Williamsburg Music Club Auditions March 8, 2014
Information about the 2014 Auditions
Audition Date and Place
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Ewell Hall, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg
Eligibility
The WMC Grants-in-Aid committee has prepared a mission statement that defines student eligibility.
The Williamsburg Music Club’s Grants-in-Aid program provides scholarships to serious music students in the greater Williamsburg area. An eligible applicant must be a resident, student of a resident teacher, or attend school (including private and home school) in Williamsburg, James City County or York County, Virginia. Members of the Williamsburg Youth Orchestra may also apply.
Divisions
The competition will consist of two divisions, junior and senior. Junior Division performances will be scheduled in the morning. The Senior Division auditions take place in the afternoon. We will attempt to work around any conflicts with District Band Auditions, but students must be available that day, during the audition period, in order to compete.
The Divisions are defined as follows:
Junior Division: for students in grades 5 through 8
Senior Division: for students in grades 9 through 12 (up to and including age 19)
New This Year – Instrument Categories
Keyboard: includes piano, organ and harpsichord/clavichord.
Orchestral Strings: includes violin, viola, cello and bass.
Winds/Voice/Other: This category includes band and orchestral wind instruments, guitar, harp, percussion and voice.
Repertoire
Suggested minimum level repertoire for each division is available below as a guide to help determine the student’s eligibility. This repertoire has been defined by comparing numerous lists of similar types of competitions including The Piano Teachers’ Guild, the American String Teachers’ Association, American Harp Society, MTNA Student Competition and The National Federation of Music Clubs Competition. These are minimum standards, and students are not required to prepare pieces on this list. Comparable level repertoire or more technically challenging repertoire for each division may be included. For example, a Junior Division applicant who has the ability to play senior level work may do so. He/she would still compete in the Junior Division.
Students in grades 9 to 12 are considered Senior Division applicants and must choose material commensurate with the minimum requirements in the Senior Division.
Contrasting Works: The first piece performed must be Baroque or Classical. The second piece should be selected from a different period (Romantic/Impressionist/Contemporary).
Time Limits
Junior applicants will be allotted SIX minutes on stage for the audition; senior applicants EIGHT minutes. For pieces that use an accompanist, we strongly suggest editing to reduce any solo playing by the accompanist. If a work has a long introduction, reduce the introduction to two or four measures.
Performances will be timed and may be stopped at the discretion of the judges, so that sections of both selections can be heard. Unless directed otherwise by the student, the judges will allocate half of the student’s time to each piece. If a student wishes to allocate their time differently, or if they choose to cut a portion of a piece or begin somewhere other than at the beginning, the judges should be notified and given appropriately marked music. Candidates should prepare selections in their entirety, even if they run longer than the allotted times.
Music for the Judges
On the day of the audition, students will submit one original score of the music to be played. If cuts are easy to follow, you may use sticky-notes or some other method to indicate these cuts to the judges. If there are major cuts and/or you wish to begin a piece in the middle, in addition to the original, please submit a copy of the music that eliminates missing pages or sections. This will help the judges concentrate on listening instead of page turning.
Memorization and Accompanists
Pianists and singers are required to perform from memory. Instrumentalists are encouraged to perform from memory but the use of scores is permitted. Repeats should be omitted. Applicants must be prepared to perform cadenzas if a concerto with a cadenza is selected. Please indicate the cadenza on your application.
Students who perform works that were written with an accompaniment or orchestral reduction will be deemed ineligible to audition unless an accompanist is present at the audition. This includes concertos, sonatas, or other works that were written with a piano accompaniment or have an orchestral reduction for piano. To ensure that each applicant is judged fairly, there will be no exceptions to this rule. (Note: for piano candidates a second piano will not be made available for the audition. If a student chooses a concerto movement, it should be prepared as a solo work).
Suggested minimum repertoire for the Junior Division is available here as a pdf document (2 pages).
Suggested minimum repertoire for the Senior Division is available here as a pdf document (2 pages).
Recording Equipment
The audition committee respectfully requests parents and teachers not to bring recording equipment into the audition. This includes cell phone cameras. Recording during the audition can be a distraction for the students and the judges.
How to Apply
Completed applications must be postmarked by January 18, 2014. A complete application will include:
- the application form which can be downloaded from this site
- a $20.00 application fee payable to the Williamsburg Music Club
- a list of repertoire studied or performed during the preceding 18 months
- an endorsement by a teacher (private or public school) recommending the student
The Grants Audition Committee will evaluate all applications. Candidates will be notified of their acceptance in the competition by February 1, 2014. Application fees will be returned to students not accepted with an encouragement to re-apply in future years. Incomplete applications, or applications postmarked after January 18th will not be considered, so please read the requirements carefully.
Awards
All applicants will be judged within their own division. Applicants in either division, regardless of any award received in prior years, are eligible to audition in consecutive years.
The Junior and Senior divisions will each have a first prize and a second prize that is open to all instruments. In addition, judges will have the discretion to award separate achievement prizes in each of the three instrument categories.
The Kathleen Exton Prize of $500 is available to a student in the 12th grade at the time of the audition. To be eligible, the student must plan to major in music. All applicants for the Exton Prize must indicate on the Grants-in-Aid application that they will be a music major in college during the next school year, what colleges they have applied to, and what degree program they have chosen.
Please continue to refer to this site for updates on prizes available and other details of the competition. For direct assistance please email: auditions@williamsburgmusicclub.org
The Anne McElheny Memorial Scholarship at Interlochen Arts Camp
Music students in the City of Williamsburg, James City County and York County are eligible to apply for the McElheny Scholarship administered by the Interlochen Center for the Arts. The endowment for this fund was established by the late Claire McElheny in memory of his wife, Anne McElheny (see McElheny Scholarship Information on this site). Students should apply directly to Interlochen and request consideration for the McElheny Scholarship as well as all others for which you may be qualified on the Financial Aid section of the application. You may request a supporting letter from the Williamsburg Music Club to accompany the application. Complete the Interlochen application early for the best chance of getting the award. For full details, please go to http://camp.interlochen.org/
Needed Materials in PDF Format
Audition information in detail (3 pages)
An application form plus instructions for completing it (2 pages)
Suggested repertoire for the Junior Division (2 pages)
Suggested repertoire for the Senior Division (2 pages)
Information taken from: http://www.williamsburgmusicclub.org/wmcauditions.htm
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