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Please use the link above to access the Chamber Orchestra Audition Materials.
Skyline Chamber Orchestra Audition Requirements:
Who needs to audition?
Membership in the Skyline Chamber Orchestra is by audition or invitation only. All Issaquah School District students who wish to be considered for the orchestra must audition and all returning members are required to re-audition every year.
When are they?
Auditions are normally held once a year in the winter. This general audition is for acceptance into the Chamber Orchestra for the following school year and applies to all returning members and for anyone wishing to be considered for membership. The audition submission deadline is normally the second or third Friday of February. Note that this deadline is subject to modification, so always check the Chamber Orchestra class calendar for the appropriate date.
The next general audition deadline is Friday, February 13th, 2026 at 11:00 PM.
Which class do I register for?
All students who wish to audition for the Skyline Chamber Orchestra (MU127A/B) or the Evergreen Philharmonic (MU250A/B) should first register for the Skyline String Orchestra (MU200A/B.) Please list the Skyline Chamber Orchestra (MU127A/B) and/or the Evergreen Philharmonic (MU250A/B) as your alternate class choices. Once audition decisions have been made, we will work directly with your counselors to ensure that all students who audition are placed in the correct orchestra.
How do I audition?
The Skyline Chamber Orchestra uses the same audition materials as the Evergreen Philharmonic Orchestra. You can audition for both groups, the Evergreen Philharmonic and the Skyline Chamber Orchestra using the same audition materials, although you must submit your video link separately for each audition. By submitting your video audition to one orchestra, you are not automatically auditioning for the other! You can use the same video that you record for your Evergreen audition for your Skyline Chamber Orchestra audition, just be sure to submit your YouTube audition link to both the Evergreen and Skyline audition forms and email addresses. For your Skyline Chamber Orchestra audition video only, if you find that the scale tempos are too fast or the excerpts to challenging, you may leave out the excerpts and record only the scales with the same bowing patterns at a more comfortable tempo. You can record your own Evergreen Philharmonic and Skyline Chamber Orchestra audition videos; your music teacher does not have to be present when you record!
Be sure to carefully follow the instructions for recording and submitting. If you do not, your audition could be invalidated. Your audition must be submitted as a YouTube video link.
What about other auditions?
All-State and All-Northwest auditions:
Please check the Washington Music Educator Association (WMEA) webpage for Allstate and All Northwest audition information. In odd-numbered years, both the All-State and All-Northwest honor groups meet. For such years, the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) uses the audition information specified by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). In even-numbered years, only the All-State honor groups meet, and WMEA itself specifies the audition material. Your All-State and All-Northwest auditions must be recorded by your music teacher.
Chamber Audition Submission Instructions:
Creating Your Video:
You can use your choice of video equipment and editing software as long as it produces a respectable result. Most cell phones, laptops and cameras have sufficient video quality; however, audio quality varies widely. Test your available options and choose the solution with the best audio quality. For example, recording, editing and submitting your audition as a single video using a laptop with iMovie can produce a reasonably good quality audition and be comfortably completed in less than an hour. Please make sure that your face, instrument, hands, and bow are all visible in your video so the director can identify you and see the full range of your technique!
Tip: Before recording your entire audition, you may want to record and upload a test video to YouTube.
1. Practice and then record your selections. Do not include the metronome sound in the recording and there should be no spoken remarks before or during your selections, except to identify your selected excerpts if appropriate.
2. Choose the best take of each of your selections. Important note: the audio in your recording may not be edited (e.g., use of studio effects or spliced). The ideal recording would replicate exactly what one would hear at a live performance.
3. If possible, compile these into a SINGLE VIDEO in the order specified in the audition materials. If you do not have the tools to do this, separate tracks are fine.
4. Encode your video to prepare it for submission. Refer to the user manual for your equipment or software for specific directions on how to do this.
Submitting your audition: Video up-load to YouTube + Audition Form + Email
1. Upload your video to YouTube. If you are comfortable with your video being viewable by the general public, list your video as PUBLIC. If you do not want your video to be visible to the public and only visible by the Chamber Orchestra director, be sure to select the UNLISTED option. Please make sure that you do not list your video as PRIVATE; if your video is listed as PRIVATE, the Chamber Orchestra director will not be able to view it! For information on how to upload videos, use your favorite web search engine and type in "How to upload videos to YouTube." You will submit a link to your YouTube video for your audition.
2. Save your original recordings until you have been notified of the results of your audition.
3. Navigate to the Chamber Orchestra Audition Application Form. A link to the form can also be found below. Please be sure to fill in the form completely and hit the submit button.
4. Email the following information to this email address:
ssoauditions@gmail.com
In the Subject line: last name, first name, instrument, and the month and year of the audition. Then, in the body of the email, include:
-The URL (link) of your YouTube video(s)
-Your Name
-Your Instrument
-Your school grade level (8, 9, 10, 11) at the time of the audition
-The school you are attending at the time of the audition
-The first and last name of your private instructor (if you have one!)
-Your city and state of residence at the time of the audition
-Your Telephone number
-Your email address
5. Upon e-mail submission, you should receive an automatic reply from the ssoauditions@gmail.com address with a "your audition has been received" message. If you get this e-mail, your submission has been successfully recorded for review after the due date. If you do not get this autoreply, please check the address you sent it to. A common mistake is omitting the "s" at the end of ‘ssoauditions’ when typing the address.
Please follow these instructions carefully. Your audition may not be considered if you do not pay attention to details or if your video is un-viewable.
Audition submissions for students accepted into the Chamber Orchestra will be used to determine seating and solo assignments. Please keep in mind that seating and solo assignments may change through the school year based upon playing test scores and/or in class auditions.
Audition Tips and Suggestions:
The major considerations for acceptance to the Chamber Orchestra are:
Commitment: In order for an orchestra program to be successful, there must be a high level of commitment from the director, from the parents, and from the students. Please keep in mind that if students are current members of the Chamber Orchestra and have not shown a high level of commitment to the success of the ensemble, their audition submissions may be rejected. If students miss one or more performances or rehearsals outside of our regular class time or have an excess of class absences, even with valid excuses, they may not be invited to rejoin the orchestra due to a lack of commitment to our shared goals.
Intonation. Every note should be at the correct pitch. While this might seem obvious, it is the most common cause for auditions to be rejected.
Accuracy. Get the metronome beat firmly in your ear before you turn it off, and follow the beat without variation. Play every rhythm exactly as written, and don't leave any notes out. Pay close attention to the articulation, and make sure you take the indicated repeats.
Tone. Strive for a tone quality that is centered, round, warm, and supported. Avoid shrill, blaring, piercing, unfocused, and nasal sounds. Think of blending in with an orchestra.
Anonymity. In many cases, the Skyline Chamber Orchestra director doesn't know you and has never seen or heard you play. Your audition will be the only input available for deciding whether you can be accepted. You owe it to yourself to make your submission a showcase of your very best playing. Please remember that audition videos will be used to determine seating and solo assignments for students accepted into the Chamber Orchestra. Please also keep in mind that seating and solo assignments may change through the school year based upon playing test scores and/or in class auditions.
Legibility and Completeness. If the information you provide is incomplete or cannot be clearly read, there is no way to identify you, or to contact you with the results of your audition. This produces the same outcome as if you had never submitted an audition. Take the time to be sure all your information is complete and accurate.
Retakes. Listen carefully to each selection after you have recorded it, and make sure it is up to your highest standards. Don't hesitate to re-record one or more selections if you think you can improve them. Of course, submit only the best take of each selection.
Equipment. Sometimes a qualified student is rejected because the poor quality of their recording renders the audition inaudible. While you don't need to engage a recording studio, or meet professional standards, you should choose the highest quality equipment available, and the recording should be clean enough that it doesn't obscure the good aspects of your playing. If you are using a computer, you may wish to do some research on how to improve the sound quality of recordings. If you're not confident in your equipment or your ability to operate it to your advantage, by all means get someone to help you record.
Mechanics. Before recording your selections in earnest, do some short test takes to determine the best physical setup for recording. In general, a larger room (such as a living room) is preferable to a smaller one, and some sound- deadening surfaces (carpet, curtains, cushions) are helpful in reducing echo. Position the microphone five feet or so from your instrument, and set the bass and treble controls to normal (medium) levels. If available, use manual settings (volume, treble, bass) in preference to automatic settings. Stereo recording is recommended but not required. When you listen to the test takes, make sure the recording volume level is reasonable and there is no distortion of your sound.
Instructions. Sometimes there are a large number of auditions for a section with few open positions. Such auditions can be quite competitive, and there might be "close calls" requiring a choice between submissions of essentially equal caliber. In such cases, preference must be given to submissions that most carefully follow the instructions. Your attention to detail is a valuable indicator of your future success.
Audition Music List. In order to save you time and effort, we use the same audition materials as those required for the Evergreen Philharmonic. You can use the same video that you record for your Evergreen audition for your Skyline Chamber Orchestra audition, just be sure to submit YouTube audition links to both the Evergreen and Skyline Chamber Orchestra audition forms and separate email addresses.
The Skyline Chamber Orchestra will use the same audition material each year as the Evergreen Philharmonic. As a result, the material may change slightly from year to year. Please check this webpage for the most current edition of audition materials.
For your Skyline Chamber Orchestra audition only, if you find that the scale tempos are too fast or the excerpts to challenging, you may leave out the excerpts and record only the scales with the same bowing patterns at a more comfortable tempo for your audition video.
All audition submissions will be scored using this rubric.
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