Friday, Oct. 24 – Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025
In 2024, we were thrilled to announce the inaugural Ohio State High School Honor String Orchestra Weekend. With the depth and talent of the string education community in Central Ohio and beyond, this event is quickly becoming a favorite.
Outstanding string players in grades 9–12 will be selected from director nominations. Those invited students who elect to attend will be placed via video audition submission into one of two orchestras — Scarlet Orchestra and Gray Orchestra.
The weekend will open with a performance by the Ohio State Symphony Orchestra. Both student orchestras will close the weekend with a performance on Sunday afternoon in Weigel Auditorium. Both concerts are free and open to the public.
Orchestra Directors — Nomination Process
Orchestra directors — you may nominate up to ten (10) outstanding string students in grades 9–12 for consideration, using the link that will be provided below. We will make every effort to include at least one student from each school, within the limitations we face in achieving balanced instrumentation.
The nomination portal will open Monday, Aug. 18.
Nomination deadline: Friday, Sept. 19
Step 1 — Assemble your list details ahead of time so that you are prepared to rank your nominees #1–#10, without duplicating a ranking.
Step 2 — NEW. We ask that you enter your nominees into the form in rank order. Enter your #1 ranked student first, then enter your #2 ranked nominee, and so on.
Step 3 — Double check each entry for accurate spelling of ALL student nominee and parent email addresses.
- Typos result in failure to deliver messages to nominees and/or parents.
Nomination deadline: Friday, Sept. 19
What to Expect
Students, parents and orchestra directors will be notified of nominees' status on or before Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Accepted students and parents will receive a registration form in their status notification. The online registration and payment must be completed by Monday, Oct. 6.
For those students invited to participate, placement auditions will take place via video submission. Details will be provided following the nominations process. Video submission deadline: Monday, Oct. 13.
Selected students will join other advanced high school string musicians from around the state and beyond for an exciting weekend of concerts and high-level music making. Rehearsals will culminate in a concert of challenging and rewarding repertoire conducted by The Ohio State University orchestra faculty.
- Master classes by School of Music faculty
- An opening concert by The Ohio State University Symphony Orchestra
- Instruction from studio faculty
- Q & A session led by School of Music recruitment team
- Honor String Orchestra T-shirt
- Saturday lunch and dinner, Sunday lunch
- Breakfast is provided at the hotels for hotel residents
- Shuttle bus to and from the hotels
- Supervision of students while at the hotels
Cost
Commuter ($110) — Students who will commute to campus each day will NOT need a hotel. This option is typically for students who live in the Columbus area.
Resident ($250) — Students who require housing while on campus for the Honor Orchestra weekend will stay in a hotel (2 students/room; 2-night stay).
Questions?
Email Christopher Dent, High School Honor String Orchestra Weekend administrator.