Important Dates

2023-2024 CMS Honors Orchestra

Audition

• Date: November 18, 2023

• Time: 8 am to 3 pm

• Location: Location: McClintock Middle School, Charlotte, NC

Clinic

• Date:

  • Rehearsal: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 NWSA

  • Clinic and Performance Friday-Saturday February 2, 3, 2024 

• Time: TBD

• Location: Palisades High School

2023-2024 NC Junior Western Regional Orchestra 

Audition

• Date: February 20th, 2024

• Time: 8 am to 3 pm

• Audition Fee: $5.00

• Location: Location: Burns Middle School, Lawndale, NC

Clinic

• Date: Friday-Saturday April 25-27, 2024

• Time: TBD

• Location: Shelby High School

  Student Participants

• Eligibility: In order for a student to audition for and/or participate in a Junior Region Orchestra, he/she must be in the 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grade. The string student must be a currently enrolled, full-time member of his/her school orchestra, if one exists.  The student’s director must be a current member of NCMEA. If there is no orchestra program in the student’s school, then the student’s youth orchestra director or private teacher may serve as sponsor, provided he/she is a current member of NCMEA and agrees to fulfill all other responsibilities of the director as detailed in section I, below. Student participants who are homeschooled must show proof of home-school status as part of his/her registration. The student must attend a school in North Carolina.

• Audition Requirements: The Student must prepare all published requirements and meet all standards listed on the grading form, below. Requirements include (1) scales and arpeggios to be played from memory; (2) a required solo; and (3) sight-reading. Scale and arpeggio requirements, sight-reading rules and a list of required solos are listed below.

• Financial Obligations: Each student must pay the required audition fee to his/ her director.

• Code of Conduct: Each student shall behave in an acceptable manner as set by his/her school. Attendance at all activities of the Junior Region Orchestra is required. Failure to conform to the code of conduct will result in consequences as set forth in Article II, “Rules of Student Behavior.”

Junior Region Orchestra Audition Form Scoring: Students will be allowed one “restart” without penalty for each of the three components of the audition. Subsequent restarts should be assessed a penalty in each of the judges’ scores. In the event of ties of the total score, the Event Chair will seat students according to their 1) sight-reading score, 2) required solo score, and then 3) scales score.

 1. Scales/Arpeggios: 30 points (5 each)

Articulation/Bowing

Rhythm/Steadiness

Tempo

Accuracy

Intonation

Musicianship/Tone

2. Required Solo: 60 points (10 each)

Articulation/Bowing

Rhythm/Steadiness

Tempo

Accuracy

Intonation

Musicianship/Tone

3. Sight-reading: 30 points (5 each)

Articulation/Bowing

Rhythm/Steadiness

Tempo

Accuracy

Intonation

Musicianship/Tone

120 possible points

Junior Region Orchestra Audition Requirements

1. Scales: Perform all scales and arpeggios from memory. The tonic may be repeated in each octave.  Perform scales as sixteenth notes at a minimum tempo of quarter note = 50. Perform arpeggios the same number of octaves as the corresponding scales, eighth note triplets at a minimum tempo of quarter note = 50.

• Violin, Viola, Cello: C, G, D major 2 octaves; F major 1 octave; any melodic minor of the student’s choice 1 octave. Slur scales 4 notes per bow and arpeggios 3 notes per bow.

• Bass: C, D, F major 1 octave; G major 2 octaves; any melodic minor of the student’s choice 1 octave. Slur scales 2 notes per bow and arpeggios separate bows.

2. Required Solo: The solos are on a 4-year rotation. All solos are from Solo Time for Strings, Book IV, by Etling. Each solo is to be prepared by all instruments.

2023-24 Allegro, Mozart, p. 24 Bass cut: only prepare measures 1-38

3. Sight-reading: The sight-reading selections will be 8 measures in length and grade II in difficulty level.  New selections will be composed specifically for auditions each year. Each student will be allowed a 30 second preview period during which he/she may finger or air-bow but may not play the instrument. The judges will use a metronome to provide the correct tempo before the preparatory period begins, and again before the student begins to play. The metronome will not be used during the preparatory period or during the sight-reading performance.