Annual band festival to include high school bands for first time

The 17th annual Orpheus Junior Band Festival will be Jan. 17 at Simpson College in Indianola, followed by the high school festival on Jan. 19, the first time the college has hosted the festival for high school students.

The junior band festival, for junior high and middle school students from around the state, concludes with a concert at 7 p.m. on Jan. 17 in Pote Theater of the Blank Performing Arts Center on the corner of North D Street and West Detroit Avenue in Indianola. The concert will feature the Orpheus Festival Band under the director of a guest conductor and the college’s symphonic band.

The first festival for high school students will also conclude with a concert at 7 p.m. on Jan. 19 in Pote Theater, also featuring a guest conductor and the symphonic band,

The concerts are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Simpson’s music department at (515) 961-1637.