Music for All
2023 National Festival presented by Yamaha
OPPORTUNITY: A frequent clinician and presenter for one of the nation’s premier scholastic music festivals, Fran Kick has presented leadership clinics and parent programs many times at the Music for All National Festival. In 2023, Fran was asked by James Stephens, Director of Advocacy and Educational Resources, to be the opening keynote speaker for their first National Festival since the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was to create an opening keynote welcome presentation that would bring the participating students, directors, and parents all together and help focus everyone on the standards of conduct for the world-class atmosphere of the festival.
RESULTS: Fran Kick presented the opening keynote to over 3,000 music students, parents, and educators in the Indianapolis Convention Center’s Sagamore Ballroom on Friday, March 31 2023. Presenting how the different levels of self-motivation and personal commitment influence how hard we work, how much better we get, and how much fun we have. He challenged the audience to bring home the ABCs of self-motivation from this event to their own community. Fran even had them practice the kind of applause etiquette needed during the festival in acknowledging others in an appropriate way. In addition to the opening keynote, Fran presented a parent program later that morning to all parents attending the Music for All National Festival with their students as well as a student leadership workshop session later that evening.
Sixty-six high school and middle school music ensembles were selected to perform at the 2023 Music for All National Festival, in concert venues across the city. The 2023 festival marked the first since the event concluded early due to the novel coronavirus in 2020. Ensembles in the 2023 festival included high school and middle school concert bands, orchestras, percussion ensembles, and chamber ensembles from 17 states across America. Ensembles were selected following a rigorous application and audition process. The Music for All National Festival is considered the nation’s premier non-competitive festival for scholastic instrumental music ensembles. Student musicians also participated in music education workshops and performed at top venues, receiving evaluation and feedback from a panel of renowned conductors and clinicians.
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Since 1992, the Music for All National Festival has celebrated outstanding music-making by the nation’s finest high school and middle school scholastic ensembles. This non-competitive music festival event provides a place for growth, cooperative encouragement, and mutual respect among music programs, students, parents, boosters, and administrators. To receive an invitation by audition is to be recognized as one of the finest scholastic music ensembles in America.
“Fran, you killed it! I am always blown away by your ability to captivate any audience you stand in front of!”
Matt Wood, Associate Director of Bands, Rouse High School, Texas