Cannon Music Camp

All Jan. 11 events have been rescheduled or moved! See list below.

District, Region, and All-State Scholarship Opportunities

For students participating in honors ensemble auditions in North Carolina, here are two ways you could receive a partial scholarship offer to Cannon Music Camp! These events help us assess your skill for merit-based scholarship consideration. Merit-based scholarships from these methods tend to be in the range of $200-425.

• Live Auditions: Audition in person for a camp representative at certain District Band, Regional Orchestra, or All-State instrumental audition sites in North Carolina.
• Placement Results: Receive a scholarship offer based on your District/Region/All-State placement (band, choir, or orchestra). These are typically sent via your teacher.

We encourage you to take advantage of all scholarship opportunities that are convenient for you so we can hear your best performance! However, please note that scholarships do not add together, so if you receive multiple offers, we will apply the highest single offer rather than adding offers together.

You can, however, apply for an increase to your scholarship! See the main Scholarships page.

You do not have to participate in District/Region/All-State or visit an audition site to receive a scholarship. All students are welcome to a submit an audition video through the Scholarship Application Form. Instructions are on our Scholarships page. Students of similar skill level and age tend to receive similar merit-based scholarships regardless of the method in which we hear their audition. 

Apply to camp early if you can in order to save your spot. The most popular instruments may fill by mid-February before certain scholarship results come back! Visit the Apply page for the application steps and cancellation policy.

Live Auditions at District, Region, or All-State Sites

At some honors ensemble audition sites, Cannon Music Camp representatives will be present to hear your audition for a partial camp scholarship. Expected sites for the current year are listed below. This is an excellent opportunity for those who are already planning to audition for District Band or Regional Orchestra.

Band and orchestra students not planning to audition for District/Region may still visit one of these sites just to audition for Cannon, but please be aware that weather may change the date and we cannot 100% guarantee that our representatives can attend even if listed below, so feel free to use our online application option. Pianists, vocalists, and guitarists, please do not attend an audition site, but submit a video instead so that we can best assess your performance. Percussionists may choose to submit a video if they are not sure whether an audition site will have the instruments on which they wish to play.

2025 Live Audition Locations in North Carolina (Tentative)

Last updated Friday, January 10. We hope to send representatives to the following locations, pending space availability, faculty schedules, and weather.

District Band

• Western District Band: Thursday, January 9, 2025. Tuscola High School, Waynesville, NC.
• Central District Band: Snow date: Saturday, January 18, 2025. Northern Guilford High School, Greensboro, NC.
• South Central District Band: Snow date: Saturday, January 18, 2025. Porter Ridge High School, Indian Trail, NC.
• East Central District Band: Snow date: Saturday, January 18, 2025. Willow Spring High School, Fuquay-Varina, NC.
• Northwest District Band: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025 (Snow date: Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025). Davie County High School, Mocksville, NC.

Regional Orchestra

• Western Region Orchestra: Saturday, January 18, 2025. William Amos Hough High School, Cornelius, NC.
• Eastern Region Orchestra: Moved online due to weather - please submit a video through our scholarship form instead.
  

Contact Cannon Music Camp for questions regarding the auditions by phone (828-262-4091) or email (cannonmusiccamp@appstate.edu). Driving directions can be found online; please do not call us or the school for directions. Inclement weather may postpone an audition date. In that event, we will try to offer Cannon auditions will be held on the rescheduled date.

On-Site Audition Process

1. At the honors ensemble audition site, there will be signs directing you to the auditions for Cannon Music Camp. (These are separate from the auditions for your honor ensemble.) You do not have to be in the All-State Band or Orchestra event to perform.
2. Fill out the paper audition form provided at the audition room and give it to the camp representative, who will be happy to hear your audition. To make sure we can deliver your offer by email later, use your best handwriting and include two personal/family email addresses (since school emails may be unable to receive emails from organizations outside your school system).
3. Perform your best piece. You can play the same music you played for your ensemble audition and/or another piece that reflects your abilities well.  Pieces that are used for All-District, All-Region, or All-State auditions or Solo and Ensemble festivals would be fine to perform for our camp representative. They will be listening to your tone, intonation, technique, musicality, range & scales.
4. After your audition, the representative will take the results back to the Director of Cannon Music Camp for review. 
5. You will receive notice of your award in an e-mail. These are typically delivered 2-3 weeks after the event. You may wish to add cannonmusiccamp@appstate.edu to your address book to ensure you receive the email.

Offers Based on Honors Ensemble Placement

Some (though not all) honors ensembles share with the camp a roster of students who placed in the ensemble. If this is the case, you may receive a scholarship offer even if you did not apply or audition for one! We will send these through your ensemble director or music teacher.

Offers based on ensemble placement may be higher or lower than scholarship offers you received by audition. Offers from the camp cannot be added together. In any case, let us know the highest offer you received and we will apply it to your account once verified.

• It is possible that some ensembles will be sent a flat rate scholarship offer (via teachers) for all students who made it into the ensemble regardless of placement. If you earned a top chair but received a small offer, feel free to submit a video so that we can assess your individual skill!
• If you are competing in any of the North Carolina All-State Band or Orchestra events and you placed in the top chair positions, you may be offered a scholarship based on your instrument and placement. In this case the scholarship offer will be sent to your school music director. If you did not get the letter, please don't hesitate to call or e-mail the office. We have found that some schools do not deliver offers in a timely manner.
• If you are not a top chair or unsure of your placement, and you want to receive an offer, please audition for us at an event or submit the Scholarship Application Form. This will ensure you have a chance to receive an offer.
• Due to the timing of these competitions, the offers that are sent to your school will not be sent out until mid to late February. Our suggestion is to apply first to secure your space, then seek scholarship funding.