The Popular Music Festival is an annual two-day series of recitals of music which the
students have chosen to share with their peers and the audience. While the term "popular" generally means new, current, or top-ten music, we have expanded the meaning of the
term to incorporate any music of the student's choice.

Most students do choose a piece from current genres such as jazz, Latin music, video
game music, or movie music, to name a few from a long list of possibilities. Some students choose pieces from pedagogical collections or standard works from the classics. This
festival is a celebration of the immense diversity of composed music, is non-competitive and
rewards the students with a medal and the impressions of the judges.