Michael Ayers participates in 26th annual OPCICA Honors Festival

2014 Feb 12

Seven members of the Malone University (Canton, Ohio) Symphonic Band and Jazz Band were selected as members of the 2014 Ohio Private College Instrumental Conductors Association Honors Concert and Honors Jazz Ensemble, held February 1-2 in Cleveland.

Michael Ayers (percussion) a senior music education major from Canton Ohio, who was selected for the concert band.

Nominations for the Honors Band and Jazz Ensemble were submitted by conductors at each of the member institutions. This year, 111 of the 150 nominees were selected.

The 26th Annual OPCICA Honors Festival was hosted by Case Western Reserve University, and the concert was held in Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio. The students rehearsed for two days and then presented a gala concert to conclude the festival.

The Ohio Private College Instrumental Conductors Association, founded in 1987, held its first collegiate honors band festival on January 24, 1988 at Capital University. Currently comprised of 20 member colleges and universities, the primary purpose of the organization is to develop a closer network of communication and resource sharing among the instrumental departments, divisions, or conservatories of the various privately funded institutions of higher education within the state of Ohio. An additional purpose is to sponsor an annual honors festival featuring an Honors Concert Band and an Honors Jazz Ensemble comprised of instrumental students from the participating schools. These festivals have enriched the lives of thousands of college instrumentalists as well as the conductors from the member institutions. The students are together for two days, and prepare the concert in three rehearsals. Guest conductors for the honors ensembles are chosen from the participating institutions, thereby giving students a broad musical experience. The Honors Jazz Ensemble directors this year were Jack Taylor, from the University of Findlay; and Paul Ferguson, from Case Western Reserve University. The Honors Concert Band directors were Robert Gibson, from Ohio Dominican University; Leonard Salvo, from Ashland University; Barry Kopetz, from Capital University; Dwight Oltman, from Baldwin-Wallace University; and Marshall Kimball, from Marietta College.

Malone University (Canton, Ohio), a Christian university for the arts, sciences, and professions in the liberal arts tradition, affiliated with the Evangelical Friends Church, awards both undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 100 academic programs. Malone has been recognized by the prestigious Templeton Foundation as a leader in character development, as one of Northeast Ohio’s Top Workplaces by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, is ranked among the top colleges and universities in the Midwest under the category Regional Universities according to U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges 2014, and is named to AffordableCollegesOnline (ACO)’s Best Lifetime Return on Investment list for the State of Ohio.