Hello band families from West and Wood Hill Middle Schools, I hope everyone's year is off to a good start!
I am writing to make sure all of you know that starting in 7th grade (through grade 9), students who are members of their schools performing ensembles have an opportunity to audition to be a member of the Massachusetts Music Educators' Association Northeastern Junior District Honors Music Festival.
THE FESTIVAL
The festival is held at Lowell High School. The rehearsals are 3:30-7:30pm on Wednesday, March 12, and the same on Friday, March 14. There will be a bus from your child's school at the end of the school day to the rehearsal, and one back from Lowell at the end of the night that will drop everyone off at the Collins Center. The festival features a concert band, an orchestra (with winds), a girls chorus, a boy's chorus, and for the first time ever, a big-band style jazz ensemble. The students making up these ensembles are among the finest young musicians in Northeastern Massachusetts, essentially the region north of Boston and east of Route 2. There can be some pretty fierce competition for positions in these groups, but Andover is traditionally quite well represented.
The Festival Concert is on Saturday, March 15. There are two separate concerts: one at 1:00pm, and one at 3:00pm, depending on which group you are there to see. The division of the groups between the two concerts is yet to be determined. There will be rehearsals in the morning before the concerts, and a bus will bring the Andover students from the Collins Center to Lowell HS leaving at 8:00am. Students are expected to ride home with their families from the concert, and transportation home is not provided. That's all there is to it. Three days, one concert. Music will be sent to those selected, and it is their responsibility to prepare their parts for the first rehearsal.
AUDITIONS
Auditions are held at Tenney Grammar School in Methuen on Saturday, January 18th. Andover students will ride a bus from the Collins Center at AHS to Methuen, and then ride back together after the auditions. The times for the auditions will be set about a week or so before the auditions, and we will get word out as soon as we know. We might leave from AHS as early as 7:00 am, or as late as 2:00pm. We will return approximately 3-4 hours after we leave.
There is a $10 fee per audition, except that jazz auditions are free. The fee should be given to the band director ASAP, but no later than November 15, and should either be cash or a check made out to "Andover Public Schools". Students can audition for both jazz and band/orchestra. Winds and percussion for band and for orchestra are chosen from the same audition, so you only need to register once. Percussionist can audition on snare, mallets, and/or timpani. Each one is considered a separate audition, so the fee could be up to $30. Once the fee is received, you will be sent a permission slip for the trip to Methuen. These need to be sent in for your child to be allowed on the bus.
This is a link the the district web site with the audition requirements, including a list of the assigned pieces, scale requirements, jazz requirements, supplementary percussion "traps" audition piece (required for all percussionists), and some helpful percussion videos explaining techniques and expectations.
http://www.northeasterndistrict.org/downloads.html - - -> Be careful not to confuse the requirements with the Senior audition requirements, which are different.
The audition pieces are available in a variety of ways, but please be sure to buy the correct edition, as outlined by publisher and catalogue number on the list. All students must bring an original published copy to the audition, and not a photocopy, according to district rules. It might be helpful for you to know that Spectrum Music (in Lexington) and University Music (in Lowell) are both very good about stocking this music for the auditions. Please be sure to let them know that you want the music for Northeastern Junior District (not "Eastern", and not "Senior"). These are mistakes that have been made in the past. The sooner the musicians have the music, the more prepared they will be in January. Also be sure that everyone understands the scale requirements. They are often neglected, and those are silly points to give away.
If selected, you will receive an e-mail with all the necessary forms for the festival, including a rehearsal contract, emergency form, and bus permission slip. These will need to be returned with a $20 festival fee.
IS MY CHILD READY FOR THIS?
While we are always very proud to have a good representation from Andover, I would be less than candid if I were to suggest that everyone in the Andover bands has a good shot at making this festival. I would be happy to converse with anyone on a case-by-case basis about whether or not this would be a positive experience. Auditions can be tough and nerve wracking. My general philosophy is this, if the student is willing to work hard and prepare the audition, then it is absolutely time well spent. The judges feedback, albeit cursory, will be of value, and more than that, every audition you prepare for and experience just makes the chances of success for future ones that much more likely. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this.
All the best,
Joe Wright
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