General Information
The deadline for All-State auditions is {{dates.data.auditionDeadline[0].deadline}}.
Please inform qualified and interested students in your music groups about the All-State Honor Groups and assist those who apply in preparing the audition materials. Students are eligible for All-State Honor
Groups if they are regularly enrolled or dual-enrolled members of a school concert music ensemble in grades 9-12 in Idaho and their director is a current member of the Idaho Music Educators Association.
You must be a member of IMEA/NAfME or your students will not be considered for membership in any All-State group. IMEA is the sole sponsor and adminstrator of these Honor Groups; your membership in the organization will be
checked at the time your students apply. If you are not a current member, your students will not be able to audition. If, for some reason, you have put off renewing your IMEA/NAfME membership and cannot access the
registration page, please register and send a copy of your electronic receipt to Wayne Millett, the web master. He will have to enter you manually into the IMEA system. We do not get automatic updates from NAfME that
magically appear in our system. It can take up to one week to register and add you to system. Please don't put it off. Join or renew NOW!
Because this event is sanctioned by the Idaho High Schools Activity Association (IHSAA) your school must be a member of that organization in order for your students to participate. If your school is not a member of IHSAA,
but you are a member of NAfME/IMEA, you students still cannot participate. Both membership requirements must be met.
The sizes of the All-State groups (pending successful auditions) will be Band—140, Orchestra—120,
Mixed Choir—200,
Treble Choir—160, Jazz Band—22, Jazz Choir—24.
Organizing Chairmen are
, Band - {{chairs.data.bandchair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.bandchair[0].last}}; Jazz Band - {{chairs.data.jazzbandchair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.jazzbandchair[0].last}} ; Jazz Choir - {{chairs.data.jazzchoirchair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.jazzchoirchair[0].last}}; Mixed Choir - {{chairs.data.mixedchoirchair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.mixedchoirchair[0].last}}; Orchestra - {{chairs.data.orchestrachair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.orchestrachair[0].last}}
; and Treble Choir - {{chairs.data.treblechoirchair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.treblechoirchair[0].last}}.
Registration fees covering music, clinicians, meals, T-shirts, etc. will be set at the Fall Board meeting.
If any of your students were in All-Northwest, they will NOT automatically be in All-State. They must separately submit a recording of the All-State tryout materials.
If I can be of any assistance to you in your preparation for All-State, please call me anytime. I wish you and your students much success and look forward to meeting each of you at the convention
{{dates.data.allstateDates[0].deadline}}.
{{chairs.data.presElect[0].first}} {{chairs.data.presElect[0].last}}
{{chairs.data.presElect[0].email}}
Audition Instructions
Students:
- Prepare the required audition materials.
- Complete the Student Audition Form and give it to your teacher along with $15 for the audition fee.
- Record the audition materials. Each exercise should be saved in a separate file. They must be
saved or converted to MP3 format. DO NOT state your name and school. DO NOT say the name of your solo. It will be entered on your
registration form.
- Your teacher will register you on-line and will upload your auditions.
Teachers:
- Make sure the students have access to the audition materials.
- Collect the Student Audition Form from each student.
- Record the students' auditions. Each exercise should be saved in a separate file. Voice, wind, and percussion players will upload 4 files each. String players will upload 5 files each. They must be
saved or converted to MP3 format. Files must be smaller that 2MB in size or you will get an error. See below for recording helps and hints.
-
Register your students
on the IMEA Web Site. Registration will open in the Fall.
- You must be a member of NAfME/IMEA to log-in. You will log-in with your NAfME # and your last name.
- The first time you log-in you will need to update your contact information.
- Click on the "Add School" button to add all the schools you teach at that will have students auditioning for All-State.
- After you have added your schools, you are ready to start adding students by clicking on "Add Student"
- Use the Student Audition Form that the student filled out to complete the information requested. Please double check all information. If you
place your student in the wrong category they will be disqualified.
- After you have added a student you can upload their audition files. Click on the speaker with the red X and follow the instructions. Be sure to listen to the file after it has been uploaded to make sure it's right.
- Continue adding students until they are all entered.
- When you are ready to pay the student fees, click on the "Pay Audition Fees" link in the lower right hand corner.
- Choose the school that you are paying the fees for, then click "Next."
- All of the students that have registered from that school will be shown. This will include band, choir, and orchestra students. Select the check box next to the names of all the students that you are paying for and
click "Next."
- The Fee Payment page will show you all the names of the students that you are paying for. Please double check it for accuracy.
- The preferred method of payment is by credit or debit card through PayPal. You do not have to have a PayPal account.
- If you need to pay by check, print two copies. Keep one for your records and mail the other copy, with your check, to the address given on the form. When you are finished click "Cancel."
- To pay by credit/debit card, print one copy for your records then click the "Pay Now" button.
- You will be taken to the PayPal site. If you have a PayPal account, log-in and follow the payment instructions. If you do not have a PayPal account, click the "Don't have a PayPal account?" link and follow the payment
instructions.
- REMEMBER!!! Auditions must be uploaded by midnight the day of the deadline. All fees must be paid or postmarked by the due date. Students whose fees have not been paid at that time will be
removed from the system. No effort on the part of IMEA will be made to collect the non-payment of audition fees.
- NOTE: Many audition are incorrectly uploaded. Common problems are switched etudes, combined etudes, registering in the wrong category, introduction of the student, and missing files. Files uploaded
incorrectly will not be fixed and will be disqualified from consideration. There just isn't enough time in the day to track down all the mistakes that could easily be fixed by directors taking the time
to proof the upload!
Recording Helps:
If you are total a novice at recording on your computer try to find someone around you that can help. Usually there will be student who will know what they are doing.
MP3 files should be recorded at the bit rate of 128kbps. Some programs call this the resolution. There should be a setting for it on your digital recorder or in the audio program that you record into.
A simple and free program that you can download to record with is Audacity. It works on both Mac and Windows, is easy to use, and is very versatile. Click on the link to go to
the download page. The Audacity Tutorials are also very good for learning the basics of recording. You can find them HERE.
If you are on a Mac and want to use an external microphone, you will need a separate USB interface. One of the cheapest and easiest to use is the iMic by Griffin Technologies. Cost is between $30-$50 at most computer
stores.
To convert a different file format to MP3 using iTunes:
- Start iTunes and open the Preferences
- Under General look for the Import Settings button
- Click on that and change the Import Using menu to MP3 Encoder. Make sure that you have "High Quality (160 kbps)" selected under "Setting". If you use the "Higher Quality (190 kbps)" setting, your file may be too large
and will not import.
- Click OK to save the settings and exit back to iTunes
- Right click on the file you want to convert (or Control click on the Mac) and select Create MP3 Version
- Locate the new file and drag it to the desktop. It should have a .mp3 at the end of the file name. This is the file you want to upload for the audition.
- Contact the Web Master if you are totally lost and need help.
Download the Audition Music in PDF format.
Choir Audition Requirements
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHOIR APPLICANTS
- Prepare the audition material listed here. The key is preparation. You may use a metronome to set tempo, but may not use it while playing. PLAY YOUR AUDITION AS CLOSE TO THE INDICATED METRONOME SPEEDS AS
POSSIBLE. Points are deducted for going faster or slower than indicated.
- There is a $15.00 fee to audition. (plus an additional $15 fee if you also audition for the Jazz Choir.) Pay this to your teacher. Each teacher will send in one check for all their students' auditions.
- Fill out the Student Audition Information Sheet and give it to your teacher.
- Vocal auditionees are only allowed to submit one vocal audition. Violation of this rule will result in disqualification.
- Record your auditions. Name and save the recordings to your hard drive. Each exercise must be recorded as a separate file.
- If you have any questions about the
Treble Choir, contact {{chairs.data.treblechoirchair[0].first}}
{{chairs.data.treblechoirchair[0].last}}. For
Mixed Choir contact, {{chairs.data.mixedchoirchair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.mixedchoirchair[0].last}}. For Jazz Choir, contact {{chairs.data.jazzchoirchair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.jazzchoirchair[0].last}}.
- All auditions must be completed and uploaded by {{dates.data.auditionDeadline[0].deadline}}.
- Optional Jazz Choir Audition. If you wish to be considered for the Idaho All-State Jazz Choir, please complete the three additional exercises. (There is an additional $10 fee to audition for
the Jazz Choir.)
Audition Exercises:
All exercises and the song are to be sung unaccompanied. The pitch should be given only once before each exercise. Each exercise should be recorded into a separate file.
- Sing following scale, ascending and descending, using the syllables "do re mi fa sol la ti do". Do not repeat the high "do" upon descending. You may take a breath, if needed. Sing the exercise with each note
m.m. 100.
Soprano I: F (first space treble staff)
Soprano II: D (above middle C)
Alto I: A (below middle C)
Alto II: G (below middle C)
Tenor I: Eb (third space bass staff)
Tenor II: C (octave below middle C)
Bass I: G (first line bass staff)
Bass II: F (first space below bass staff)
- Sing following scale, ascending and descending, using the syllables "do re mi fa sol la ti do". Do not repeat the high "do" upon descending. You may take a breath, if needed. Sing the exercise with each note
m.m. 100.
Soprano I: A (second space treble staff)
Soprano II: G (second line treble staff)
Alto I: Eb (first line treble staff)
Alto II: D (above middle C)
Tenor I: G (fourth space bass staff)
Tenor II: E (third space bass staff)
Bass I: D (third line bass staff)
Bass II: C (octave below middle C)
- Vocalize the scale pattern "8-5-3-1" using the word "I love to sing", each pitch at m.m. 120. At the end of the pattern, sing the exercise again 1/2 step higher. Repeat the exercise again another 1/2 step
higher, etc. for a total of six renditions of the pattern. Do not vocalize the 1/2 step transition at the end of each pattern.
Soprano: begin on C (third space)
Alto: begin on G (second line)
Tenor: begin on C (middle C)
Bass: begin on G (fourth space bass staff)
- Sing unaccompanied the melody and word of "America the Beautiful" (Oh beautiful for spacious skies) first stanza only. Use the following keys at m.m.100.
Soprano I & Tenor I: key of D (start on A)
Soprano II & Tenor II: key of C (start on G)
Alto I & Bass I: key of B (start on F#)
Alto II & Bass II: key of A (start on E)
-
Click here to download the vocal audition chorale sheet music.
Click here to download all rehearsal and performance backing tracks.
All Sopranos, regardless of auditioning for Soprano I or Soprano II, will perform the top treble clef vocal line.
All Altos, regardless of auditioning for Alto I or Alto II, will perform the bottom treble clef vocal line.
All Tenors, regardless of auditioning for Tenor I or Tenor II, will perform the top bass clef vocal line.
All Basses, regardless of auditioning for Bass I or Bass II, will perform the bottom bass clef vocal line.
Some details:
- The tracks with "predominant" in the file title as well as the Full Mix track are to be used in preparation for audition recording.
- The example has fermati written in the piece - these are treated more like breaths or phrasing indications when seen in Bach's chorale writing.
- The example should be sung straight through, ignoring the 1st ending and the repeat. Essentially, the exercise is now only 10 measures long.
- Every track is performed at 70 bpm with the Key's pitch played and a count-off provided to establish tempo.
For Rehearsal Only:
Full Mix & Predominant Tracks
Full Mix - All parts sung at the same time
Predominant - The voice part is labeled as S, A, T, B and that part will be the loudest and centered. The other parts will be heard in the left ear. Feel free to solidify with only the right ear first, then add in the other parts when comfortable.
Soprano Predominant
Alto Predominant
Tenor Predominant
Bass Predominant
For Audition Recordings: Omitted Tracks
These tracks that are labeled S, A, T, B will sound like the beginning of the predominant tracks, but then that vocal part will not be present.
Soprano Omitted
Alto Omitted
Tenor Omitted
Bass Omitted
Expectations for recording:
-
The recording should have the Omitted vocal part played aloud in the room while the microphone picks up both the Omitted Track and the student's voice. -- The student's voice is the focus point, so please be sure the student's voice and vocal quality can be plainly heard in the recording.
- Students may sing on Solfege (Do, Re, Mi, etc.), Scale Degrees (1, 2, etc.), or a neutral syllable (Doo, Dah, etc.)
- Accuracy for pitch, rhythm, and vocal independence are focuses in this exercise.
- There are no indications for other musical elements (dynamics, phrasing, etc.) - so the tracks reflect this, but the student recording does NOT need to follow the "dry" presentation the tracks share.
OPTIONAL: Jazz Choir Audition
It would be useful for you to purchase Jamey Aebersold Volumes 2 and 25 with the practice CD, or download the iReal app, adding the jazz standards forum to your list.
- Jazz Interpretation: Sing the first 16 measures in a swing style, unaccompanied, of “Summertime.” You choose the tempo and key. (Lead sheet is available on Aebersold, Volume 25.)
- Rhythmic and Pitch Accuracy: Sing unaccompanied, your voice part of Jazz Choir, Example 1.
- Improvise (using scat syllables): 12 bar blues in the key of Bb, 3 times through. Record yourself using any of the following options: Jamey Aebersold's Volume 2, track 5, iReal app
Bb Blues - Fast Swing setting, a live rhythm section, or acapella (between 150-170 BPM if using this option).
Download the Audition Music in PDF format.
String Audition Requirements
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR STRING APPLICANTS
- Prepare the audition material listed here. The key is preparation. You may use a metronome to set tempo, but may not use it while playing. PLAY YOUR AUDITION AS CLOSE TO THE INDICATED METRONOME SPEEDS AS
POSSIBLE. Points are deducted for going faster or slower than indicated.
- There is a $15.00 fee to audition. Pay this to your teacher. Each teacher will send in one check for all their students' auditions.
- Fill out the Student Audition Information Sheet and give it to your teacher.
- Record your auditions. Name and save the recordings to your hard drive. Each exercise must be recorded as a separate file.
- If you have any questions contact: {{chairs.data.orchestrachair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.orchestrachair[0].last}}
- All auditions must be completed and uploaded by {{dates.data.auditionDeadline[0].deadline}}.
Important Guidance regarding all scale tracks:
Each scale represents the pitch set required. Repeating the top note vs. not repeating the top, and/or adding extra notes at the beginning or end to setup the bowing is at the participant's discretion and those
choices will not be part of the assessment.
STRING AUDITION MATERIALS
NEW audition material for 2025.
The Idaho All-State String Auditions have been aligned with the All-NW String Auditions with the exception that the solo excerpt which is optional. 2025 is the year of the "Set A" auditions. Please double check that you are rehearsing the correct materials.
Click here to download the 2025 string audition material
Click here to download the annotated 2025 string audition material
- Record tracks 1-5 separately.
- OPTIONAL, track 6: play a one-minute excerpt from your solo literature. Only upload if you
would like to be considered for section leader.
Download the Audition Music in PDF format.
Wind and Percussion Audition Requirements
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR WIND & PERCUSSION APPLICANTS
- Prepare the audition material listed here. The key is preparation. You may use a metronome to set tempo, but may not use it while playing. PLAY YOUR AUDITION AS CLOSE TO THE INDICATED METRONOME SPEEDS AS
POSSIBLE. Points are deducted for going faster or slower than indicated.
- There is a $15.00 fee to audition. Pay this to your teacher. Each teacher will send in one check for all their students' auditions.
- Fill out the Student Audition Information Sheet and give it to your teacher.
- Record your auditions. Name and save the recordings to your hard drive. Each exercise must be recorded as a separate file.
- If you have any questions contact: {{chairs.data.bandchair[0].first}} {{chairs.data.bandchair[0].last}}
- All auditions must be completed and uploaded by {{dates.data.auditionDeadline[0].deadline}}.
WIND & PERCUSSION AUDITION MATERIALS
NEW audition material for 2025. The Idaho All-State Wind and Percussion Auditions have been aligned with the All-NW Auditions. 2025 is the year of the "Set A" auditions.
