Audition Information

For 2023-24, PMEA D12 is returning to IN-PERSON auditions

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

AUDITION DATE & LOCATION:

Saturday, Nov 18, 2023
Bayard Rustin High School
1100 Shiloh Rd, West Chester, PA 19382

Reminders:
– All auditioning students must be sponsored by a PMEA Member
– All PMEA directors who are sponsoring auditioning students MUST be present on the audition date to serve as judges
– Students may only audition if they have been pre-registered and paid by their directors using the link above (deadline 11/10/23)
– All students and directors please read the D12 Audition Policies

AUDITION DAY SCHEDULE:
Student Check-in: 7AM – 8AM
Director Check-in: 7AM – 7:45AM
Director Meeting: 8AM-8:30AM (Choir in choral room, instrumental in band room)
Auditions begin: 9AM

Directors: You must be present all day to attend the directors meeting (8am), serve as an audition judge or Sergeant-at-Arms (as assigned), and pick up folders when they are ready (usually by 4pm). If you have an unavoidable conflict, you are required to find a PMEA member as proxy to serve in your place. Contact pastpresident@pmead12.org with any questions.

All folders need to be picked up by 4:00PM. Any folders not picked up by then will need to be picked up by the individual directors from the festival hosts. Festival hosts will not distribute folders that are not picked up.

FESTIVAL DATES (Locations & Conductors will be updated soon)

Jan 11-13 District Band
Jan 25-27 District Chorus
Feb 8-10 District Orchestra
Feb 22-24 Region Band
Mar 7-9 Region Chorus
Mar 21-23 Region Orchestra
Apr 17-20 Conference/ All-State – Bayfront Convention Center (Erie)

CHORAL AUDITION MATERIAL

Please note: Similar to our instrumental auditions, PMEA Choral auditions will now only require auditioning students to perform the EXCERPTS as listed below for their chosen voice part. Students do NOT need to learn the entire piece, only the specific excerpts listed below.

Audition Piece #1
At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners
Williametta Spencer – Shawnee Press JW Pepper #4035259

Sop I: meas. 25 to the end
Sop II: meas. 25 to the end
Alto I: meas. 25 to the end
Alto II: meas. 25 to the end
Tenor I: meas. 1-16
Tenor II: meas. 1-16
Bass I: meas. 1-16
Bass II: meas. 1 -16

Audition Piece #2
Alleluia
Randall Thompson – E.C. Schirmer Music Co. JW Pepper #337147

Sop I:  meas. 56-66 
Sop II: meas. 26-41
Alto I: meas. 1-12
Alto II: meas. 13-26 (updated 9.20.23)
Tenor I: meas. 26-41
Tenor II: meas. 46-59
Bass I: meas. 52-66
Bass II: meas. 29-42

Piano Accompanist Audition

#1) Can We Sing The Darkness To Light by Kyle Pederson- learn full accompaniment

#2) Voice part score reading- Alleluia (Randall Thompson) meas. 55-68

INSTRUMENTAL AUDITION MATERIAL

If an excerpt is labeled as a corrected upload, be sure that your students are practicing the most recent version. All of the excerpts below are transcribed from published sources, and will be judged exactly as they appear below.

VIOLIN & VIOLA IMPORTANT NOTE!
The originally posted excerpt for Violin and Viola “Midsummer Night’s Dream Mendelssohn Scherzo” contained an error where tempo marking was significantly slower than it should be. The mistake was brought to our attention and corrected on October 24. Although the deadline for corrections had passed, the audition committee determined that the tempo marking required correction, otherwise the excerpt would be much too slow to provide the level of technical challenge necessary for the audition.

This understandably may cause concern for students who were practicing at the slower tempo and were not aware that the Scherzo is correctly performed at a faster tempo of about dotted quarter note = 90. We encourage students to perform the excerpt at the tempo closest to the marked tempo that they feel they can play with musicality and accuracy. The solo room judges will be made aware that this misprint was corrected recently.

Special note regarding Contra Clarinet: The SPEC Council has decided to remove the Contra-Bass/Contra-Alto Clarinet from Region and All-State Festivals. In the event that All-State Band or Wind Ensemble instrumentation requires contra clarinet, at-large auditions will be held.

Auditions for District Band and Orchestra will consist of the following:

  • Two prepared excerpts. Excerpts are listed below by instrument and should be performed in their entirety at the audition.
  • Selected major scales. Students should prepare the complete list of required scales posted by instrument. Students will be asked to perform three scales selected by the judges at the audition.
  • A sight-reading excerpt