2025

STUDENT
INFORMATION
PACKET
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 WELCOME
Congratulations, you have been selected to participate in the 44th Annual Florida State University Tri-State Band
Festival! Your invitation to this festival was based on the thoughtful recommendation of your band director, who
communicated your musical abilities and successes on your behalf. This year, we received more than 600 nominations for
approximately 280 festival spots. Your selection is an honor, and we hope you will take full advantage of this opportunity
to visit the FSU campus, connect with new friends, and enjoy a memorable musical experience.
This packet contains important information about your participation in the Tri-State Band Festival.
Please read it carefully and share it with your parent or guardian.
If you have questions after reviewing the packet, please ask your band director first. Directors with
further questions may contact us by emailing [email protected] or calling the FSU Band Office at
(850) 644-3507. Congratulations again on your selection—we look forward to welcoming you to the Tri-State
Band Festival!

Andrew Hardy-Moore
Administrator – 2025 Tri-State Band Festival

PACKET CONTENTS
Registration Process – 4
Check-In Process – 5
Housing – 6
Meals – 6
Thursday Schedule – 7
Auditions – 8
Transportation – 9
Packing List– 10
Tri-State Performances – 11
Behavioral Expectations – 11
Contact Us – 11

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 REGISTRATION PROCESS

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT DUE OCTOBER 31, 2025

Step 1 – Release Form:

• A parent or guardian must complete and sign the Tri-State Participant Release Form.

• This form has been emailed to your band director. Please ask them for a copy, print it, and have it signed.

• The signed form must be uploaded when you complete the Registration Portal in Step 2.

Step 2 – Registration Portal: Complete the online registration by the deadline: 10/31/25

Step 3 – Payment Portal: Submit payment through by the deadline: 10/31/25

REGISTRATION PAYMENT

NOTE: Students are not o cially registered until payment is received.

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 CHECK-IN PROCESS

IMPORTANT: All participants must remain under the supervision of a teacher,

parent, or guardian until the Jazz Orchestra Concert at 5:00 PM
in Opperman Music Hall.

OVERNIGHT PARTICIPANTS

Check-in will take place at the DoubleTree Hotel—101 S Adams St, Tallahassee, FL 32301—before heading to
the FSU College of Music. Luggage will be stored in a secure ballroom and returned to participants that
evening. To reduce lines, check-in times are staggered—please follow the assigned schedule below:

Participants within 200 miles of Tallahassee: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Participants over 200 miles from Tallahassee: 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM

IMPORTANT: You must arrange your own transportation from the hotel to the
College of Music after registration. Once the rst rehearsal is complete, charter
buses will provide transportation between the College of Music and the hotel for the
remainder of the Festival.

LOCAL PARTICIPANTS

Check-in will take place at the FSU College of Music, beginning at 1:00 PM. Please make every effort to arrive
during the scheduled chair placement audition window.

HONORS JAZZ ENSEMBLE PARTICIPANTS

Audition videos will be submitted in advance of the Festival, so you do not need to report to the College of
Music after registration. The evening is free for dinner and exploring Tallahassee.

NOTE: Participants will receive one free Tri-State shirt at check-in.

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 HOUSING
Overnight participants will stay three nights at the
DoubleTree by Hilton. Tri-State check-in takes place on
Thursday afternoon. Students must be accompanied by a parent,
guardian, or band director. All luggage will be stored securely in
a designated ballroom and retrieved Thursday night upon return
to the hotel.

No one will be permitted to check-in to their hotel rooms

early. Following check-in, students will report to the College of
Music for their audition. Check-out is scheduled for Sunday
morning, with no accommodations provided for Sunday night.

DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton

101 S Adams St, Tallahassee, FL 32301.
Tel: (850) 224-5000.

NOTE: Roommate requests cannot be accommodated. Room assignments are

determined by gender, school, district, and instrument.

HOTEL POLICIES, PROCEDURES & AMENITIES

All overnight participants must stay at the DoubleTree Hotel and may not stay with relatives or friends.
Rooms will be shared with three other festival attendees (quadruple occupancy). Tri-State staff will be assigned
to each room for nightly room checks, to answer questions, and to address any concerns. The hotel lobby has a
food pantry and a Starbucks—please note that both are cashless, so plan accordingly!

MEALS
Overnight participants will be provided a full breakfast
at the hotel each morning. All participants will be
provided meals on campus by local vendors, at the
Seminole Café, or in Suwannee Room. Both dining
halls provide a buffet style meal where all dietary
restrictions are met, but please be clear on dietary needs
on the online registration form.

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 THURSDAY SCHEDULE – 12/4/25
11:00 – 1:00 Hotel Registration (participants traveling fewer than 200 miles)

1:00 – 3:00 Hotel Registration (participants traveling more than 200 miles & Honors Jazz Ensemble)

1:00 – 4:00 Band Placement Audition & Local Check-In

FSU College of Music—Housewright Building

122 N Copeland St, Tallahassee, FL 32304

NOTE: Overnight participants cannot audition until they have registered at the hotel.

4:00 – 5:00 Dinner Break (on your own)

Participants eating with their band director or parents are welcome to eat anywhere. Participants eating
on their own must eat on campus in the Suwannee Room, Chick-fil-A, 4 Rivers, or the Student Union.

5:00 – 6:00 FSU Jazz Orchestra Concert – Opperman Music Hall

NOTE: The Jazz Orchestra Concert is the kick-o event for the festival. Attendance is
required.

6:00 – 7:00 Tri-State Participant Orientation – Opperman Music Hall

7:30 First Rehearsals Begin

OSCEOLA BAND RENEGADE BAND GARNET BAND GOLD BAND HONORS JAZZ

Rehearsal Rehearsal
7:30 - 9:00 7:30 - 9:00 Rehearsal Rehearsal
7:30 - 9:15 7:30 - 9:15 Rehearsal
7:30 - 9:30

BUS BUS
BUS BUS
BUS

ROOM CHECK – 10:15

LIGHTS OUT – 10:45

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 AUDITIONS

HONORS JAZZ ENSEMBLE

Placements are assigned by the FSU Jazz faculty beforehand; therefore the Jazz participants do not need to play
a placement audition on Thursday afternoon.

CONCERT BANDS

By being selected for participation in the Tri-State Band Festival, participants are already guaranteed placement
in one of the four Tri-State Concert Bands. The placement audition is used to sort all our participants into
four equal ability bands and to place participants on appropriate parts. The Tri-State Band Festival does not
have ranked bands, therefore there is no “top” band.

NOTE: String Bass students do not need to audition for placement.

WIND AUDITIONS

• Participants need to prepare a 60-second “All-State quality” solo or etude of their choosing. Choose
something that demonstrates both your technical and lyrical abilities.

• Be prepared on all 12 major scales, 3 will be selected in the audition room.

• Sight-reading will be included.

NOTE: Students wishing to be considered for piccolo or English horn parts

should prepare a 30-second excerpt on that instrument in addition to their
standard audition materials.
PERCUSSION AUDITIONS

NOTE: Percussionists will audition on mallets, snare drum, and timpani.

• Mallets: participants will perform 3 of the 12 major scales, a 60-second “All-State quality” solo or etude of
their choosing and sight-reading.

• Snare Drum: participants will perform a 60-second “All-State quality” solo or etude of their choosing and
sight-reading.

• Timpani: participants will be asked to sight-read.

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 TRANSPORTATION

OVERNIGHT PARTICIPANTS

Participants are expected to provide their own transportation to and from the Tri-State Band Festival. For
safety, and due to lack of available parking on the FSU campus, overnight participants driving themselves to the
Festival must surrender their car keys, leave their car parked at the hotel, and use Festival transportation
during the Festival. You will need to plan for transportation from the hotel to the College of Music after
registration. After your first rehearsal, charter buses will provide transportation to and from the College of
Music for the remainder of the Festival.

LOCAL PARTICIPANTS

Local participants are responsible for transporting themselves to and from the college of music and are
not permitted to leave campus until the end of the activities for the day. For parking information see below.

PLANE & BUS ARRIVALS

Participants arriving in Tallahassee by plane or bus must provide their travel itinerary to the Tri-State Staff by
contacting the FSU Band Office at (850) 644-3507 or by emailing [email protected].

• Arrival – All participants must arrive in Tallahassee no later than 1:00 PM on Thursday afternoon.

• Departure – Bus departures should be scheduled no earlier than 2:00 PM on Sunday. Flight departures
should be scheduled no earlier than 3:30 PM on Sunday.

• Transportation – Tri-State Staff will provide transportation to and from the airport or bus stop.

Students will not be supervised after 1:00 PM on Thursday (prior to official check-in), or after they are dropped
off at the airport/bus stop on Sunday. Parents/guardians are responsible for arranging a safe and appropriate
waiting location until the participant’s scheduled departure.

NOTE: Travel itineraries must be received by Tri-State Sta no later than

November 14th
ON CAMPUS PARKING

Parking on campus is free after 10:00 PM on Fridays. Visiting parking is limited, but metered parking spots are
available by using the Park Mobile App. If participants park anywhere on campus without a valid FSU parking
permit, they will be ticketed or towed. The same goes for any non-FSU parking lot near the College of Music.
Please be warned that local towing companies routinely patrol these lots and actively tow vehicles that are
parked illegally. Although it is optional, visitor parking permits can be purchased from

https://transportation.fsu.edu/parking-permits.

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 PACKING LIST

IMPORTANT: All particpants should bring a picture of copy of your health

insurance card.

o Comfortable, appropriate clothes: Participants are expected to follow the school dress code of their
home school district. Participants will be expected to perform at a professional level and should dress
accordingly.

o Rain Gear: Jacket, sweater, and raincoat.

o Instrument: All participants must bring their own instruments. Any student interested performing
auxiliary instruments such as piccolo, English horn, and contrabass clarinet must bring their own
instrument.

o Music Stand & Accessories: All participants should bring a music stand, as well as any equipement
necessary for performance such as pencil, mutes, extra reeds, valve oil, cork grease, and/or a variety of
percussion mallets and sticks.

o Concert Attire: All participants should wear concert black (black pants and long sleeve black shirt OR
concert length black dress/skirt; long black socks/stockings; black shoes).

o Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, antiperspirant, hair supplies, comb, brush,
make-up, etc.

o Medications (if applicable): Chaperones and staff need to be made aware if participants take
prescription medication.

DO NOT BRING
Alcohol, tobacco products, illegal drugs, or weapons are strictly prohibited. The
code of conduct of the participant’s home school district will be exercised. If participants
are found with these in their possession, they will be dismissed immediately from then
Festival and sent home. Do not bring valuables, jewelry, or other unnecessary
possessions. Florida State University shall be held harmless from liability for personal
items that are lost or stolen.

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 TRI-STATE PERFORMANCES
During the 2025 Tri-State Band Festival participants will get to see two of our top ensembles in the FSU
College of Music—the FSU Jazz Orchestra, directed by Prof. Leon Anderson, and the FSU Wind Ensemble,
directed by Dr. Patrick Dunnigan. Additionally, all participants will attend the annual PRISM Concert, one of
the College’s most anticipated events of the year.

The Festival concludes with two finale performances:

• Tri-State Honors Jazz Ensemble Concert – Saturday at 7:00 p.m., Opperman Music Hall

• Tri-State Concert Bands Concert – Sunday at 10:00 a.m., Ruby Diamond Concert Hall

NOTE: Both nale concerts are free and open to the public.

BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS
Participants are expected to act as an ambassador of their family and school, and will represent
themselves and their school in an appropriate and professional manner at all times. Participants are required to
attend all rehearsals, concerts, masterclasses, and other scheduled activities; sleep in the hotel room assigned to
them; use Festival transportation as provided; and cooperate with supervisory requests made by Festival
chaperones, Staff, and University personnel. Failure to do so could result in the participants dismissal from the
Festival. Participants, parents/guardians, and directors are expected to read, understand, and agree to the
conditions listed in the release form.

CONTACT US

[email protected]
https://music.fsu.edu/tri-state
122 N. Copeland St., Room 101, Tallahassee, FL 32306
Phone: (850) 644-3507
Fax: (850) 644-2928

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