Music Festival
March 5-8, 2025
PUC music festival begins Wednesday, March 5, and concludes with Festival Night on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
Deadlines
The deadline for registration is Friday, January 10. During the registration process you will be required to upload a spreadsheet with the information we need for each attendee. We will email you the spreadsheet template soon.
Cost
Registration fees are as follows: $150/student, $100/chaperone, and $0/music teacher. This fee is all-inclusive.
Payment
Checks for the full amount are due to PUC’s department of music on Wednesday, February 19, two weeks prior to the start of Music Festival. Please plan accordingly. Checks should be made out to “Pacific Union College” with “Music Festival” on the memo line. Checks will be held until the end of Festival to account for any changes in attendance for each school, and any adjusted checks will be due on Monday, March 24. If adjusted checks do not arrive by this date, we will cash the original checks and bill for any additional amount owed.
Housing
All attendees (including all teachers and chaperones) will be staying in residence halls on the PUC campus. This is a requirement for the duration of the festival. Note, too, that each school is required to bring at least one male and one female chaperone. This is non-negotiable.
Parking
Parking on campus is free, but any vehicles not marked with a school name require a parking permit. Please look for this option during the registration process.
Meals
All meals from dinner Wednesday evening through lunch on Sabbath will take place in PUC’s Dining Commons. Your name badge is your “eat-for-free” pass, so remember to take it with you to each meal. Dinner on Saturday will be provided as part of Festival Night and will not be available in the Dining Commons.
Ensembles
Participating ensembles are orchestra, choir, and wind ensemble (no handbells). Students are expected to choose which ensemble they will be part of for the festival, as they will not be allowed to join more than one.
Music
You can download and print scores and parts for all three ensembles. We encourage all of you to do at least a little rehearsing with your students on these pieces prior to the festival, so rehearsals can be as smooth and productive as possible.
Accompanying Musicians
We are in need of a few instrumentalists to accompany some of the ensemble pieces; if you have any students who could play the parts and are interested, please send their names and which part they would like to cover to music@puc.edu. Needed instruments are as follows:
- Accompanist for all choir pieces (this individual could not participate in other ensembles)
- Conga/Djembe
- Shaker
- Drum set (two pieces)
- Solo piano (with orchestra)
- Piano (with orchestra)
Please note we are also in need of at least two piccolos for one of the pieces the wind ensemble is performing. If you have a flute player who can handle piccolo parts, please have them learn it!
Clinicians
Our clinicians for this festival are as follows:
- Choir - Ronnie Zanella, choral director for PUC
- Orchestra - Rachelle Berthelsen Davis, strings director for PUC
- Wind Ensemble - Sebastián Serrano-Ayala, director of orchestral studies for University of New Mexico
Coaches
Some of our rehearsals will be sectionals only. We intend to use some of our top PUC student musicians as coaches, but will need additional help in this area. If you are willing to coach a sectional in one of the three ensembles, please let us know ASAP which instruments/parts you would feel comfortable rehearsing.
Performances
During the festival, there will be two performance opportunities for your students. The first will be on Sabbath, March 8, for Pacific Union College Church, as the festival ensembles are providing all of the music for the church service that day. The second is the festival concert that evening, and will also take place in PUC Church.
Concert Tickets
No tickets or reservations are required for this festival concert; admission is free and open to all.
Activities
Just like our 2023 Festival, our goal is not just to give students a taste of music at PUC, but to also show them what the full PUC experience is. We also know that hours of endless rehearsal isn’t good for energy levels, bodies, or sanity. With this in mind, we have arranged a variety of activities highlighting various other areas on the PUC campus, including, but not limited to: athletics, sciences, spiritual life, student life, and the arts.
Sunday
The festival ends with Festival Night on Saturday. Boxed breakfasts for Sunday can be purchased ahead of time (look for this option on the registration form) and will be available for pick-up on Saturday evening. Lodging is included through Saturday night, but all groups must check out and vacate their lodgings no later than 9 a.m. on Sunday. There will be a late checkout fee for any group leaving after this time.
Please let us know if you’d like to be added to our email list to stay in tune with everything happening in the department of music here at PUC. Email music@puc.edu and request to be added to the list. See you in 2025!