Please contact your school Music Director in the first instance. Your school Music Director will have been given an ensemble arrival time which is advised by the ASBOF. This arrival time is set approximately 1 hour before the ensemble is due to play. This allows for an adequate time in the warm-up rooms.
There is no guarantee the ensemble will have a full hour after their scheduled arrival time. If there are withdrawals on the day we will require groups to go on stage in any order which allows the Festival to continue to run smoothly. If you arrive after your school’s scheduled arrival time you risk missing your child’s performance.
Updated information can be obtained from the Information Desk in the foyer and from the compere in the auditorium.
Please note: under no circumstances does the ASBOF provide performance times. Attempting to second-guess the exact time your child’s ensemble will be playing may lead to disappointment.
Parents/students should meet outside the venue at which the school is scheduled to play and remain together. A parent from the organising committee or the School Music Director should make themselves known to the Festival registration desk.
Parents and students arriving early are encouraged to enter the auditorium (tickets required for adults) to listen to other participating schools.
A Festival Marshal will take the students to the warm-up room when one becomes available. Parents should consult your school Music Director before accompanying the group to the warm-up room.
Please note: students will leave their instrument cases in a designated area. Please ensure your child does not leave any valuables in their instrument case.
Ensembles usually have between 15-30 minutes in the warm up room. They are then ushered straight on to the stage. Ensembles are permitted to have 1 parent helper to assist them back stage.
Watching other schools perform prior to your school going on stage adds to the sense of occasion and makes the event a more rewarding experience for all performers.
Admission tickets are required to enter the auditorium and the doors will only open in between performances.
Please note: trying to second-guess when your child’s ensemble will be performing might lead to disappointment. To ensure you do not miss your child’s performance you are strongly advised to enter the auditorium as soon as the group is taken to the warm-up room.
Once the ensemble has finished playing they will return to where they have unpacked their instruments and will then be under the direction of their Music Director. They will then move back around to the front of the auditorium/where they were first met by the ASBOF marshaling staff.
Students are free to leave once the Music Director has dismissed them.
All students and parents are encouraged to remain in the venue to listen to the remaining ensembles and participate in the adjudication and presentation.
Typically, we will have an adjudication at the end of each section.
If there are a large number of ensembles in a section we might have an adjudication halfway through the event. The compere will announce the adjudication times during the course of the event.
The Australian School Band and Orchestra Festival is a not-for-profit organisation. All proceeds from ticket sales go towards running the Festival and its associated Professional Development programs.
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All school aged children or under are admitted free to the ASBOF.