What is a High Note festival at Kennywood?

It is a one-day music learning event. Your band, choir or orchestra performs for professional adjudicators at a venue near the park in the morning, receives recorded feedback, and then spends the rest of the day at Kennywood.

Kennywood School Music Festival | High Note Festivals

Perform in the morning, then spend the day at Kennywood

Bring your band, choir or orchestra to Kennywood for a High Note festival day. Your groups perform at Duquesne University or Carnegie Mellon University for professional adjudicators, get recorded comments to take back to the classroom, and then head into the park for the rest of the day.

Most schools come as a day trip from the Pittsburgh area and nearby states, and plenty bring more than one ensemble. Kennywood festivals run on three Fridays in May, with performances at university venues in Pittsburgh.

High Note is a family-run company. When you call or email, you reach one of us, and we stay with your booking from registration through festival day.

What each package covers

An adjudicated performance for every ensemble you bring
Recorded comments from the adjudicators
Admission to Kennywood for the rest of the day
One free package for every 20 students

Meal tickets, car parking passes and festival T-shirts are optional extras. School buses park free.

2027 Festival Dates

Pick any open date when you register. Performance time windows go first come, first served.

May 2027

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Date	Performance venue	Status
Friday, May 14, 2027	Duquesne University	Closed
Friday, May 21, 2027	Carnegie Mellon University	Open
Friday, May 28, 2027	Carnegie Mellon University	Open

Closed dates are full. Festival dates and prices are subject to change.

Ticket Pricing

2027 packages include the festival and a day at Kennywood.

Per person	2027 price
Student / participant package	$65
Adult / chaperone package	$34
Meal ticket (optional)	$19
Car parking pass (optional) School buses park free	$21

For every 20 students, one package is free. A $50 deposit holds your date and comes off your final invoice.

Festival Day

Here is how the day runs for your group.

Your buses arrive at the performance venue for your assigned time window.
Each ensemble warms up, then performs for the adjudicators.
You get your trophy and the adjudicators' recorded comments for every group.
Everyone heads to Kennywood for the rest of the day.

Performance / Venue Location

Duquesne University600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282

Carnegie Mellon University5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Park Location

Kennywood4800 Kennywood Blvd, West Mifflin, PA 15122

Questions Directors Ask

Where do groups perform?

Performances for Kennywood take place at Duquesne University or Carnegie Mellon University, a short drive from the park. We assign your performance time after you register.

What does it cost?

Packages are $65 per student and $34 per adult for 2027. For every 20 students, one package is free. A $50 deposit holds your date.

Which ensembles can take part?

School concert bands, jazz bands, orchestras, string ensembles and choirs are all welcome. Many schools bring more than one group on the same day.

Can we add meals or parking?

Yes. Meal tickets and car parking passes can be added to your registration and changed later from your school dashboard. Parking passes are for cars only; school buses park free.

How do we register?

Create a school account on our registration page, add your groups, then choose a Kennywood date and a performance time window. You can call us at 877-239-3007 with any questions.

Kennywood Music Festival