PMEA District 1
Serving Allegheny, Fayette, Greene,
Washington & Westmoreland Counties
 

District 1 Festival Policies & Procedures
 


 District 1 Festival Policies
Senior High Choral Procedures
District Band Selection Procedures

District 1 Festival Policies
Revised by the PMEA District 1 Executive Board, August 2008

     I. Directors who fail to send a photocopy of their current MENC/PMEA membership card with the student and director applications forfeit the right to have their students considered for the festival!

    II. Directors are reminded that they are only guaranteed one student participant in District festivals (as long as they are currently a PMEA member in good standing, follow the festival regulations, and submit their applications and registration fees within the host's deadlines). No guarantee can be made to the number or ranking of students accepted or parts that are selected. Directors are encouraged to submit many student applications and a variety of instrumental/vocal types.

    III.The sponsoring director is required to accompany students attending PMEA [elementary and] middle school fest/ival events.  In the case of an emergency or other exceptional circumstance, the sponsoring director will contact the District C/I Chair for permission to send a substitute.  This substitute must be a PMEA member.

   IV. Students must participate in the COMPLETE festival program—all meetings, musical rehearsals, performances, auditions, social activities, meals, etc.—commencing with registration and concluding with the final concert, only allowing for the following exceptions: 1) illness (must have a doctor’s excuse), 2) death-in-the-family, 3) pre-approved “once-in-a-lifetime” events for a maximum of four hours, or 4) participants in the Bands of America, Grand National Championship Festival in Indianapolis. The student’s parent or director must in person notify the host the moment the student leaves any activity of the festival. Any absence must be excused in advance by the PMEA District President. Students must perform all musical compositions selected for the concert. State and local PMEA policy dictates that, in order for a student to be excused from any part of the festival due to illness, the absence “must be verified in writing by a physician within five days of the festival.”

    V. Students are not permitted to drive to or from a PMEA SHS Honors, District, Region, All-State or JHS festival.

   VI. Students are advised that absolutely NO SMOKING or ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES will be permitted during the festival. Possession of any contraband substance, smoking in the building or on school grounds, tardiness or unexcused absence from any activity of the music festival, displays of disrespect, uncooperative attitude, NOT knowing the music, or any other behavior which may be detrimental to the success of the festival or safety of the students, staff or PMEA members, will be cause for immediate dismissal at any time. Students who are sent home for any disciplinary infraction of a PMEA policy or host school rule will become ineligible to participate in future PMEA festival for the remainder of the school year.

  VII. SENIOR HIGH FESTIVALS:  All students will audition for festival seating and/or future festival participation. Failure to audition by any student will result in immediate expulsion from the festival!

VIII.  ALL SENIOR HIGH FESTIVALS, JHS BAND and JHS ORCHESTRA: All directors must be available to serve as judges and/or accompanists for student auditions at all SHS festivals, Honors and JHS Orchestra. Attendance to the Director's Meeting is required. If director (or a qualified substitute who is a current PMEA member) is absent from auditions at a SHS District event, his/her students will be seated in the chairs which they earned, but they will be ineligible for the subsequent regional festival. In emergency situations, the District President may excuse a director from participating in auditions. Students selected to participate in JHS Orchestra and JHS Band East must be accompanied by their instrumental director/instruc­tor who is a current PMEA member.

   IX. Students who apply for any PMEA festival must provide their own personal medical insurance (e.g. Blue Cross, school plan, or other carrier) and instrument (loss or accidental damage) insurance.

    X. It is illegal to record (audio or video) PMEA-sponsored concerts!

   XI. Wind, brass and percussion players will be selected for District SHS Orchestra on the basis of Honors Band auditions. Additional applications for SHS Orchestra will be considered.

  XII. A student must participate in his/her own school organization in order to be eligible to participate in District, Honors, Regional, State, All-Eastern and National events (band for band, chorus for chorus, orchestra for orchestra). The only exception shall be if his/her high school lacks said organization.

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Senior High School Choral Procedures
January 29, 2004

Audition Procedures to Qualify for District Chorus

  1. Preliminary Audition Committee
    1. Must have at least 2 members of assigned directors.
    2. Must confer with final audition committee to choose same song, identical excerpt for both preliminary and finals for each vocal part.
    3. Preliminary auditions will be based solely on pitch and rhythm. Please remember this is not the final audition.
    4. Before the preliminary audition, all students will be brought into the preliminary audition site and the following procedure will be implemented:
      1. The Chairman will define the audition excerpt to the students including the starting point, midpoint and endpoint.
      2. The Chairman will read the following audition policies to the group. "When you enter this room for your audition, you will be handed your music and a pitch will be sounded by a pitchpipe and a like voice. A tempo will not be provided. You are required to begin on your own. If you want to restart the excerpt, you must ask to re-sing the excerpt. Once you have passed the midpoint of the excerpt, the restart will occur at the midpoint. If you have not reached the midpoint, the restart will occur at the beginning of the excerpt. The pitch will be resounded for the correct restart point by pitchpipe and like voice."
      3. The Chairman will have the pitch sounded in a like voice in the correct octave and lead the students to sing through the excerpt one time only. The selected excerpt must be sung a cappella at the run through and the audition.
    5. The music will be collected and the Sergeant-At-Arms will distribute the music to the appropriate student when they enter the preliminary audition room. The student will keep the music following the preliminary audition.
    6. The audition must be blind.
    7. The pitch will be sounded by a pitchpipe followed by a like voice in the correct octave. A tempo will not be given.
    8. Preliminary auditions will not require formal scoring. One or more "yes" vote(s) moves the student to final auditions.
    9. If a student is selected they will receive a sticker on their audition card and will immediately report to the final audition room.
    10. A student who does not pass the pre-audition is eliminated from further audition. The sergeant at arms will keep their audition card.
  2. Final Audition Committee
    1. This committee will include a chairperson who will judge, no fewer than two appointed judges in each of the audition rooms and a Sergeant at Arms who will not be a judge.
    2. The students will be formally judged rated from one (low) to ten (high) in six categories: Tone Quality, Intonation, Rhythm, Technique, Musicianship and Preparation.
    3. The student will sing the identical excerpt from the preliminary audition. The judges must be aware that the same procedures for pitch, tempo and restart as stated in the preliminary auditions must be followed for final auditions.
  3. Sergeant at Arms
    1. Each room will be assigned a director to serve as Sergeant at Arms. The duties are as follows:
      • Will collect all student music in audition order, making sure that names and schools are written on the music.
      • Will number each audition forms and verify that student audition order is correct.
      • Will collect each audition form as the student enters the room and will check for accuracy.
      • Will escort student into the room and announce the student audition number.
      • Will hand each student their own copy of the music and direct them where to stand.
      • At the conclusion of Preliminaries, will direct the student to either move to the next audition room with their audition form or return to the auditorium. When directing the students to return to the auditorium, the Sergeant At Arms will retain the audition form to return to the executive committee.
      • Will keep order and quiet outside the audition room.
    2. The director serving as Sergeant-At-Arms will not judge.
  4. General Information
    1. If possible, the audition host school site should be centrally located in PMEA District 1.
    2. Photocopied music is not permissible by law.
    3. The auditions will be held the Monday before Thanksgiving.
    4. The auditions will include three selections in a cyclical order as stated in the PMEA District Newsletter and Website.
    5. The audition piece will be included in the concert program at the discretion of the host and guest conductor.
    6. Every school must bring a minimum of two different voices. The district president may grant an exemption to this policy.
    7. Each school represented at the auditions will be guaranteed one student in the district chorus.
      1. Once rankings are determined, the executive committee, consisting of the officers and host, will readjust the choir to guarantee representation of each school and at the same achieve choir section balance.
      2. The size of the choir will be predetermined by the host. The host will receive student representation of 10% of the total the choir. The students of the host school are not required to audition. It is recommended that this 10% be distributed evenly by section.
      3. The audition excerpt should be of adequate duration to allow for fair evaluation and long periods of rest should be avoided.
    8. Director Information
      1. Each director will be asked to rank their auditioning students in order of their preference. Every effort will be made to adhere to these rankings: however, the integrity of the choir must be maintained as determined by the executive committee.
      2. All directors are responsible to provide their own copy of the music for judging purposes.
    9. Student Information
      1. Students will audition in random order as determined by the Sergeant at Arms
      2. Students will write their name and school on their audition music.
      3. Students will enter the room and be given their own music.
      4. Students will not be permitted to rehearse or use audio devices while awaiting their audition.
      5. Students may communicate only to the Sergeant at Arms.

Audition Procedures to Qualify for Region I State Chorus

  1. Audition Committee
    1. This committee will include a chairperson who will judge, no fewer than three appointed judges in each of the audition rooms and a Sergeant at Arms who will not be a judge.
    2. Before the audition, all students will be brought into the audition site and the following procedure will be implemented:
      1. The Chairman will define the audition excerpt to the students including the starting point, midpoint and endpoint.
      2. The Chairman will read the following audition policies to the group. "When you come into this room for your audition, you will be handed your music and a pitch will be sounded by a pitchpipe and a like voice. A tempo will not be provided. You are required to begin on your own. If you want to restart the excerpt, you must ask to re-sing the excerpt. Once you have passed the midpoint of the excerpt, the restart will occur at the midpoint. If you have not reached the midpoint, the restart will occur at the beginning of the excerpt. The pitch will be resounded for the correct restart point by pitchpipe and like voice."
    3. The Chairman will have the pitch sounded in a like voice in the correct octave and lead the students to sing through the excerpt one time only. The selected excerpt must be sung a cappella at the run through and the audition.
    4. The music will be collected and the sergeant at arms will distribute the music to the appropriate student when they enter the audition room. The sergeant at arms will keep the music following the audition.
    5. The audition must be blind.
    6. The pitch will be sounded by a pitchpipe followed by a like voice in the correct octave. A tempo will not be given.
    7. The students will be formally judged rated from one (low) to ten (high) in six categories: Tone Quality, Intonation, Rhythm, Technique, Musicianship and Preparation.
    8. All students are required to audition on the selected excerpt. Any student refusing to do so may be dismissed from the festival.
  2. Sergeant at Arms
    1. Each room will be assigned a director to serve as Sergeant at Arms. The duties are as follows:
      1. Will collect all student music in audition order, making sure that names and schools are written on the music.
      2. Will number each audition forms and verify that student audition order is correct.
      3. Will collect each audition form as the student enters the room and will check for accuracy.
      4. Will escort student into the room and announce the student audition number.
      5. Will hand each student their own copy of the music and direct them where to stand.
      6. Will retain the audition form to return to the chairperson.
      7. Will retain the music and return it to the students following the audition.
      8. Will keep order and quiet outside the audition room.
      9. The Sergeant At Arms will not judge.
    2. General Information
      1. The audition excerpt will be selected from the program music, excluding the selection used for the November audition.
      2. The students will be auditioned on one selection. The selection will be performed a cappella.
      3. The audition excerpt must be of an adequate duration to allow for fair evaluation. Long periods of rest should be avoided.
      4. The size of the choir will be determined by the Region choir host.
      5. Students will qualify for Region based on their numerical ranking of their District audition.
    3. Director Information
      1. Each director must attend the audition or provide a PMEA member as a substitute. This substitute will not be responsible for representing any other school at the audition.
      2. All directors are responsible for providing their own copy of the music for judging purposes.
    4. Student Information Students will:
      1. audition in random order as determined by the Sergeant at Arms
      2. write their name and school on their audition music.
      3. enter the room and be given their own music.
      4. not be permitted to rehearse or use audio devices while awaiting their audition.
      5. communicate only to the Sergeant-at-Arms.

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District Band Selection Procedures
Voted and Approved January 2009

District Band will be chosen using a Hybrid Method - part by Honors Band Audition Results and Part by Paper Selection

The following instrumentation will be taken from Honors Band as an automatic bid and placed in District 1 Band.  Those individuals who receive automatic bid from Honors Band into District 1 Band will be seated in score order form the top of the  section.

Flute - 4
Oboe - 1
Bassoon - 1
Clarinet - 5
Bass Clarinet - 1
Alto Sax - 2
Tenor Sax - 1
Bari Sax - 1
Trumpet - 4
Horn - 3
Trombone - 3
Baritone - 2
Tuba - 2
Percussion - 2 

32 of the students from schools participating in District 1 who  auditioned for District 1 Honors Band, according to score, will receive an automatic bid into District 1 Band.

Approximately 100 students will be selected by paper selection.

ALL students are required to submit a paper application for District 1 Band even if they auditioned for Honors Band and receive an automatic bid ( OR THEY WILL NOT BE PLACED IN THE  DISTRICT BAND)

Applications are processed by the date the host receive3s the applications.  The first round of selections will be processed in order of the application post mark.  To assure your first pick to be your representative, send in your paperwork directly after District 1 Honors band.  Selections will be filled in the order the applications are received. 

The host director will be allowed an equivalent of 10% of the paper application students.  For example, if there are 100 students selected by applications, the host director can place 10 students in the ensemble.  They will be selected and placed AFTER the paper application process is completed for the other participating schools.  The host can determine how many students the facility can accommodate as well as needs in instrumentation.

The Honors Band Results will have to be available at the District 1 Band selection meeting.

Any student selected by Honors Band Audition that pulls out of the District 1 Band festival is NOT replaced by a member of  that school's program but will be selected from the remaining paper applications.

All attempts will be made to give A and AA schools 2 students, AAA schools 3 students, and AAAA schools 4 students (This will not always be possible because of instrumentation)  Any school that gets over there quota from the auditioned Honors Band students will not have more students placed into the band by the paper selection unless they have instruments  that  are  needed that  no other school has submitted.

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