To: District VIII Band Directors
From: , District Band Audition Chairman
RE: Audition Information
Mail or hand carry all audition information and fees no later than
to:
1. All auditions will be held on Saturday, January,
Woodwind site:Brass & Percussion site:
2. All audition material is to be released to students no earlier
than
3. Instrumentation in the Junior District and Senior District Bands will be:
1 Piccolo (Senior only)
13 Cornets/Trumpets (10 for Senior groups)
10 Flutes (8 for Senior groups)
8 French horns
2 Oboes
6 Tenor Trombones
2 Bassoons
1 Bass Trombone (Senior only)
1 Eb Clarinet (Senior only)
4 Baritones
24 Bb Clarinets (18 for Senior groups)
5 Tubas
4 Alto Clarinets (2 for Senior groups)
2 String Basses (1 for Senior groups)
4 Bass Clarinet (3 for Senior groups)
4 Snare Drums
2 Contra Bass Clarinets (1 for Senior groups)
1 Bass Drum
4 Alto Saxophones
1 Cymbals
2 Tenor Saxophones
2 Mallet Percussion
1 Baritone Saxophone
1 Timpani
4. All auditions will be tape recorded so that judges my recheck on close decisions.
5. Students in grades 9-12 will audition for the Senior District Bands. Those students not selected for the top group will be placed in the second Senior Concert District Band.
6. To be eligible to audition for the All-Virginia Band, a student must place in the top chairs in the Senior Symphonic District Band (see VBODA Administrative Handbook for eligibility).
7. If in the event students of any section receive scores too low and are definitely not District Band material; thereby preventing instrumentation requirements from being met, the instrumentation may be adjusted by the audition chairman, upon recommendation of the judges.
8. Wind instrument players may audition on one instrument only with the exception of 8A.
A. Students may audition on both piccolo & flute and Eb & Bb clarinet.B. Cornets and Trumpets are to be regarded as like instruments. The cornet and trumpet section will be mixed. Scores 3-5-7-9 will be selected for Trumpet parts 1 & 2.
C. All French Horn audition material must be played on the F Horn. Students playing Eb Horns must transpose all music one whole step.
9. Percussion: All High School percussion students will audition on snare drum, mallets and tympani. PROCEDURE
A. There will not be separate auditions for bass drums and cymbals. Snare drummers will be the players with the four highest scores on the snare drum audition. Bass drummer will be the 5th highest on the snare audition and the cymbals the 6th highest.B. Timpani and mallet percussion will audition separately from the snare drums.
C. The host will only furnish timpani and mallet percussion. All other instruments must be brought to the audition site.
D. A percussionist may enter more than one audition (snare drum, timpani or mallets), but must register and pay the audition fee for each entry. If desired, students may audition on all three instruments.
E. Middle School Percussionists auditioning on more than one instrument must fill out the appropriate entry form and must choose their priority BEFORE auditioning. Students who do not complete their choices on the entry form will be understood to have the following preferences: 1 - snare 2 - timpani 3 - mallets.
***** If a high school percussionist is selected for more than one area, a position in the top band would override the students instrument preferences listed on the registration form.
10. Each band in District VIII sending students to audition must have a minimum of one player represented in the District Bands. After the audition results are tallied, if a band does not have one student represented in a District Band to make up their total of one (1), the District Results Chairman will select and place that school’s highest scoring individual in the band. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE WILL BE THAT NO PERCUSSION STUDENTS WILL BE ADDED. Any such placement will be in addition to the stated instrumentation; no student will be dropped to make room for another student placed in this manner.
Motion (Feb 2006) The audition chair will consult with the director of any school impacted by a "placed" student for district band, and allow the student's director a chance to provide feedback prior to the final placement.
11. VMEA regulations require that directors who send students to VMEA sponsored activities be VMEA members. Non-members may participate if they pay the non-member participation fee.
12. Students auditioning for Governor’s School should be indicated on the top of the registration form. These students should arrive early and move to the front of their registration line. These students will be assigned the earliest audition number available. These students should request a late audition time for Governor’s School when applying.
13. Any student in grades 6 through 12 participating in a VMEA sponsored activity must be enrolled in a music performance organization as recognized by the school division, of the same genre, and be recommended by the director of that organization. In addition, the sponsoring VMEA Special Interest Section’s procedural policies related to the event must be followed. The intent of this policy is to foster and support student participation in musical experiences.
14. District VIII accepts the policy that if a designated judge or administrative assistant for District Auditions does not show up for his/her assignment and stay to complete the assignment and has not given at least one week’s notice to the Audition Chairman (except in dire emergency) a letter will be sent to his principal, music supervisor and superintendent stating his/her lack of responsibility. District VIII has adopted the policy that all directors entering a student in District Auditions must work on audition day as a host, chairman, judge or administrative assistant. If the director does not work his/her students become ineligible for band placement except as designated above.
15. Directors who must prearrange an absence from the District Auditions must follow the guidelines outlined in the VBODA Administrative Handbook, including a letter of understanding signed by the school’s principal and providing the necessary substitute as approved by the school’s principal. If a band director submits a letter for an absence, the Audition Chairman finds a qualified substitute and charges the school for that substitute. If payment is not received by the Audition Chairman no later that 8:00 PM on the evening before the auditions, then the students do not audition.
16. There will be a piccolo and Eb clarinet chair in both the Senior Symphonic and Concert District Bands. If there are no piccolo or Eb clarinet parts, they play the lowest flute and Bb clarinet parts.
17. If a student makes either District Band, they are expected to be in attendance at the entire event. The only excusable absences are a doctor verified illness or death in the family. Failure to attend will result in the student being ineligible to audition the following year.
Mail or hand carry all audition information and fees no later
than