Stately Oaks Music Festival
February 6 - 8, 2025 // LSU Baton Rouge Campus
The Stately Oaks Music Festival is a multi-day camp designed for high school (grades 9 – 12) and middle school (grades 7 and 8) music students. Students will participate in large ensemble rehearsals, receive a group masterclass on their instrument, and have the exciting opportunity to engage with one of the LSU concert ensembles in an interactive rehearsal. Camp participants will also attend the LSU Collage Concert, which features students and faculty of the LSU Department of Bands and LSU School of Music and perform in a final concert of their own on Saturday afternoon, which will be free and open to the public.
Meet Our Festival Clinicians
Dr. Mark Laycock is a Professor of Music at Wichita State University, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. He has been recognized with the WSU Excellence in Creative Activity Award and the College of Fine Arts Excellence in Teaching Award. He serves as Director of Orchestras and Area Coordinator of Strings. WSU Symphony Orchestra appearances under his direction include international tours to Spain and Canada, a concert at Carnegie Hall, and multiple invited performances at Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshops. Dr. Laycock is a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic; he serves as Chair of Orchestra Activities. He is conductor of the Wichita Youth Symphony and Director of the Wichita Youth Orchestras Program.
Steven D. Davis has inspired ensembles around the world and is celebrated as a conductor of wind ensembles, orchestras, opera, ballet, and new music ensembles. In addition to conducting symphonic repertoire of significant composers, Davis is fervently committed to initiating and performing new repertoire written by both emerging and acclaimed living composers, with intentional focus placed on collaborating with diverse artists. Praise stems from Chen Yi, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Roshanne Etezady, Jennifer Higdon, Narong Prangcharoen, Ingrid Stölzel, and Zhou Long, amongst countless others.
Dr. Rhoden serves as the Assistant Professor of Music Education and conductor of the Symphonic Band at the University of West Georgia and is recently retired from the public schools of Alabama and Georgia after serving for thirty years as a high school band director. She is founder of the Athena Music and Leadership Camp (AthenaCamp.com), an all-girls music program created to promote musical excellence while emphasizing leadership skills. Rhoden frequently serves as a guest conductor for state, regional, and university honor bands and is honored to have presented sessions at The Midwest Clinic, various national, state and regional conferences, and for school systems and professional development clinics throughout North America.
Hailing from Lincoln, Nebraska, Liz Love is an active classical and jazz saxophonist and music educator in the Austin, Texas area. She is currently in her third year as the Director of Bands at Leander Middle School. Previous to her time at LMS, she was the Director of Bands at Grisham Middle School, and the Assistant Band Director at Running Brushy Middle School in Leander ISD. Her ensembles consistently receive UIL Sweepstakes ratings, and her students have earned Outstanding Soloist honors at Austin area jazz festivals. In 2019, the Grisham Middle School Honors Band was selected to perform at The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic!
David Saccardi is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Louisiana State University, where he directs graduate research and teaches courses in the psychology of music, graduate string pedagogy, quantitative analysis, and experimental design. Additionally, he teaches courses in the undergraduate music teacher preparation sequence, including methods of string performance and secondary instrumental methods, a course that includes a fieldwork partnership with the University Laboratory School.
Camp Information
Read below for more information on the 2025 Stately Oaks Music Festival!
Activities & Cost
The cost for the festival is $85, which includes:
- All rehearsals and classes
- Concert performance in the state-of-the-art LSU Union Theater
- Masterclass sessions or group lessons on your specific instrument
- Attend the LSU Collage Concert
- Some meals are included – please refer to official event schedule for more details
- Official Stately Oaks letterman patch for high school students
- An optional LSU visitor parking pass can be purchased for $15. This pass will be valid for the gravel lot at Tiger Band Hall. If you are dropping off or picking up participants only, a parking pass is not needed.
If you are unable to eat the meals provided, please plan to bring a packed meal. No special meals will be provided.
How to Participate
Participation in the Stately Oaks Music Festival is by invitation only, based the recommendation of your school's band director, orchestra director, or music teacher.
Step 1: Recommendations
If you are interested in participating, please contact your school's director or music instructor. Director recommendations will be accepted from November 4, 2024 to November 18, 2024.
Information for Band Directors, Orchestra Directors, Music Instructors:
- Download the CSV template linked below and fill out all appropriate information
- Submit filled out template and all pertinant information to the recommendation submission form linked below
Stately Oaks Recommendation Form
Step 2: Selection & Registration
Invitations to register and audition will be sent directly to the parent/guardian of selected students on December 6, 2024. Payment is due by December 13, 2024.
Step 3: Auditions
You will receive audition materials directly from LSU following your invitation. Audition recordings will be due to the LSU Department of Bands on January 27, 2025, with final ensemble and chair placements made shortly thereafter.
Registration fees for this event are non-refundable. Any event discount offered by
Active is part of a subscription service and is not being offered through the LSU
Department of Bands. Please review terms carefully. Event insurance offered through
Active is not in conjunction with the LSU Department of Bands.
Detailed schedules are provided via e-mail following invitation and registration
Thursday, February 6, 2025
6:00 p.m., Students Arrive on Campus
7:00 p.m., First Rehearsal
9:00 p.m., Rehearsal Concludes, students dismissed
Friday, February 7, 2025
8:30 a.m., Students Arrive
9:00 a.m., Rehearsal
11:30 a.m., Lunch (Provided)
12:15 p.m., Tiger Stadium Tour
1:30 p.m., Masterclass sessions
3:00 p.m., Rehearsal
6:00 p.m., Dinner (on your own)
7:00 p.m., Collage Concert
8:30 p.m., Students dismissed
Saturday, February 8, 2025
8:30 a.m., Students Arrive
9:00 a.m., Rehearsals
11:30 a.m., Lunch (Provided)
12:30 p.m., Rehearsals
4:00 p.m., Middle School Concerts (Union)
5:00 p.m., High School Concerts (Union)
Students will be dismissed immediately following their concert.
Room Key & Directions
Select any of the buildings below to open driving and walking directions.
MDA – Music & Dramatic Arts Building
If you are joining us from outside the Baton Rouge area, LSU has partnered with local hotels to offer dedicated accommodations for Stately Oaks participants at a special rate. For more information about these hotel options, please see below.
Please do not book your room(s) until you are officially invited to the festival. Once you are selected, you will receive an email with information on how to redeem the discounts.
Hotel information will be made available by December 13, 2024.