Student Piano Accompanist Audition Guidelines
Students interested in accompanying at PMEA District 1 Chorus need to prepare the following for audition.
Pre-requisite: Student auditioning must be an accompanist at their high school or be a full-time participant in their high school choral program for one of the choirs.
Pre-requisite: Student auditioning must be an accompanist at their high school or be a full-time participant in their high school choral program for one of the choirs.
- All students must pay the required $5 audition fee.
- Student should be prepared to play open score on both choral audition pieces for District Chorus Auditions. Students will be asked to play up to two vocal lines on two staves in one or more of the following combinations: S/A, T/B, S/T, A/B, etc. Please refer to the District Chorus audition procedures for the correct music.
- Student should prepare the following accompaniment in the year of:
Cycle 1 (2021-2022) – The Last Words of David by Randall Thompson, E.C. Schirmer Music Co. 2294
Cycle 2 (2022-2023) – And He Shall Purify from The Messiah by Handel
Cycle 3 (2023-2024) – Veni Sancte Spiritus by W.A. Mozart http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/images/7/77/K47.pdf
Cycle 4 (2024-2025) – Hallelujah from The Mount of Olives by Ludwig Van Beethoven, G. Schirmer, Inc. 50293600 - Students auditioning will be given time to warm-up to adjust to the instrument.
- Students may be asked to play accompaniments to basic vocal warm-ups.
- Students may be asked to play major or minor scales.
- Students may be asked to sight-read a Bach chorale on the grand staff.
- Student will audition for 3 judges and the festival conductor or collegiate choral director who will determine if the student is qualified to accompany the choir. The student will be scored by the judges in conjunction with the festival conductor or other qualified director input. District 1 is under no obligation to select an accompanist if no one meets the qualifications to accompany in the judges’ opinion. (If possible, one of the judges will be the qualified adult mentor/accompanist). A maximum of two students may be chosen.
- The accompanist will not count as a schools’ representation.
- Students who are selected to accompany District Chorus will be expected to audition on piano for Region Chorus on the District Chorus repertoire at auditions. This committee should include the guest conductor so that he/she may suggest which student accompanist should play which piece at the District Chorus Festival. Students will have to play an accompaniment and an open score (of no more than four parts over four staves) from the folder. They will audition for three judges. The top scoring student will move on to the Region level if Region Chorus is accepting student accompanists.
- Student Accompanists will be permitted to sing, when not playing, at all the choral festivals up to and including All-State Chorus.
- Student accompanists may choose to audition as a singer through the festival audition procedures. This will be important for those accompanists who apply to play at the All-State Festival but are not selected, or if Region Chorus is not accepting student accompanists.
- An adult mentor/accompanist may be assigned to play for parts of the concert, and students may only be asked to play part of the concert. The mentoring accompanist will work with the guest conductor and the judging committee to assign accompanist responsibility for concert repertoire. If any of the student selections are not adequately prepared, the mentoring accompanist will take over and the student may not be permitted to move to the next level.
- Directors who have students auditioning should avoid serving as a judge for the accompanist auditions for that year.