Williamsport/Mansfield Local Preliminary Festival

• Date/time: Saturday, October 9, 1PM. (Audition results are submitted to Jonathan Flowers within 5 days after the local festival)

• Location: R.M.Sides Music Center in Williamsport

• Registration and fees: $25 entry fee per solo (Ensemble fee TBD). Teachers register their students via email to Eun-Joo Kwak (ekwak@commonwealthu.edu) by 8:00am Monday September 18, 2023.

• Participants/Elligibility: Any piano, vocal or instrumental student of a current PMTA member may participate in the DSPF Local Preliminary Festival auditions. Participating students must reside in Pennsylvania. Any age may participate, including adults. Performers who receive a Superior rating and have scored 85% or higher on a theory test may advance to the state level for performance.

 • Performance requirements:

   Solo piano and voice: Two (2) memorized pieces of a contrasting nature by different composers, preferably from two (2) different eras in the more advanced levels. All selections must be a minimum of sixteen (16) measures without repeats, including elementary level students. Simplifications or arrangements are NOT acceptable at the intermediate and advanced levels unless the original composer is the arranger (i.e. Liszt transcriptions, Brahms Waltzes.). Performances should not exceed fifteen (15) minutes.

   Ensemble: Two pieces of a contrasting nature by different composers, preferably from two (2) different eras in the more advanced levels. All selections must be a minimum of 16 measures without repeats. Memory not required. Teachers may conduct or accompany their ensembles. No recorded accompaniments allowed. An ensemble is two students or more.  Any ensemble which includes a student of a non-member must be coached and entered by a PMTA member and pay an additional per student fee.

• Theory Test: Students must score 85% or higher to advance to the state festival. Teachers may register a student for the theory test appropriate for that student's level of knowledge, regardless of a student's age or performance level. There is no correlation between performance levels and theory levels.  The PMTA board has amended the rules to encourage students to attempt the higher levels without penalty. Levels 6 and above are optional for all instruments and voice. Any student who has scored 85% or higher on Level 5 during a previous year may opt out of the theory requirement.  Students who attempt Level 6 or higher and receive a superior rating will qualify for the state showcase regardless of their theory score.  Students who receive a superior rating and choose to opt out of Levels 6 and higher also will be eligible for the state showcase.   

Students need not progress to a new level every year. Test re-takes are not permitted.

Ensemble students also performing as soloists will take only one test. Ensemble students performing as an ensemble only must take a test, at the level of least experienced member of the group.

•  More DSPF information including general rules, teacher/student eligibility, and fees/payments is available on the PMTA website: (https://www.pamusicteachers.org/activities/dorothy-sutton-performance-festival/).