Choir Notes - March 11

Good morning, choir families!

What an eventful few weeks we have had!  Yesterday, four of our choirs completed their state UIL Concert and Sight Reading evaluations and we are so excited that all four ensembles received PERFECT scores from every judge!  We will be talking in class about the judges' feedback, both positive, and continued areas for growth.  Congratulations, students!  A special shout out to Chamber Singers who represented McNeil and the entire state of Texas at the Southwest American Choral Directors convention in New Mexico last week.  These students sang with such poise and artistry for the conducting masterclass.  All of the spectators and college professors were very impressed and just raved about their tone and musicality.  And now we are all ready for some long naps over Spring Break!  

But first, here are some reminders about events and auditions that are coming up after Spring Break.

Seniors - FLEX IN!

There is a special senior flex on Thursday to discuss with your fearless presidents, Ari & Tim, all things end of year.  Don't miss out!  Get flexed in.

An Enchanted Evening - Thursday, April 2, 7:00pm in the MHS Cafeteria

Tickets will be available soon for this special evening featuring performances by Musical and Rhapsody, a light dinner, and dessert. You won't want to miss this fun evening.

Auditions & Placements for 2026-27 ensembles

1. Chamber Auditions are underway. Video submissions of the audition piece AND the sight reading component in MusicFirst are both due by Monday, March 23.  10 House Points to the kids who found the error on the Soprano 2 page.  It is been fixed and new copies are available in the choir room. 

   1. The rubric on the back of the audition piece is for your information only.  The directors will utilize that rubric to generate a numerical score value to your video audition. We are looking for students who understand how to make music come alive, navigate phrase directionality, as well as quality of tone and musicianship.  Do not just submit a video where you only learned the notes and rhythms.  You will not score high enough to be considered for callbacks.

   2. Chamber Callback auditions are on Tuesday, April 7.  Students who are called back will be expected to turn in their audition scores, complete with showing their musical markings they incorporated into their auditions, and the parent signature page.

2. Placements for Chorale & Cantorum (varsity SSA and varsity TBB) will begin on March 23.  Your sight reading submissions are due by Friday, March 27.  Students will also perform a short cut of their UIL piece for evaluation by the directors to show off your voice on a piece you have already learned.  

3. Show Choir (Musicale & Rhapsody) Auditions are April 14-17.  Information packets and round 1 sign-ups will be available after Spring Break. Here is a quick breakdown of that audition week.

   1. Round 1: 45-60 seconds of a solo audition, your choice of "pop" or musical theatre genres.

   2. Round 2: Group work/choreography day on a new piece

   3. Round 3: Group audition day - 1 person per part in your assigned groups from Round 2 (directors assign the groups and parts you learn)

4. Other things to note about placements & auditions:

   1. The sight reading and song auditions are only part of the criteria for placements. Other things that are scored:

      1. Grades in all classes for the first 3 grading periods

      2. Everyday rehearsal etiquette

      3. Attendance

      4. Interactions with peers: teamwork, camaraderie, respect, and support of classmates

      5.  Leadership shown in class

   2. Grade levels are only considered in the event of a tie in score for final spots in an ensemble.  If a rising sophomore out scores the rising seniors, they will get that top spot in the ensemble they are auditioning for.  If the tie is for the very last spot available, grade level will be taken into consideration.

   3. There are limitations to group sizes for Chambers, Musicale, and Rhapsody due to competition requirements and the type of ensembles they are.

   4. The program is holistically about learning and growing.  This process allows us to ensure that students are being placed in the very best spot for them and where they are in their musical and educational journey.

Have a MAVtastic rest of your week & a fun and restful Spring Break!

Mrs. B & Ms. White

Upcoming event schedule

March 23 - Chamber Audition Video Due & Auditions for Select Treble, Chorale Treble, and Cantorum begin.

March 24-25 - 8th Grade JV/Varsity Auditions

April 2 - Show Choir Dessert Show

April 7 - Chamber Singers Call-back Auditions

April 13 - Chambers Celebrations Competition

April 14-17 - Show Choir Auditions

April 30 - Follies Dress Rehearsal (required for all students)

May 1 - Follies Performance (required for all students)

May 6 - Choir Banquet at Maggiano's

May 22 - Graduation Performance (Chamber Singers 25-26 members & new 26-27 members)

Find a summer TMEA camp to kick start your Audition journey!!!  Most colleges offer summer camps and this is a great way to check out potential colleges you are interested in.  Most are overnight camps in dorms, food halls, etc. Just like a real college student!

Local: CapCity TMEA Camp 

Baylor: music.baylor.edu/youth-camps-and-programs/summer-camps/high-school-all-state-choir-camp 

SMU: www.smu.edu/meadows/areasofstudy/music/workshopsandspecialprograms/musiceducators/smuallstatechoircamp 

Texas A&M: https://choralactivities.tamu.edu/all-state-choir-camp/

TCU: finearts.tcu.edu/music/events-and-programs/summer-camps/tcu-horned-frog-all-state-choir-camp/ 

Texas State: choirs.music.txst.edu/camp/registration.html 

Texas Tech: www.depts.ttu.edu//music/community/camps/choir/index.php 

UNT: music.unt.edu/camps/choir-camp.html 

Find the audition requirements HERE!