Vermont All State Music Festival​

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The Vermont All State Music Festival is an annual event supported by the Vermont Music Educators Association (VMEA) and operated by the Vermont All State Committee. The Festival offers musicians from Vermont's high schools the opportunity to perform in a band, orchestra, chorus or jazz ensemble under the direction of some of our nation's finest conductors. Three days of intensive rehearsals lead up to a series of performances involving all four groups. For more information, visit the VMEA All State Website.

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Audition Information

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VOCAL

Vocal quartet audition time slots are 8 minutes in length with the sight-singing aspect of the audition conducted in a separate room by a separate adjudicator. The sight-singing will not be scheduled, but will operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. An opportunity to sight-sing will be made available for every vocalist who performed in a vocal quartet audition up until the end of the audition day. Should a student neglect to complete the sight-singing portion of their audition after performing the vocal quartet and solo portion, their audition will be disqualified. If a school has an incomplete quartet, they will have the option to do one of the following: have the appropriate adjudicator(s) sing the missing part(s) or have another student from their school or another school sing the missing part(s).

Vocal Auditions:

-Cantate Domino (in Latin)

Sing their part in the appropriate audition piece in an a cappella quartet before the quartet adjudicators either using original copies of the piece or from memory.

Sing their part on a section (Section A) of the same piece as an a cappella solo before the appropriate voice adjudicator either using original copies of the piece or from memory.

SELECTION TONALITY: The vocal audition piece may be sung in the original key, or up or down a half or a whole step (i.e.: the piece may be sung in F, F# (Gb), G, G# (Ab) or A when G is the written key.)

-Sightsinging

Sing, in solfege, a full eight note major scale ascending and descending and then sing the appropriate arpeggio. The arpeggio solfege will be Do - Mi - So - Do - So - Mi - Do - So (below tonic) - Do

Sight-sing, using any system / syllable the student wishes, a short melody.

This selection will begin and end on Do, establishing the tonality in the first measure. Points will not be deducted for rhythmic mistakes, or if the student switches from one system to another. Only the pitch accuracy will be judged. The beginning pitch will be given by the adjudicator and will be the same pitch as the scale and arpeggio.

The student will then perform a 4 measure rhythmic exercise using one neutral syllable. Performing rhythms with numbers or a counting system will not be accepted. The student will have 30 seconds to review each example.

For examples of past sightsinging exercises, visit this link.

Click here for Vocal Rubric.
 

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INSTRUMENTAL 

(Concert Band and Orchestra)

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Instrumental (non-jazz) audition time slots will be 10 minutes (15 for percussion) in length with the sight-reading aspect of the audition conducted in same room by the same adjudicators.

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Melodic Instrumental Auditions:

-Audition Repertoire List

Perform the appropriate audition piece unaccompanied before the pair of adjudicators. The adjudicators may make cuts in the amount of the piece to be performed and will inform the student of these cuts before they begin their audition. The student must perform the piece from an original copy or from memory.

-Scale Requirements

Perform two diatonic major scales and the chromatic scale.

-Sight Reading

Sight-read a short melody at a tempo given by the adjudicator.

-Students auditioning on melodic percussion:

-Secondary Percussion Excerpts

Perform the short excerpts on three of the five accessory instruments. The adjudicators will select which three accessory instruments are to be performed as part of the audition.  

Click here for Instrumental Rubric.

Click here for Mallet Rubric.

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Snare Drum Auditions:

-Audition Repertoire List

Perform the appropriate audition piece unaccompanied before the pair of adjudicators. The adjudicators may make cuts in the amount of the piece to be performed and will inform the student of these cuts before they begin their audition. The student must perform the piece from an original copy or from memory.

-Rudiments

Perform the Long Roll.

Perform four rudiments. The adjudicators will select which rudiments, one from each group, that are to be performed as part of the audition. All are to be done OPEN - CLOSE - OPEN.

FLAM:

Flam Tap, Flam Accent, Flam, Flamacue, Flamadiddle;

DIDDLE:

Paradiddle, Double Paradiddle, Paradiddle Diddle;

RUFF/DRAG:

4 Stroke Ruff, Single Ratamacue, Double Ratamacue, Triple Ratamacue;

ROLL:

5 Stroke Roll, 7 Stroke Roll, 9 Stroke Roll, 13 Stroke Roll.

-Sight Reading

Sight-read a short phrase at a tempo given by the adjudicator.

-Secondary Percussion Excerpts

Perform the short excerpts on three of the five accessory instruments. The adjudicators will select which three accessory instruments are to be performed as part of the audition. 

Click here for Snare Drum Rubric

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Timpani Auditions:

-Audition Repertoire List

Perform the appropriate audition piece unaccompanied before the pair of adjudicators. The adjudicators may make cuts in the amount of the piece to be performed and will inform the student of these cuts before they begin their audition. The student must perform the piece from an original copy or from memory.

-Tuning and Technique Studies

Perform several selected tuning and sticking studies.

-Sight Reading

Sight-read a short phrase at a tempo given by the adjudicator.

-Secondary Percussion Excerpts

Perform the short excerpts on three of the five accessory instruments. The adjudicators will select which three accessory instruments are to be performed as part of the audition. 

Click here for Timpani Rubric.