SAMTA Achievement Auditions

For Piano, Voice, and Orchestral Instruments

Entry Deadline: February 28, 2020

Entry fee: $15.00

Date: April 17 and 18, 2020

Location: UTSA Music Building

The Achievement Auditions are an annual event, open to all students of SAMTA teachers, regardless of age or level of ability. This is an excellent means for all of our students to receive comments and suggestions from other respected musicians. As a bonus, outstanding performers may be chosen to participate in the Judges’ Choice recital the following Saturday.

Judges’ Choice Recitals will be held on April 25, 2020 in the UTSA Recital Hall (11:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.)

Eligibility

• Participation in the Achievement Auditions is open to all students in grades K-12. Students do not have to be members of TMTA Student Affiliate.
• Participants must have been a legitimate student of a SAMTA teacher for at least six months prior to the audition.

Registration and Fees

• An entry fee of $15.00 per student is required at the time of registration. SAMTA teachers must send only ONE check with the total fees, made payable to SAMTA. Entrance fees are nonrefundable.
• Registration will be completed online through google forms. Links to the forms are to be found on the SAMTA website www.samusicteachers.org and Facebook page.
• Special time requests must be indicated on the online registration form. No changes will be permitted past the deadline date. Please be aware that this event takes place on both Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, 2020.
• The Friday auditions will not begin until 4:30 p.m. Deadline for all entries is February 28, 2020. Registration will be closed after this dat

Repertoire

Two pieces by two different composers and of two contrasting styles are required. The pieces do not have to be from two different time periods.

1. Pieces must be memorized.
2. Each piece must be at least 16 measures in length, excluding repeated sections.
3. Types of music ALLOWED:
   • Original Classics from the Baroque, Classic, Romantic, Impressionistic or Contemporary time periods. Contemporary music includes pieces by the traditional contemporary composers such as Bartók, as well as living and recent contemporary composers such as Melody Bober, Lynn Freeman Olson, David Karp, etc.
   • For multi-movement pieces, each movement is considered as a separate piece. For example, a dance from a Bach suite is considered one piece; a movement of a sonata or sonatina is considered one piece.
   • Arrangements of hymns, traditional melodies, folk songs, popular songs, and movie themes are allowed.
   • Computer printed music is allowed if you or your student paid to download the piece or if the piece is out of print. Please make sure the cover page is attached and placed in a folder or notebook. No loose pages!
4. Types of music NOT ALLOWED:
   • Reductions, arrangements or simplified versions of classic pieces originally written for piano. This includes simplified versions of pieces sometimes found in method books.
   • Duets or Ensembles are not allowed. EXCEPTION: singers and instrumentalists may perform with piano accompaniment.
   • Piano concertos.
5. Permissible repertoire is at the Chair’s discretion.
6. Students are required to provide original scores of the repertoire to be judged and must number each measure lightly in pencil so that the judge may make references easily.
7. Students performing a piece or pieces other than the ones listed on the registration form will not be allowed to perform.
8. Students whose entries do not meet the above requirements will not be allowed to perform in the Achievement Auditions. Entries cannot be changed after the entry deadline, and entry fees will not be refunded. Please call the chairperson if you have any questions about the types of music allowed.

Teacher Responsibilities

Teachers who enter students MUST be present on the day of the auditions to work as monitors or to assist with the ribbons and critique sheets. ALL teachers with participating students are required to volunteer at the event. If the teacher absolutely cannot attend the event, they must contact the chairperson for further instruction at the time of registration.

If requesting a substitute, please adhere to the following protocol:

• Teachers can volunteer for a specific task beforehand as assigned by the chairperson.
• Request for a substitute must be approved by the chair, and the teacher must send a qualified substitute.
• If a qualified substitute is not found, teachers will pay $100.00 for SAMTA to find a qualified substitute. (Non-payment of this penalty will result in being prohibited from entering students in the Achievement Auditions the following year.) [Passed by Executive Board, July 14, 2000]

Teachers with teenage students who can serve as runners should contact the chair. Hours worked can be counted as service hours.

The above rules and regulations have been revised and contain vital information. These rules are designed so that every participating student may have a fair and positive experience! Please read these rules carefully and call or e-mail the chairperson with any questions you may have. This will alleviate any misunderstandings at the event for you and your students. Due to the great numbers of students that participate in this event and the resulting volume of paperwork