PAS Percussion Ensemble Competitions & Festivals

About PECAF

The PAS Percussion Ensemble Competitions & Festivals give students throughout the United States opportunities to learn music and percussion through performance and expert adjudicator feedback. Started in 2024, the program is expanding to even more locations in 2026.

Eligibility

The Percussion Ensemble Competitions and Festivals include competitive and non-competitive divisions for high school and middle school/junior high groups, as well as a non-competitive division for independent groups of middle to high school-age performers.

Each group will be given a 30-minute time slot for set-up, performance, clinic, and tear-down.
There is a minimum performance time of 5 minutes and a maximum performance time of 15 minutes per interval.
The balance of your time (minus set-up and tear-down) will be used for your clinic with the judges.

Ensembles must have a minimum of 3 players, with no maximum limit.
An ensemble can perform any number of different pieces during their interval time, utilizing any different combination of performers (i.e. 3 different quartets, or a single large ensemble of 20+).

There are exceptions to some of the general PECAF guidelines for the North Texas Percussion Festival, hosted by Forney ISD, and the Southeastern Percussion Symposium, hosted by Lassiter High School. You can find details from last year’s festivals on their webpages below. 2026 updates are forthcoming:

Registration

Registration for these events will open at Noon Eastern on Monday, December 8th, and competition spots are expected to fill quickly. Space at each event will be limited, so directors should plan to reserve their spot as soon as registration opens in December, and have their group membership processed ahead of time (if seeking the member discount). All events are first-come, first-served.

The director of the group will begin the registration form by using the email address they have associated with their PAS membership. If a membership or account does not already exist, a new account will be created as part of the registration.
After selecting the location of the PECAF event you wish to attend, you will be directed to that specific registration form.
Payment can be submitted via credit card, check, or purchase order.
- PLEASE NOTE: If paying by check or PO, payment must be remitted within 30 days of your entry, or before the event date (whichever is earlier), in order to retain your spot in the event. In the case of a purchase order, the PO number must be submitted for invoicing of the appropriate school/organization.
Only one registration per school/organization will be accepted up until one month prior to the chosen event. If openings in the schedule remain less than one month before the contest, additional registrations from a single school/organization will be accepted.

In the weeks leading up to your chosen event, you will receive a message from PAS requesting the following information:

Number of directors/performers in your ensemble
Repertoire information (title, composer/arranger, publisher, year published)
Instrument needs that may not already be addressed by the inventory available at your specific site
Large vehicle information (does not pertain to all sites)

Pricing

Entry fees for The PAS Percussion Ensemble Competitions & Festivals are forthcoming.

Learn more about the added benefits of being a PAS Group Member here!

2026 PECAF Dates and Locations

PAS Sponsored Percussion Ensemble Events

In addition to the above PECAF events, the Percussive Arts Society is proud to sponsor the Southeastern Percussion Ensemble Symposium, happening April 24-25, 2026, at Lassiter High School. Learn more about last year’s event at their website. 2026 information is forthcoming.