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Guitar All-State Festival

The Nevada Music Educators Association All-State Festival features a high school level guitar ensemble.These ensembles acoustic nylon string guitar as well as contrabasses. Students work closely with a guest conductor for two days and several rehearsals before performing a final concert. Students who make the All-State guitar ensemble are the top performers in Nevada. High school students audition to earn a spot in the ensemble, while middle school students are nominated by their middle school guitar director.

2025 Nevada High School Guitar
All-State Audition Information

2025 All-State Audition Student Information 

Students see your music director for more information on the audition process.  All-State Audition and/or Participation fees will be paid by each school and their ensemble director/s. All students will need to see their school director for more information on audition fees and audition registration.  Students and parents, please contact your school music or ensemble director with any questions you might have about your student's auditions. 

2025 All-State Audition Director Information 

Directors, All-State Ensemble Auditions information as well as forms can be found below. The All-State results will be available no later than December 2. Please contact your All-State Chairperson for any questions or help. 

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​High School All-State Guitar Audition Links 
Important Dates

  • Audition video and audition fee deadline: Thursday, November 7, 2024

  • Results posted on December 2, 2024

Required rehearsal dates: Students outside of Las Vegas may join via Google Meets.

  • January 14, 2025 From 5pm-7pm at Del Sol Academy

  • January 21, 2025 From 5pm-7pm at Del Sol Academy

2025 Nevada All-State Guitar
Festival and Conference Information

Guitar All-State Festival Schedule and More

​Schedules for this All-State Festival are below. All schedules are subject to change and will be sent out to the ensemble chairs or NMEA. For more information on the Nevada All-State Festivals and Conferences go to the All-State home page for more detailed information. Contact your All-State Ensemble chair for any questions or concerns you may have.

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All-State Festival Directors Checklist 

All directors are responsible for the following items for All-State Festival and Conference. Go to the All-State Festival Homepage for more details on the Festival and Conference. If you have any questions or concerns contact your Ensemble Chair. 

Forms and Fees are due TBA. 

  1. Pay for Director and Student All-State Festival Participation fee 

  2. Ensure that each student completes the All-State Student Participation Form Not available yet

  3. Directors Form (Google Form) Not available yet

  4. Chaperones Form (Google Form) Not available yet

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All-State Festival Payments

  • All-State Audition Fee $15 per Student (web store) 

  • Pay for Student/Director All-State Festival Participation fee  

  • 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. 

  1. 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. 

  2. 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 the Nevada Music Educators Association.

Chairperson and Committee

Louis Syrovy All-State High School Guitar Chairperson

Email: syrovl@nv.ccsd.net

Paul Kleeman

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2025 Nevada All-State Guitar Conductor

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2025 Conductor
Darin Au
Director of Guitar
Punahou School, Honolulu
Western Division Representative on the NAfME Council for Guitar Education

Darin has taught high school classroom guitar for over 25 years. Since 1996, he has maintained a successful private teaching studio, 7th Fret Guitar Studios, specializing in small group instruction to children ages 5 and up. Darin earned a Master of Music in Composition from the University of North Texas College of Music. He earned a BA in Music from the University of Redlands where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He has presented sessions on creativity, collaboration, and guitar education at state and national conferences. Darin currently serves as the Western Division representative on the NAfME Council for Guitar Education.

 

Darin's compositions are performed by guitar ensembles around the country, including the NAfME All-National Honor Ensemble in 2018 (Chasing Dragons), 2020 (Gävlebocken) and 2022 (D'Bootsy Bass Baby). His works are published by the Theodore Presser Company and Les Productions d'OZ. He also has published Beginning Ensembles for the Next Generaton of Guitarists which was written to accompany any guitar method series. In 2023, he conducted and composed The Proving Ground for the Clark County (NV) School District Honor Guitar Ensemble. In the fall of 2025, he will conduct the Virginia All-State Guitar Ensemble.

 

He currently teaches at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he directs the Guitar Ensembles, Creative Music Studio, and served as Music Department Head (2005 – 2016). During his time as Department Head, the Punahou Marching Band was in a high profile position and participated in two Tournament of Roses Parades, two Presidential Inauguration Parades and a London New Year's Day Parade. He also led the way in proposing and creating new courses including Hawaiian Music Ensemble, Creative Music Studio, Creativity and Composition, and a complete line of Guitar Ensembles. 

 

In recent years, Darin has worked closely with the Virtual Guitar Orchestra as a co-producer and composer and Teaching Guitar Workshops as a clinician. Most recently with Virtual Guitar Orchestra and the Alaska Native Heritage Center, he connected students to Alaska Native music and Yup’ik composer/singer/dancer Andrew Weaver and together they produced a music video and documentary.

 

He performs professionally on classical, acoustic, and electric guitars (and some ʻukulele) ranging from classical music to rock and reggae.

 

In his teaching, Darin encourages student independence, leadership, and autonomy. His students make programming decisions, rehearse themselves, create their own arrangements, and compose and record. In 2022-23, his students composed and recorded an all-original soundtrack for their senior class musical involving over 40 musicians and 350 of their classmates. Bread (Original Cast Recording) can be found on all major music services. 

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