MYS Honor Festival

The inaugural Honor Festival hosted by the Minnesota Youth Symphonies will welcome Middle-School level wind and string musicians for a one-day festival to rehearse and perform alongside members of the MYS Wind and String Orchestras.

This all-day event is for dedicated string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players who are interested in challenging themselves, exploring new repertoire, and performing with other enthusiastic musicians!

Event Information 

Saturday, February 28, 2026
Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center
Macalester College
9:00 AM–3:00 PM

Nominations 

Process:

Directors and private teachers are invited to nominate up to 5 highly-motivated students from your school or studio by Friday, January 9. Rank your students in order from 1 to 5, with #1 being the highest.

Placement will be determined by total number of nominations and balancing instrumentation. (Please do not nominate students currently enrolled in MYS.)

About MYS:

MYS provides orchestral training that empowers young musicians to achieve outstanding artistry in performance, creating deeper connections to our communities and the wider world.

Eligibility: 

• Orchestral woodwinds, orchestral brass, and percussion: grades 6–8 

• Strings: grades 4–9 OR around Suzuki book 3

Timeline:

Friday, January 9 | Teacher nominations due

Friday, January 16 | Notification of selected nominees emailed to teachers

Friday, January 30 | Participant registration due

Friday, February 6 | Sheet music emailed to participants

Saturday, February 28 | MYS Honor Festival

Schedule (tentative)

8:30–8:45 AM | Check-in

9:00–10:30 AM | Morning Rehearsal

10:30–11:00 AM | Break & Social Activities

11:00–11:20 AM | Observe MYS Symphony Orchestra Rehearsal

11:20–11:50 AM | Lunch

12:00-1:30 PM | Afternoon Rehearsal

2:00–3:00 PM | Festival Concert

Participant Registration

Fee:

$50 (includes lunch, T-shirt, and music). Fee is due February 28 and can be paid online or by check. Financial aid is available.

Festival Conductors

Sophia Butler (String Orchestra)

Sophia Butler is the interim String Orchestra conductor for the Minnesota Youth Symphonies. She grew up in Burnsville, Minnesota, and played in MYS for 6 years as a young musician. She attended St. Olaf college to study music and anthropology, having the opportunity to play in the St. Olaf Orchestra and sing in the Chapel Choir. 

After graduating, she took a fellowship in Juneau, Alaska, to teach elementary and high school orchestra and choir that was rooted in the values and pedagogies of El Sistema. After receiving her teaching license and masters degree in teaching from the University of Alaska Southeast, she accepted a Fulbright grant to teach in Sarawak Malaysia, on the island of Borneo, where she also got to learn the music traditions of the Bedayu and Iban people. 

In 2018, Sophia returned to Minnesota and was fortunate to be hired as the orchestra teacher at South High School, where she now teaches band, orchestra, and jazz. When she is not teaching, Sophia is out performing as a violinist/violist, trying out new restaurants, or enjoying the outdoors with her partner and dog.

Nicholas Ellison (Wind Orchestra)

Nicholas Ellison conducts the Minnesota Youth Symphony Wind Orchestra and teaches middle school band in Edina Public Schools. He previously held similar teaching positions in the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, Orono, and Eden Prairie school districts. He has presented and performed at the Minnesota Music Education Association Midwinter Clinic.

Ellison graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in music and management, a graduate of the Johnson-Auge School for Music Management.

Ellison has also completed a master’s degree from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University and studied music education at the University of Minnesota. He performs as a trumpet player in Encore Wind Ensemble. He has served as a trumpet section coach for Minnesota All-State Bands. 

Ellison lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Melissa Morey, and their greyhounds.