January 21-23, 2026 – Baird Center – Milwaukee
Celebrate your district’s music programs and students by submitting an audition to perform at the annual Wisconsin State Education Convention!
The Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) and Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) co-sponsor an annual Music Showcase for Wisconsin public high schools (grades 9-12.) Three ensembles will be selected to perform at one of the keynote sessions at the Wisconsin State Education Convention. The convention, held in January at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, is co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB), the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO) and the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA). The audience for this event will be comprised of 1,500-2,000 school board members, district administrators, and school business officials from around the state.
Application Deadline: June 6, 2025
Application Guidelines:
• Any performing ensemble (band, choir, orchestra, jazz ens., show choir, etc.) from Wisconsin public schools grade 9-12 may apply.
• Groups are limited to 60 students.
• Submit 1-3 audition recordings totaling no longer than 15 minutes. Audio recordings are preferred, but videos will also be accepted. See the information below about preparing files for submission.
• Include total district enrollment in the application.
Not sure of your enrollment? Check the DPI website »
Prepare Your Recordings for Submission:
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- Place Recordings in a Shared Folder in Your Drive (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox): Whenever possible, we request that you create one folder to hold all of your recordings – and share that URL in your application. If this isn’t possible, you may submit separate links for each selection.
- IMPORTANT: Verify that the settings for your folder/recordings allow access to people with the link without logging in.
- Naming Convention for Folders/Sound Files: Please use the following format to label your sound files:
SchoolName_GroupType_SongID
(i.e. MadisonHS_Choir_Bach.mp3, MadisonHS_JazzEns_Song1.mp3, etc.)
Group Types = Band, Choir, Orch, JazzEns, ShowChoir, Other-Inst, Other-Vocal
Selected Groups Contacted: On or about September 15 – WASB will contact all schools directly
Performance Information: January 21,22, 23 2026 (one group on each date)
• Performance opens one of the three General Sessions held during the convention.
• LENGTH: The performance, including introductions, is limited to no more than three (3) songs for a total maximum length of 15 minutes.
• GROUP SIZE: 60 student limit
Stipend: A stipend will be provided to each performance group compliments of the WASBO Foundation. Costs above this stipend are the responsibility of the sponsoring district.
