Answers
Why are auditions held?
While we as Tennessee music educators believe that all students are capable of making music and have the right to education in music, we also believe that some students will excel and these students deserve greater challenges and rewards. The audition process allows the student to display excellence in choral music and provides them with a challenge to earn the reward of participation in and All-State.
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What is the process of earning a spot in the and/or All-State choirs?
A student must first meet the eligibility qualifications. If the student is eligible, the student’s choral director must then submit the appropriate forms and fees by the appropriate deadlines. Once the forms and fees are submitted, the student will be given a time for the first step of the process, the initial audition, and the student will be asked to prepare the audition materials. If the student scores well enough on the initial audition, they will be assigned a set of literature to prepare for one of the ensembles and a date by which the literature must be prepared. On the assigned date, the student must pass a screening audition to prove that the literature is prepared. After passing the screening audition, the student may participate in All-East. After completing All-East, students who scored high enough on the initial audition and who successfully completed will be given a set of literature to prepare for All-State by a given date. On the date of the All-State screening, the student must demonstrate preparation of the assigned All-State literature. On successful completion of the All-State screening, the student will be able to participate in All-State.
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What are the eligibility qualifications to begin the process?
See ETVA Policy Manual
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What if a school has no choral program or the choral director is not willing or able to sponsor the student?
If a school has no choral program, or if a choral director refuses or is unable to sponsor an otherwise qualified student, another director or teacher may sponsor the student provided that they meet the requirements stated in the ETVA Policy Manual.
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How much does it cost to audition
Please see the current fee schedule.
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How will I know my assigned audition time?
Within a few days of the registration deadline, a list of audition times will be posted on the ETVA website.
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Who decides what time I will audition?
A computer assigns the times randomly as the registration forms are processed. These times are scrambled to ensure impartiality.
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How are the special audition time requests handled?
When a special audition time request is received, it is filed in order of receipt for priority of assignment. The Executive Board of ETVA rules on whether to grant or deny each request. If the request is granted, those students are not scrambled, but are assigned a time as close to their requested time as possible in the order in which their requests were received.
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Can I exchange my time with someone else or get my assigned time changed?
No, once posted, the times may only be changed in the event of an emergency, with special permission from the Executive Board.
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What are the initial audition materials?
The initial audition materials consist of three pieces selected by the Executive Board. They are drawn from the literature to be performed at by the SATB, Men’s, and Women’s choirs. The specific titles will be listed on the ETVA website. Each student will prepare their part on two of the three designated pieces, with all students preparing the SATB piece, all males preparing the Men’s piece, and all females preparing the Women’s piece.
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How do I know which vocal part to prepare?
The student’s vocal part (Soprano 1 or 2, Alto 1 or 2, Tenor 1 or 2, Bass 1 or 2) must be declared in the registration process. Once registered, this part cannot be changed and will follow the student all the way to All-State should he/she succeed that far. Therefore, the choral director should assist the student in deciding which vocal part to prepare.
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Do I have to sing the same part as I sing in my school choir?
No. You should sing the part that best fits your individual voice. Students are discouraged from auditioning on a part because of a perception that there is less competition for that part.
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If an audition piece is in a foreign language, do I have to sing the foreign text?
Yes, if the piece is going to be performed in that language at All-East. Generally, the pieces will be performed in the language in which the composer set the text. If there is a question, contact a member of the ETVA Executive Board for clarification.
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When is the initial audition?
Please see the ETVA calendar.
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Where will auditions be held?
Auditions will be held in the middle area, (Knoxville area). The precise location is posted on the activities calendar on the ETVA website. Directions to the audition site will be posted on the website.
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What is the time frame of the auditions?
The first auditions in each vocal part will occur at 9:00 AM. Teachers will be called to a meeting prior to the auditions. The time of this meeting will be set by the Executive Board and announced via the website online calendar and bulletins. The length of the day will depend on the number of students auditioning on a voice part. Generally all auditions are completed by around 4:00 PM.
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How long is each singing audition?
Each student’s singing audition lasts for 3 minutes.
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Could I be called earlier or later than my scheduled time?
Yes. Unfortunately, it is impossible to be precise on the times. Unforeseen circumstances could cause the auditions to run late or early. You may be called as early as an hour before your scheduled time. You may be called any time after your scheduled time.
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How early should I arrive?
All students are required to be in the warm-up room from one hour before their audition time until they are called to audition. (Students whose audition times occur from 9:00 to 9:45 AM should be present in the warm-up room at 8:45 AM.)
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What should I wear to the auditions?
The only regulations of dress code are that students may not wear anything that would indicate their school or their name to the judges. Previous or All-State members may not wear or All-State patches. You are not judged on personal appearance in the audition.
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What will happen in the warm-up room?
In the warm-up room, the warm-up directors will play complete recordings of all three audition titles. These recordings will be made from the same source as that used to create the audition tracks used in the judging rooms, and there will be the same tempo, key and sound as those tracks. In the event of an emergency, the Executive Board may authorize the use of a recording in the warm-up room which comes from a different source. In such a case, the students will be notified in the warm-up room. All the students in the room will be allowed to sing along with the accompaniment. Runners will come into the room and call for up to ten students at a time from each voice part to go to the waiting area outside the judging room. Also, the warm-up room directors will go over the specific instructions for each section’s audition passages, including what you will hear to get your pitch and to set the tempo.
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What will happen while I wait for my turn outside the audition room?
The runners will confirm your ID number (which is not necessary for you to know) and record it on your judges’ score sheets. If you have any questions about where you start and stop on each piece, you should make sure it is clear before you enter the audition room.
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What will happen in the audition itself?
You will be escorted into the audition room by one of the runners. There may be a music stand for you to use if you wish. The head judge or the CD operator should greet you, and let you know when the judges are ready to hear you sing. The CD operator will start the music and the head judge will conduct your first entrance on each piece. The judge will NOT conduct the entire audition section, only the very first vocal entrance of your part. You will sing sections from both pieces, and after finishing; the head judge, CD operator, or the runner will dismiss you.
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What if I make a mistake or fail to start in the right place?
If you make a mistake you should go on as quickly as possible. If you miss an entrance, you should start singing as soon as you realize where you are in the music. If you realize you are ahead or behind the CD, listen briefly and resume singing correctly as soon as possible. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one will sing a perfect audition. Don’t let your mistakes throw you – keep singing!
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What happens if I am sick on the initial audition date?
It is an unfortunate fact of life that singers are often sick in the fall. However, the audition process is so complex and requires so many participants that it is not practical to have a make up session. If you are sick on the audition date, we suggest you go ahead and audition if you are physically capable of singing an audition. We do not offer any make up auditions or special exemptions.
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What happens if I miss my audition?
If a student misses the call for their audition, they may be allowed to do their audition at the end of the day depending on the reason they missed the original audition. The Executive Board will discuss each case and determine which reasons are acceptable. Those that are accepted will be allowed to audition at the end of the day.
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How will I be judged in the audition?
You will be judged by five judges in the areas of pitch, rhythm, tone, diction, technical accuracy and musicality. See the ETVA Policy manual for specific breakdown of points. The highest score and lowest score given in your audition will be thrown out and the three middle scores combined to form your total score.
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Why are the highest and lowest scores thrown out?
We eliminate the highest and lowest judges’ scores as a further measure to avoid favoritism or discrimination. A judge who recognizes you may score you very high or very low, regardless of how you actually performed in your audition. Alternately, a particular judge may be grading every one much higher or lower than other judges in the same room. By removing the top and bottom scores, you are more likely to have an accurate rating of your audition.
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Do the judges make any comments about my audition?
There is space on the audition sheet for judges to make comments. We encourage the judges to comment on your performance, but they may or may not do so at their discretion.
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Will I find out my scores right after my audition?
Generally, the results will not be available until later in the next week.
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How will I find out my score?
Your summary score sheet will be emailed to your director after results are posted. Your director will be able to pick up your actual judges' sheets at the screening audition.
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Will my scores be posted publicly?
It is ETVA policy to NOT publicize the entire election results. We do not want the students who have become eligible for All-State to know for certain until after and we do not want to embarrass students who did not do well on their audition. Therefore, after auditions, a list of the students who have become eligible for will be published on the ETVA website. Once is over, those students who are eligible for All-State will have their names and their scores published on the website.
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How high do I have to score to make All-East?
This varies from year to year and section to section. It is further complicated by the fact that the number of choir members is not fixed, but may vary greatly from year to year. The Executive Board looks at the full sets of election results and uses a statistical formula called a Z-score to determine how the different sections’ scores compare to each other. This allows the Board to determine the cut-off scores for each section and to decide how many singers will be assigned to each part. Once the cutoff scores are determined, the students are randomly assigned to one of the three choirs.
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What does it mean if I am an alternate for a choir?
If you are described as an alternate, it means that you did not score well enough to be eligible for a particular choir. However, you did score well enough to become a substitute for another choir member who cannot attend or All-State. You will be given the option of preparing the music and going through the next level of the auditions, the screening audition. The alternates will be assigned in numerical order as openings occur in an choir. You could be called up to 24 hours before the first rehearsal occurs.
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If I am assigned to a choir after auditions does that mean I have made All-East?
No, you still must pass the next level of the auditions, the screening audition, before you are officially enrolled in All-East.
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How high do I need to score to make All-State?
The All-State students will be taken from the top scores in each section. The number of students per section that will get to go to All-State varies from year to year based on the average number of schools that participate in our auditions over a three-year period. Also, before you are enrolled in All-State you must first complete one additional screening audition on the All-State music.
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What music do accompanists need to prepare?
Accompanists will audition on two or three pieces from the literature. The exact titles are selected by the Executive Board and will be indicated on the ETVA website. Students should prepare to play the accompaniment and open-score on both pieces. If a metronome marking is not printed in the score, the exact tempo will be indicated on the website.
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Will an accompanist auditioner have time to warm up?
This will depend on the number of students auditioning as accompanists that day. If time allows, you will have a short time to warm up.
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Who will hear my accompanist audition?
There will be two or three judges who are high school directors who will judge the auditions. In addition, a college director may be asked to assist with the audition.
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How long is my accompanist audition?
Your total audition will last approximately twenty minutes.
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Can an accompanist audition as a singer also?
Accompanist students may audition for as a singer. There is no additional fee to audition as a singer and an accompanist. Your accompaniment audition will not conflict with your singing audition and you will be scheduled so as to have a few minutes in between singing and playing.
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If I make it as an accompanist, am I still eligible for All-State?
If you are chosen as an accompanist and singer, and score high enough on your vocal audition to make All-State, you will be eligible.
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What will happen during my accompanist audition?
You will be asked to play through the accompaniment on each piece while following the conductor. You will also be asked to play just the vocal parts on each piece with the conductor. It is important that you follow the conductor’s beat pattern at all times!
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How will I be judged in the accompanist audition?
You will be judged on your ability to play the accompaniment correctly with proper style and musicality, follow the conductor, and to play the open score vocal parts.
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Will I receive a numerical score from my accompanist audition?
No, the judges will fill out comments on your audition.
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How many accompanists will be chosen?
The judges may select up to eight accompanists (two per choir including the Freshman choir), but are not required to select any at all. Because the accompanist is so important, a student will only accompany a choir if he/she demonstrates exceptional ability.
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If I am selected as an accompanist, what happens?
You will be assigned to prepare the music for one of the choirs. You should prepare to play accompaniment and parts with a conductor. You will not be confirmed as an accompanist until you complete the second phase of your audition.
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What is round two of the accompanist audition?
Students who have been assigned to prepare the music for a particular choir will meet with judges at the screening audition. You will be required to play through all the music to demonstrate that you are prepared to be an accompanist. At that time, the judges will decide which pieces, if any, you will be allowed to accompany at All-East.
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