Huntsville Music Teachers Association

Audition Date: April 1, 2023

Audition Deadline to register:  March 11, 2023

Audition Location: First Baptist Church of Huntsville, 600 Governors Drive, Huntsville, AL 35801

Audition Registration Instructions:  Register at https://amta.tenutoweb.com.  You will click on Huntsville District VIII and follow the instructions.  Make sure you have a credit card. The entrance fee is $30.00 per student.    The program will ask for the student’s name, age, birthdate including year, grade in school, level (Gold, Silver, or Bronze), division (I, II, or III), theory age, preferred time (please leave blank if the student does not have a conflict), repertoire (piece, composer, and an accurate time.) Please use the family tag if you have students who need to be scheduled close together.  You can include students who are not siblings in this grouping.

Theory:  The specific theory will be emailed to the teachers the day before the auditions. Teachers are responsible for forwarding the theory to their students.   Please print out a theory page of the appropriate age level and send it to the auditions with your students’ music.  The theory page may be blank or may be the marked copy sent the day before.  Theory forms can be found at www.almta.org  under Student Auditions/ Audition Forms.

Conflicts:  All auditions are live this year.  If any student has a conflict with our audition date, please contact the district chairman in another district to make arrangements for your student to play in a different district.  All audition dates and district chair information can be found at www.almta.org under Student Auditions/Audition Schedule.

Entry Requirements: Please use these rules in selecting repertoire and deciding which tier to enter.  (ALMTA.org)

Eligibility: These auditions are for piano students through high school age and are held in March or April of each year. The new requirements, instituted in the fall of 2019, are:

Repertoire: Two works of contrasting style from one of the five classical periods of music to be performed. The third work should be of the student’s and teacher’s choice. The third work could repeat a historic style represented in the first two works, or it could include a transcription, arrangement, hymn, pop music, jazz, or student’s own composition. The third choice selected must be on a comparable level of difficulty as the other two pieces. The student must have printed music for all three pieces in order to receive a rating (if student is performing a composition, it must be notated and printed from a music notation program such as Finale). If a student does not have at least 2 different periods represented or does not have music for all three pieces performed, the student will receive a score of CO- Comments Only, therefore being ineligible to move on to state auditions.

New District Pre-College Piano Auditions: The Tiered Approach

Gold Level: Perform three works within new repertoire requirements above. All pieces must be memorized. Perform the existing requirements for theory for the student’s appropriate age.

Silver Level: Perform three works within new repertoire requirements above. All pieces must be memorized. Theory requirements: Division I may perform theory up to two years below their current age; Division II may perform Age 10 theory or above; Division III may perform Age 13 theory or above. This would eliminate the transfer and older beginner categories that so often confuse our members as this level would cover those students as well as any others who feel they fit here.

Bronze Level: Perform two works of contrasting style from one of the five classical periods. Pieces must be memorized. No theory component.

To qualify for state, students must be performing at the gold level or silver level and earn the “double O.” Any student, regardless of age, that attains the “double O” score in gold or silver level, is eligible to go to state auditions. (This removes the age 10 requirement to perform at State Conference).

Volunteers: Please consider volunteering for the day or for a half day.  We cannot run these auditions without our wonderful volunteers.  All volunteers who work the entire day will receive lunch. It is a perfect opportunity to visit with other HMTA members.  Please email me at susanhoop96@gmail.com or text to 256-651-4919 if you are willing to work.

State Piano Auditions:  May 13, 2023 at The University of Alabama with a April 28, 2023 deadline.  All auditions will be on one day this year.

State Piano Concerto Auditions: April 29, 2023, at The University of Alabama with a April 8, 2023 deadline.

Nothing needs to be mailed to me!!!

Thanks,
Susan Hoop, District VIII Chair
256-651-4919

Students:

• Please arrive 20 minutes before the assigned audition time.
• Enter the church from the EAST side – look for signs.
• Bring your music, erased, measures numbered, students without their music may receive comments only but will not receive a grade, nor may they advance to the state audition level.
• Please allow a little leeway in your schedule. Parents and students are asked to wait in the waiting room until called.

AMTA Theory Keyboard Requirements Books compiled by Dr. Ron Shinn are available for purchase.  These books include the theory requirements per division and may be obtained by contacting Frances Schwemmer by email.  You may purchase them at Ellis Piano Co. in Birmingham also.  Current prices per book are:

Division I ($7.00)

Division II ($6.00)

Division III ($8.00)

It is the responsibility of the teacher to go over the theory requirements that are printed in the Handbook (almta.org) as there might be some slight differences in the Shinn theory books and the almta.org information. You should double check to be sure. The information in the handbook is the one to follow.