-12%20(1).jpg)
Highlights from Small School All-State
Small Schools All-State Festival
NMEA strives to offer as many opportunities for Nevada’s young musicians all across the state. For years, the Small Schools All-State Festival has been available for students in the smaller parts of Nevada. Students in high school may participate in either the Band or Orchestra.
2026 NMEA Small Schools All-State Thursday April 16-18, 2026
Rosemary Clarke Middle School
4201 N Blagg Rd, Pahrump, NV 89060
Small Schools All-State Festival
NMEA strives to offer as many opportunities for Nevada’s young musicians all across the state. For years, the Small Schools All-State Festival has been available for students in the smaller parts of Nevada. Students in high school may participate in either the Band or Orchestra.
2026 NMEA Small Schools All-State Location:
Rehearsals: Pahrump Valley High School 501 E Calvada Blvd, Pahrump, NV 89048
Concert Location: Rosemary Clarke Middle School 4201 N Blagg Rd, Pahrump, NV 89060
​
​2026 All-State Festival Participation
All-State Festival Participation Checklist:
Paying for the All-State Festival Fees
-
P​ay for Student and Director All-State Festival Participation fees
-
All fees are to be paid by each school and their ensemble director/s. All students will need to see their school director for more information fees and registration.
Payment Options - These are the 2 payment options found in the web store.
-
Pay with a Credit Card- follow the prompts and put in your card information, as well as billing address information if needed. Be sure all is accurate.
-
Manual Payment (school check) - follow the prompts in the webstore and select the manual payment method to pay by check and generate an invoice.
-
If you have questions or would like to verify payment contact David Morris, the State Executive, at stateexec@nmeamusic.org
-
Mail all checks to 1100 Wellness Place. #1115 Henderson, NV. 89011. Please write checks out to Nevada Music Educators Association.​​
Chairperson and Commitee
Chris Hess, Lander County - Small School All-State Chair
Email; chess@landernv.net
​
Brenden Holly, Boulder City - Small School All-State Co-Chair
Chris Jeka, Yerington
2026 Small Schools All-State Conductors
Band Guest Conductor
Adam Lambert
Director of Bands at Southern Utah University
Adam Lambert is Director of Bands and Brass Studies at SUU. He directs the Wind Symphony, Athletic Bands and Brass Ensemble and teaches conducting and private trumpet. Adam is also the conductor of the American Fork Symphony and the Assistant Conductor of the Orchestra of Southern Utah. Adam studied conducting from Eugune Corporon (UNT) James Jordan (Westminster Choir College) , Ron Staheli and David Blacking (BYU). Adam is active as a conductor and clinician for orchestras, concert bands, and jazz bands throughout the region.
As a trumpet soloist, Adam has given performances at many colleges and universities throughout the Midwest, including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Wayne State College, the University of Wyoming, Northwest College, and Colorado State University. He holds degrees in music education from Brigham Young University and a doctorate in Trumpet Performance from the University of North Texas.
He was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at UNT from 2002 to 2005. Adam performed and recorded with the University of North Texas Wind Symphony under the direction of Eugene Corporon and appears on several recordings featured by the UNT Wind Symphony on the series Teaching Music Through Performance. He has performed as a professional jazz musician at many major jazz festivals, including the Snow Bird Jazz Festival, the Park City Jazz Festival, and the Salt Lake City Jazz Festival. Adam is a Bach trumpet artist and clinician for the Conn-Selmer Corporation. He was the director of bands at Provo High School in Provo, Utah, from 1997 to 2002.
Orchestra Guest Conductor
Steve Olson
Orchestra Director at Charles Russell High School Great Fall Montana
Steve Olson, a native of Belt, Montana, holds Bachelors Degrees in Piano Performance and Music Education from the University of Montana. He is currently the orchestra director at Charles M. Russell High School in Great Falls, Montana where he enjoys teaching five orchestra classes and directs the orchestra pit for the school’s annual musical. Steve is also a freelance pianist and violinist, playing with several Montana symphonies, and also composes, arranges, and edits music. Additionally, Steve is a highly sought-after musical theatre musician and conductor, with over twenty years experience as a rehearsal accompanist, pit musician, and music director.
In 2015, Steve founded the Steve Olson Orchestra, a local Great Falls volunteer orchestra of high school and adult musicians. Originally created to record an album of newly written Christmas arrangements (Merry Christmas from Great Falls, Montana), the orchestra gives free concerts and works to mentor the students in the orchestra to become life-long learners and supporters of music, regardless of their future career path. Steve is also the founder and music director of the Big Sky Telemann Players, a local Great Falls Baroque music ensemble that gave regular summer concerts between 2012 and 2016.
Although Steve enjoys teaching and performing standard repertoire, his true passion lies in championing the works of historically marginalized composers. As an educator, he firmly believes music and the arts should truly be for everyone, and everyone should be able to see themselves reflected in their involvement.
2026 Small Schools All-State
Nomination and Audition Information
Small School All-State Audition Student Information
Students see your music director for more information on the audition/nomination process. All students will need to see their school director for more information on nominations and audition registration. Chair placement are determined by recorded audition. Auditions are required for all nominations. There is no Audition fee for Small School All-State. The chair placement audition materials can be found below. Students and parents please contact your school music or ensemble director with any questions you might have about your students auditions.
Important Dates:
-
The audition due date is Friday, February 6
-
How to Submit Auditions: Info will be released by Jan. 20th
Small School Audition Director Information:
Students are selected to band or orchestra by director nomination. Prioritize nominations, as everyone’s first nomination will be placed in the ensemble, then second, etc., as instrumentation allows. Directors may nominate up to ten students from their school. Students must be regularly enrolled in the director’s school ensemble.
​
Chair placement will be determined by recorded audition. Auditions are required for all nominations. The chair placement audition materials can be found below. There is no Audition fee for Small School All-State. There is no Audition fee for Small School All-State. The chair placement audition materials can be found below.
High School All-State Band Audition Links
Qualifications
-
Director must be an NMEA member.
-
High School enrollment for the school must be no more than ~1500.
-
Students who auditioned and made All State earlier in the year are not qualified.
-
Students who auditioned but did not make All State are qualified.
-
Directors can have a max of 10 students per ensemble per school audition.
-
NOTE: Exceptions might be made to fill crucial voicing.