Auditions
The Concerto and Scholarship Auditions will be held on May 5th, 2024.
Solo auditions will not be held this year.
History of the Young People's Auditions
The Young People's Auditions were conceived in the late 1950's by the Rockland Symphony Orchestra to select young soloists to perform at its Young People's Concerts. When the Rockland County Music Teachers Guild was founded in 1962, it assumed responsibility for conducting the auditions and expanded the program to include a non-competitive division where students receive evaluations and ratings from an impartial panel of judges.
Judging
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Students will be heard by two impartial judges.
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For pianists, both judges will be pianists. For instrumentalists and singers, when there are five or more applicants for a given instrument, at least one will have expertise in the instrument.
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Judges will be provided with the applicant's first name, age, grade in school and seasons studied, but not the teacher's name.
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Judges are selected from outside the RCMTG and county when possible.
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Comments regarding judging and grading should be addresssed to the audition chairs. Any unauthorized communication with judges, prior to or after the audition, may result in disqualification of the teacher or student the following season.
Eligibility
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All applicants must study with a teacher that is a RCMTG member.
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Applicants must be of school age to 25 years, and vocal applicants must be at least 14.
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If a student has not completed one season (30 weeks) with the current teacher by the application deadline, the student will need written consent from the previous teacher.
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Concerto Division applicants must not have graduated high school yet.
Fees
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Teachers must list exact repertoire and create a program under 10 or 20 minutes and indicate this on the application.
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Teachers are required to indicate the exact length of the program to assist in appropriate scheduling of judges.
Under 10 min. = $30
Under 20 min. = $40
Concerto Division: if program will run over 20 minutes, the fee is $50.
Repertoire
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Selections should demonstrate at least three contrasting moods or tempi, with the program arranged in any order.
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The student must provide the panel with one score of each selection whether or not the music is memorized. Avoid photocopies when possible. Transcriptions are permitted; simplified arrangements are not.
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Teachers are urged to select material well within the student's technical and emotional grasp.
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ALL INSTRUMENTS
Three contrasting selections demonstrating a variety of styles, moods and tempi.
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VOICE
CLASSICAL: Three selections in three languages demonstrating a variety of styles, moods and tempI.
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MUSICAL THEATER: Three selections in a variety of styles, moods and tempi. All may be in English.
Students may enter both categories for a double fee, but no duplication of repertoire is allowed.
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(Students may enter both categories for a double fee, but no duplication of repertoire is allowed.)
Requirements
Division
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All applicants (except solo piano) must provide an accompanist. The student is responsible for scores and fees. Names of accompanists are available on request.
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The judges retain the right not to declare winners or alternates.
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SOLO DIVISION
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Applicants will not be required to perform from memory. Judges will not alter grades of applicants if music is memorized or not memorized.
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CONCERTO DIVISION
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Applicants compete for the honor of performing with the Rockland Symphony Orchestra (RSO), a concerto movement or comparable work for solo instrument or voice and orchestra.
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Concerto movements must be memorized, solo works are not required to be memorized.
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The movement counts as one selection of the three works required. Follow the guidelines in Repertoire Requirements for the other two solo works.
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Any cuts to long scores in the concerto movement must be approved by the audition committee at the time of the application. Should the concerto be chosen for performance, the musical director of the RSO must approve cuts or change in repertoire. If the work is not standard repertoire, the teacher must determine availability of the orchestral score and parts. The RSO will generally accept one pianist, one instrumentalist and one vocalist. An alternate may be names in each category, to be used at the discretion of the RSO.
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