find the packing list. If you are staying overnight on campus – please be sure to bring a sleeping bag and pillow.

DBF Packing List

Use the following map of campus to find the Center for Faith and Life (main concert hall), Jenson-Noble Hall of Music, the Regents Center North Gym, Dahl Centennial Union, as well as parking.

Additionally, you’ll be able to use the Jenson-Noble Hall of Music map to locate lessons, auditions, sectionals, and rehearsals for Symphonic Band and Jazz Band.

Campus / Jenson-Noble Map

Please reference our 2024 schedule before we post our 2025 festival schedule in the fall of 2025.

DBF Festival Schedule 2024

Contact Information

Nicholas Drilling
Assistant Director of Music Outreach

Email: nicholas@luther.edu
or dorian@luther.edu

Phone: 563-387-1389