Auditions Regulations and Procedures
for the
2011 OMEA All-State Children's Chorus

Audition Regulations: (Download the pdf format of the information below by clicking here.)

The nominating teacher must be a current OMEA member, and a photocopy of the teacher’s current MENC membership card MUST be included with the audition form. Failure on the teacher’s part to follow this procedure will disqualify the student.
Each school may submit the following number of auditions for OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus:

# of participants in CTSWS Maximum # of Auditions
1-20...................................................................................................................................... 5
21-24.................................................................................................................................... 6
25-28.................................................................................................................................... 7
29-32.................................................................................................................................... 8
33-36.................................................................................................................................... 9
37-40.................................................................................................................................. 10

The nominating teacher MUST purchase an audition CD from the current OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus Chair (for $7.00), OR download the music files from the OMEA website for FREE.
An audition tape or CD must accompany each singer’s audition form.
An audition fee of $5.00 must accompany each application postmarked by the first deadline. For auditions postmarked between the first and the second deadline, the audition fee will be $15.00. Following the second deadline, an emergency audition fee of $100.00 must accompany all audition entries which MUST be hand-delivered by 9:00 AM to the All-State Children’s Chorus Chair at the October Convention.
Audition materials must be postmarked on or before the deadline. Send materials by certified mail with a return receipt requested.
Recording may be made on a CD or a NEW tape of good quality. If you choose to use a tape, take care to begin after the lead on the tape has passed the recording heads. Please note: Beginning with the 2012 OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus, auditions will be a CD ONLY audition; audio tapes will no longer be accepted. As such, it is highly recommended that teachers begin to make this transition to a CD recording device for the 2011 OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus auditions. For a list of possible recording devices available, please see the link provided at the bottom of the OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus web page.
You must use a different tape or CD for each student. Record on Side A, one direction only.
A student may only be entered one time.
You must label each CD/Tape with the student’s name and voice part (Soprano, Soprano Middle, Alto Middle, Alto) ONLY.
The audition may and should be practiced prior to recording. Only the highest rated students will be accepted in the chorus. To assist in choosing the most quality recordings, it is strongly recommended that teachers download a judges’ critique sheet from the OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus web page to “judge” their student auditions using the printed guidelines before mailing. As a point of reference and a score to aim for when recording auditions, in 2010 the All-State Children’s Chorus members’ scores ranged from 73-88 with most averaging around 83.
Once you are recording, do not stop or pause the tape or CD until the audition is complete. Failure on the teacher’s part to follow this procedure will disqualify the student.
Students’ auditions will be disqualified for any of the following reasons:

If the teacher’s voice is heard on the recording
If other sounds are heard at any point on the recording.
If the recording is stopped or spliced at any point during the audition.
If the tempo/pitch of the audition CD is altered in any way.
If a copy of the teacher’s current MENC membership card is NOT included with the audition material.

Audition Procedures

Start recording.

Singer reads: “My name is __. I am auditioning as a/an_ (soprano, soprano middle, alto middle, alto) for the 2011 OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus.”

Start audition CD.

Part A: The student will sing 4 five-tone scale passages, ascending and descending, beginning on the given pitches and staying with the tempo of the metronome. Sing all vocalises without accompaniment. Only the pitch will be given for each of the four vocalizes. Vocalises are to be sung on the syllable,”mah” or “zah.”

The starting pitches for the vocalises are as follows:

Soprano	Soprano Middle	Alto Middle	Alto
D above middle C	Middle C	Bb below middle C	A below middle C
F# above middle C	E above middle C	D above middle C	Middle C#
A above middle C	G above middle C	F above middle C	E above middle C
Fourth line D	C above middle C	Bb above middle C	A above middle C

Part B: The student will demonstrate harmonic singing on the syllable “loo.” (1) The student will listen as both voices are played together. (2) The student will sing the upper line, while the lower line is played. The student should begin after hearing the starting pitch and the metronome count-off. (3) The student will sing the lower line while the upper line is played. The student should begin after hearing the starting pitch and the metronome count-off.

Part C: The student will demonstrate melodic singing on the prepared song, “Jubilate Deo.” The student should begin after hearing the starting pitch and the metronome count-off.

The starting pitches for the song are as follows:

Soprano: Fourth line D (Key of D)
Soprano Middle: C above Middle C (Key of C)
Alto Middle: Bb above Middle C (Key of Bb)
Alto: A above middle C (Key of A)

Pronunciation: yoo-bee-lah-teh deh-oh ah-leh-loo-yah

Stop recording once the tonic chord is played after the student completes Jubilate Deo. DO NOT STOP THE RECORDING BEFORE THE TONIC CHORD OR ELSE THE STUDENT WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED.

Audition Checklist

Listen to the recorded audition.

Are there any additional noises or flaws in the recording including but not limited to: possible clicks that may sound like the starting/stopping of the recording, humming of any kind, the teacher or another student’s voice, intercom announcements, or the sound of a piano other than that on the audition CD? If so, please re-record. Any of these sounds could be a cause of an automatic disqualification. This does not include coughing or clearing of the throat by the student.
Is the volume of the student AND the audition CD loud enough to be heard? You may want to even double check the volume on another player just to make sure it is clear enough.
Is the final chord heard before the recording ends?
Did the student say the correct voice part and year?
Does the tempo/pitch sound altered in any way?

If a tape was used for the recording:

Is the tape a NEW tape that had not been recorded on prior to the audition?
Is the tape rewound to the beginning before mailing?
Is the student’s name and voice part listed on the front of the tape?

If a CD was used for the recording:

Is the CD finalized?
Is the student’s name and voice part listed on the front of the CD?
When finalized, is there only one track on the CD? If there is more than one track (for any reason), the student will automatically be disqualified because that is a sign that the recording was paused during the audition.

Is the student’s form COMPLETELY filled? There should be no spots left vacant.
Is a photocopy of the teacher’s current MENC membership card included in the audition materials?
Is the audition fee (payable to OMEA) included in the audition materials?
Are the audition materials to be mailed on or before the audition deadline, by certified mail, return receipt requested to the All-State Children’s Chorus Chair’s address listed at the bottom of the Audition form?

DOWNLOADING m4a audio files. (Playing them directly on computer or using I-Tunes for downloads)

Right now, I-Tunes is the only proven way to download the files. I-Tunes is free, and available for most computers. Click here for download.

M4a files are an extention of the same files you use for i-pods, except they are more accurate, and deal with music NOT under copyright. Not all computers or browsers may be able to download them. The files were developed by Apple, but most other computers can use them.

When you click on the download link (below, in blue) for a particular track, your computer should begin to play it. You may want to use the files in this way.

(For Mac computers) If you want to download the files to your computer desktop for later use, go to the "FILE" menu stack (upper left in Firefox), pull the menu down and choose "SAVE THIS PAGE." Follow the instructions and the file will be downloaded to your desktop. When you click on the file (outside your browser) the file will open in I-TUNES. From there you can burn your own CD or move it to an I-Pod. (Download I-tunes for free)

Instructions for Internet Explorer and PCs: (courtesy of Kathy Gossen):
     1. Right click the track you want to download.
     2. From the upper menu, select "Save Target As"
     3. Open the tracks using whatever audio program you usually use (I-TUNES is the most standard) and either burn them into a CD or load them on your I-Pod.

If your computer cannot accomplish this, write editor@oklamus.org by next year we will try to make it more convenient for all.

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Auditions Regulations and Procedures for the 2011 OMEA All-State Children's Chorus

Audition Regulations: (Download the pdf format of the information below by clicking here.)

The nominating teacher must be a current OMEA member, and a photocopy of the teacher’s current MENC membership card MUST be included with the audition form. Failure on the teacher’s part to follow this procedure will disqualify the student.

Each school may submit the following number of auditions for OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus:

The nominating teacher MUST purchase an audition CD from the current OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus Chair (for $7.00), OR download the music files from the OMEA website for FREE.

An audition tape or CD must accompany each singer’s audition form.

Audition materials must be postmarked on or before the deadline. Send materials by certified mail with a return receipt requested.

You must use a different tape or CD for each student. Record on Side A, one direction only.

A student may only be entered one time.

You must label each CD/Tape with the student’s name and voice part (Soprano, Soprano Middle, Alto Middle, Alto) ONLY.

Once you are recording, do not stop or pause the tape or CD until the audition is complete. Failure on the teacher’s part to follow this procedure will disqualify the student.

Students’ auditions will be disqualified for any of the following reasons:

If the teacher’s voice is heard on the recording

If other sounds are heard at any point on the recording.

If the recording is stopped or spliced at any point during the audition.

If the tempo/pitch of the audition CD is altered in any way.

If a copy of the teacher’s current MENC membership card is NOT included with the audition material.

Audition Procedures

Start recording.

Singer reads: “My name is ____________. I am auditioning as a/an___________ (soprano, soprano middle, alto middle, alto) for the 2011 OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus.”

Start audition CD.

The starting pitches for the vocalises are as follows:

Part C: The student will demonstrate melodic singing on the prepared song, “Jubilate Deo.” The student should begin after hearing the starting pitch and the metronome count-off.

The starting pitches for the song are as follows:

Soprano: Fourth line D (Key of D) Soprano Middle: C above Middle C (Key of C) Alto Middle: Bb above Middle C (Key of Bb) Alto: A above middle C (Key of A)

Pronunciation: yoo-bee-lah-teh deh-oh ah-leh-loo-yah

Stop recording once the tonic chord is played after the student completes Jubilate Deo. DO NOT STOP THE RECORDING BEFORE THE TONIC CHORD OR ELSE THE STUDENT WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED.

Audition Checklist

Listen to the recorded audition.

Is the volume of the student AND the audition CD loud enough to be heard? You may want to even double check the volume on another player just to make sure it is clear enough.

Is the final chord heard before the recording ends?

Did the student say the correct voice part and year?

Does the tempo/pitch sound altered in any way?

If a tape was used for the recording:

Is the tape a NEW tape that had not been recorded on prior to the audition?

Is the tape rewound to the beginning before mailing?

Is the student’s name and voice part listed on the front of the tape?

If a CD was used for the recording:

Is the CD finalized?

Is the student’s name and voice part listed on the front of the CD?

When finalized, is there only one track on the CD? If there is more than one track (for any reason), the student will automatically be disqualified because that is a sign that the recording was paused during the audition.

Is the student’s form COMPLETELY filled? There should be no spots left vacant.

Is a photocopy of the teacher’s current MENC membership card included in the audition materials?

Is the audition fee (payable to OMEA) included in the audition materials?

Are the audition materials to be mailed on or before the audition deadline, by certified mail, return receipt requested to the All-State Children’s Chorus Chair’s address listed at the bottom of the Audition form?

Auditions Regulations and Procedures
for the
2011 OMEA All-State Children's Chorus

Singer reads: “My name is __. I am auditioning as a/an_ (soprano, soprano middle, alto middle, alto) for the 2011 OMEA All-State Children’s Chorus.”

Soprano: Fourth line D (Key of D)
Soprano Middle: C above Middle C (Key of C)
Alto Middle: Bb above Middle C (Key of Bb)
Alto: A above middle C (Key of A)