Spring Recital - Auditions & Concerts for Piano, Strings, Winds, Brass, Percussion, Voice, Chinese Folk Instruments

This program is intended for the well-prepared student who is capable of accepting the challenge of the concert platform.  Students selected through the audition must perform in the recitals.

Chairpersons:

Piano:
North Jersey: Gloria Chu, Lana Chakoff

Princeton: Grace Chang, Jessica Tsai, Christina Xie
 
Monmouth County: Chiung-Yin Cheng Liu

String: Ingrid Tang

Winds, Brass, Percussion, Voice: Kathy McClure, Dauri Shippey

Chinese Folk Instruments: Yi Yang

Audition/Recital Dates and Locations:

Audition  1 - Piano
Saturday, April 12, 2008 - William Paterson University (WPU) 
Recitals –
             Christ Church, Pompton Lakes - Saturdays, May 3 & 10, 2008

Audition 2 – Piano
Sunday, March 16, 2008 – Westminster Choir College (WCC)
Recitals –
              Monmouth County – Sat. & Sun., May 3 & 4 (Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University)
Students auditioning on 3/16 must choose from the above recital options

Audition 3 – Piano
Sunday, April 13, 2008 - Westminster Choir College (WCC)
Recitals –
Princeton Area – Sat. & Sun., May 10 & 11, 2008
Students auditioning on 4/13 must choose from the above recital options

Audition 4 – Piano
Sunday, April 20, 2008 – Westminster Choir College (WCC)
Recitals –
              Princeton Area – Sat. & Sun., May 17 & 18, 2008
Students auditioning on 4/20 must choose from the above recital options

Audition for – Strings, Winds, Brass, Percussion, Voice, Chinese Folk Instruments
Sunday, March 16, 2008 – Westminster Choir College (WCC)
Recitals –
              Princeton Area – Saturday & Sunday, May 10 & 11, 2008
All Strings, Winds, Brass, Percussion and Voice Students auditioning on 3/16 must perform at this recital.
 

How to Enter:

Complete both sides of the entry form located in the “Registration Entry and Trophy Award Forms” section of the Yearbook. Make copies as needed. The registration form will be returned if not completed in full and students will not be entered in the event. Phone entries or entries not on the correct form will not be accepted.  Do not mix piano entries with other instruments. Teachers must submit a separate entry form and a separate check for each audition date.

Entries will be treated on a “first come, first served” basis. Once that center or date is filled, entries will be directed to another center or date. Do no make special requests. Since there are five different audition dates for piano with two corresponding recital options, please direct students who have a conflict to another center or date. Once the schedule is completed, a $5.00 fee (cash or check from teacher, no check will be accepted from parents of students) will be charged for each schedule change if the change is feasible. 

For students earning a trophy, complete the trophy/Awards column and submit it at the time of registration. Trophy requests cannot be honored after the audition date.

Checks should be made payable to “NJMTA Auditions”,
Send separate entry forms and separate checks for each audition day to:

Fee:

Solo auditions: $25 per student.  Ensemble auditions: $30 per ensemble

A separate $50 refundable check for each audition center will be collected for teacher’s duty deposit upon registration. This fee will be refunded when duty is fulfilled.

Registration Deadline:

Entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, February 1, 2008. A $5 late fee will be charged to each entry of registration between February 2 and February 5, 2008.  Entries mailed after February 5, 2008 will be returned and students will not be entered to the event.

Student Eligibility:

Piano, Strings, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion- Students from elementary through college level are invited to audition.  Ensembles must register through the same teacher on the same form.

Voice – Students from High School through Adult are invited to audition.  Auditions are open to soloists and to vocal ensembles.  Ensembles must register through the same teacher on the same form.

Teachers Eligibility:

Teachers must be members of NJMTA in good standing and, except for new members, must have paid their dues by January 1, 2008.  All sponsoring teachers must assist at both the auditions and the recitals.
Parents will not be accepted as a substitute for teacher to do the duty.  The $50 deposit will be refunded to the teacher when he/she completes his/her duty.  If the teacher failed to fulfill his/her duty, the deposit will be used to hire monitor or another teacher to do the duty.

Classifications:

For the purpose of these auditions -
Piano students should be classified as follows regardless of age: Elementary (El) - Bach Minuet, Intermediate (Int.) - Sonatina, and Advanced (Adv.) – Sonata.
Strings, Winds, Brass and Percussion student’s classifications are determined by age and length of study as follows:  (El) - less than 3 years of study, (I) - 3-6 years of study, (Adv) - more than 6 years of study.
Voice student’s classifications are determined by age and length of study as follows:  (El) up to 2 years of study, (I) – 2-4 years of study, (Adv) – more than 4 years of study.

Evaluations:

The evaluation sheets will be mailed with the audition schedules. Only teachers should fill out the evaluation form, giving all the requested details, note the timing of each piece and making certain that each student chooses 1st and 2nd choice of recital dates. This information is used to prepare the program, so please list keys, opus numbers, and anything that will identify the music without any doubt.  Judge’s decisions are final.

Performance Time:

Piano:  Maximum time allowed through Grade 10 is 12 minutes. Grades 11, 12, and Collegiate are allowed 15 minutes.
Strings, Winds, Brass & Percussion:
            Maximum time allowed through Grade 10 is 15 minutes, grades 11-collegiate and adult are 20 minutes. 
Voice:  Maximum time allowed is 15 minutes.

There is no minimum.

Please be advised that students are required to perform at their assigned schedule. Switch time slot or replace with other students are not allowed. If the student can't make it they forfeit their spot.
Students are not permitted to share music because of scheduling difficulties.  Students without music will be allowed to audition at the appointed time but will automatically receive Honorable Mention Ratings.

Memorization:

All solo pieces must be memorized for piano and voice for both the audition and recital. Memorization for winds, brass, strings, percussion, duet or ensemble repertoire is optional. 

Accompanists:

Entrants are responsible for obtaining their own accompanists.  Teachers may not accompany their students.  NJMTA will provide a recommended list, should you require one.

Repertoire:

Students must perform two compositions from standard repertoire, from two different musical periods, and contrasting pieces are recommended. See the Composer Classification List and General Information section of this yearbook.  All pieces must be at least 16 measures without repeat.  Students not fulfilling this requirement will receive an Honorable Mention regardless of the quality of performance.
The selection is at the discretion of the teacher. No arrangements or simplified editions of works originally written for piano will be accepted.  Published transcription of the other instruments or ensemble (such as Bach/Busoni’s Chaconne, Chinese tradition folk songs) will be acceptable as long as they are original by the composers.  Method book pieces without composer indicated or with listed as “adopted by”, “arranged by” are not acceptable.  Repeats will not be played unless the piece is very short or the repeats affect the integrity of the piece.  Variations must be performed in their entirety.
Students are required to perform only one movement of the Sonata.  Bach Prelude & Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier does not need to be performed as a set.  A group of short pieces such as Chopin Preludes can be considered as one piece if they do not exceed the maximum time allowed in their age group.  

Duet repertoire may be four to six hands, for one piano only. Students may perform one piece only, at any level. Published arrangements are acceptable. The maximum time allowed for duets is 4 minutes.

Strings, Woodwind, Brass, Percussion:

Two unaccompanied pieces for solo, or solo with accompaniment, or ensembles of two or more in number.  Pieces written with a piano accompaniment must be performed with accompaniment.  Selection of the repertoire is at the discretion of the teacher.  Arrangements and transcriptions should only be used if no suitable age appropriate literature is available.  No simplified arrangements will be accepted.  It is the intention that the repertoire should be chosen from the solo literature for each respective instrument.

Voice:   Students must perform three contrasting compositions from standard classical vocal repertoire.  One song must be in a foreign language, one must be in the student’s native language, the third may be either.  The selection is at the discretion of the teacher.

Chinese Folk Instruments: Students must perform one piece from memory.

Awards:

Performers and Honorable Mention students will receive certificates.  Students receiving a High Honors Rating will perform in a High Honors Recital, and those receiving an Honors Rating will perform in an Honors Recital.  Honorable Mention certificates will be mailed.

As an incentive and reward for those students who have performed in either High Honors or Honors Recitals for three, five, seven and ten or more years, there are special awards.  Medals will be given for three-year accomplishment, trophies for five and seven years and plaques for 10 years and beyond.  The performances need not be given in consecutive years.  They may be a combination of High Honors and Honors performances.  However, since this is a performance program, the student must have played in each year’s recital.

Recital Rules:

Performers should arrive at least 15 minutes before their recital time, check in with the recital host and be seated in the programs order with the other performers.

Student should only perform the piece that the judge chose during the audition.

Student who arrive late and miss their place in the recital program may not be allowed to perform.  Due to time constraints this will be at the discretion of the recital host.  Maps are provided to all locations at the back of this book and teachers should see that each student is given a copy.  Students and their families are required to stay for the entire recital, so that the performer may receive their certificate.  Please suggest that families not bring very small children to the recitals.

Please note the dress code outlined in the General Information section of this book.  No children dressed in sports clothes will be allowed to perform.

Students who are absent from the recitals will not receive their certificates and under no circumstances will be allowed a credit towards an award for this year.  This is a performance program and a performance by the student is required.

No flash photography is allowed during the recitals.  Video cameras may be set up at the back of the recital hall, and photographers are requested to stay with their equipment during the recital.  There will be an opportunity to take both group and individual photographs at the end of each recital.

Teachers are expected to attend their student’s recitals to support their students and assist the recital host.