MEA Honors Audition and Recital Information
2009-2010 Honors Recital
The auditions for this year’s Honors Recital will be held on Sunday, November 15 at Seton Hall University in South Orange, followed by the Honors Recital on Saturday, November 21 at the Bickford Theatre of the Morris Museum in Morristown.
The application form for the audition was published in the September issue of the Glissando Newsletter. The application can also be downloaded from the "Downloads" section of this web site or from the links at the bottom of this page. Please duplicate the application for additional room for entering more students. The postmark deadline is October 22.
For the repertoire requirements and dress code, please see the information below.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES AND REGULATIONS CAREFULLY AND THOROUGHLY
Guidelines and Regulations
The purpose of the Honors Recital Audition is to provide additional recognition of students, not necessarily gifted, who can prepare for auditions superbly and are ready to perform any of their audition pieces in public. It also provides an additional incentive and reward as well as another opportunity to perform for students who have worked commendably. This Honors Audition is a completely separate event from the regular audition days that are held in May and June.
There is no age minimum. The maximum age is high school senior (12th grade).
The teacher must be a current, paid-up member of MEA. Any student who has transferred from one MEA member to another must have studied with the new teacher for a minimum of six months prior to entering the Honors Recital Audition under the new teacher’s name, except by mutual agreement of the two teachers. This does not apply to transfer students from outside the MEA.
Check the complete Guidelines and Regulations below for age categories, time limits, and minimum difficulty levels.
For one-piano and ensemble pieces, students are NOT allowed to perform repertoire from either the 2009 or 20010 MEA Piano Competition Syllabus.
No repeats are allowed unless the piece is very short or the repeats affect the integrity of the piece.
A copy of the original score(s) should be presented to the judges at the beginning of the audition.
No repertoire changes will be permitted once application forms are submitted. Doing so will result in disqualification.
For piano solo, students are required to perform two contrasting compositions from standard repertoire, from two different musical periods. Both pieces must be memorized.
A movement of a sonatina or sonata as well as a movement of a suite will be considered as one piece. Variations are to be played in their complete form. Simplifications and arrangements as well as student compositions are not allowed. Artistic arrangements such as those by Busoni, Liszt, or Rachmaninoff are acceptable. Both the Prelude and matching Fugue from the WTC by Bach must be played to count as one piece.
One piano, four to six hands only. Students perform only one piece within the time limit of 4 minutes or less.
Ensemble students' ages will be averaged for placement in the appropriate age group. For example, if an ensemble is made up of a 7 and a 9 year old, the students will be placed in the 8 year old age group.
Since each age group (see below) will be evaluated by the same judges, the audition time can not be changed for any reason. No special scheduling requests are permitted.
Students must arrive at least 10 minutes prior to their scheduled audition time.
Judges have the right to stop the performance if a student’s pieces exceed the time limit.
There will be no opportunity to warm up prior to the audition time.
Girls: A dress, or a formal skirt or full-length dress slacks with blouse or sweater and dress shoes. Dresses and skirts should cover the knees when seated. No bracelets, rings or colored nail polish.Boys: A suit or dress pants and dress shirt, sweater or sports coat. Ties are optional. NO T-SHIRTS, JEANS, SNEAKERS or any casual attire.
Two judges will be present in each audition room. Students will be divided into the following three age groups with the time limits and minimum difficuly levels as follows:
| Category I | Up to Age 10 | 7 minutes or less. | Minimum difficulty should be Intermediate C level of the MEA audition syllabus. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category II | Ages 11 – 14 | 10 minutes or less. | Minimum difficulty should be Pre-Senior B level of the MEA audition syllabus. |
| Category III | Ages 15 – 18 | 12 minutes or less. | Minimum difficulty should be Senior B level of the MEA audition syllabus. |
There is no limit to the number of students chosen from each age group. Selection will be made solely on the basis of the quality of performance.
Two grades will be given – Honors and Honorable Mention.
Students must receive a rating of "Honors" from both judges in order to perform in the recital.
Judges will choose THE one piece for students selected to perform in the Honors Recital.
Judges may cut portions of the pieces to stay on schedule if the pieces exceed the time limits (see the time limits above).
- Winning teachers will be notified within 2 days following the audition date by the Honors Recital Committee. Please do not call the committee members.
- Students who are chosen to perform in the recital will be presented with a trophy and a certificate at the close of the recital. Students chosen to perform who are absent from the recital will not receive trophies or certificates. All other students who participate in the audition will be given the grade of Honorable Mention and a certificate.
JUDGES’ DECISIONS ARE IRREVOCABLE and are not open to question under any circumstances. Judges are not to be called at home or studio to discuss matters pertaining to the audition.
It is the teachers’ responsibility to convey this information to their students.
Performers should arrive at least fifteen minutes before the recital time, check in and sit in recital order.
Students and their families are required to stay for the entire recital. Families are requested not to bring very small children to the recitals.
The Dress Code is mandatory. Please see the Dress Code section above.
Students who perform at the Honors Recital will receive a trophy or plaque. Students who are absent from the recital will not receive trophies or plaques.
Please read the complete Honors Recital Guidelines and Regulations. If you would like a copy of these Guidelines, please email or contact Grace Kuo, Honors Recital Chair (Use the email contact link for Grace Kuo or see the MEA Membership Directory for her address).
An Honors Recital application form appeared in the September Glissando Newsletter. It can also be downloaded from the Downloads section of this website or by using the links below. Application forms must be filled out by the teacher. Please include a photo release form for each student.
Please see the deadline date on the application form. Entries mailed after the deadline date will be returned.
Phone entries will not be accepted. Any application form that is incomplete will be disqualified and will not be accepted.
Please see the entry fee and postage fee on the application form. Each teacher is to submit only one check for all of his/her students.
Fees are non-refundable.
Select the following linkd to download an Honors Application and the Photo Release Form.