NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles
The top national honor ensembles for high school musicians, run by the National Association for Music Education, including concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed choir, jazz ensemble, guitar ensemble, and modern band, culminating in performances at the NAfME National Convention.
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DownBeat Student Music Awards
A national jazz-education honor from DownBeat magazine open to junior high, high school, and college entries. Students submit instrumental/vocal recordings across performance, composition, arranging, and engineering categories.
From the Top
Nonprofit known for its NPR/PBS programs showcasing pre-collegiate classical musicians ages 8-18, including instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers, who perform and share their stories to a national radio audience along with scholarships.
GRAMMY Camp – Los Angeles
A seven-day, non-residential music industry intensive run by the GRAMMY Museum Foundation at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles. High schoolers with existing skills apply to a Music Production track (plus Songwriting, Performance, or Music Business) and work with industry professionals on real recording projects.
NFMC Junior Festivals
National Federation of Music Clubs annual Junior Festivals give young musicians (18 and under) a yearly performance evaluation, plus competitions/awards in voice, instrumental, and composition, awarding over $750,000 annually.
ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards
Juried national competition recognizing emerging jazz composers ages 13-30 with cash awards, judged on an original score and recording submission.
Bands of America Grand National Championships
America's premier national marching band championship, presented by Music for All at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Open to all high school marching bands, scored 60% music and 40% visual.