Selected students will participate in:

• Full ensemble rehearsals led by a nationally recognized guest conductor
• Masterclasses and sectionals with CSU applied faculty
• Chamber music performances by CSU student musicians
• A culminating concert featuring the CSU Wind Ensemble and the CSU Festival Band

Visiting directors are welcome to attend masterclasses and to earn professional development credit.

We are honored to welcome Alexander Kaminsky as the guest conductor for the 2025 CSU Festival Band. Mr. Kaminsky is Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. Prior to his collegiate appointment, he enjoyed a distinguished 30-year career as a high school band director, earning national acclaim for his ensembles’ consistent excellence.

Kaminsky is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician and a member of the American Bandmasters Association. He is the only director in Florida Bandmasters Association history to have three concert bands from one school earn straight Superior ratings at State - an achievement he accomplished three times. His recent clinic, The Kaminsky Method, drew a standing-room-only audience at the 2024 Midwest Clinic.

Read more about Mr. Kaminsky here.

Thursday, Nov. 20
- Registration: 5:00 p.m. (Waetjen Lobby)
- Rehearsal: 6:00–9:00 p.m. (Waetjen Auditorium)

Friday, Nov. 21
- Rehearsals and masterclasses: 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
- Chamber music performance: 12:30 p.m. (Drinko Recital Hall)

Saturday, Nov. 22
- Final rehearsal and dress rehearsal: 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
- Festival Concert: 4:00 p.m. (Waetjen Auditorium)
- Featuring the CSU Wind Ensemble and the CSU Festival Band