PMEA District 3 Choral Policy Manual Revised July 2013

Table of Contents District Chorus ......................................................................................................................................................3 Festival; Hosting; Days; Eligibility; Fees Host Responsibilities ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Guest Conductor; Music Selection; Facilities; Procure and Organize Music; Housing; Concerts; Banquet; Reception; Clinics; Logistics; Festival Report; Music; Host School Administration; Recording; Photos; Confirmation Notice; Selections Materials; Preference Sheet; Guest Conductor Evaluations Selection Procedure................................................................................................................................................7 Submission of Preference Lists; Eligibility; Representation; Host School Participation; Quotas; Order of Selections; The First Round; The Second Round; The Third Round; The Following Rounds; When Sections Close; Removing Schools from the Rotation; Extra Rounds; Automatic Returns; Substitutions; Spelling and Parts Assignments; Re-Assigning Parts Registration ..........................................................................................................................................................11 Directors; Packets Guidelines for Selecting Audition Passages ......................................................................................................12 Purpose; Fairness; Acceptability; Criteria; Suggested Ranges Audition Process ..................................................................................................................................................13 Schedule; Half Sheets; Committees; Directors’ Audition Meeting; Participation; Audition Materials; Scoring; Logistics; Assigning Audition Numbers; Instructions from the Audition Judges; Warm-Up; Auditions Begin; Auditions Continue; Holding Room Protocol; Tabulating; Seating; Posting Audition Policy for Accompanists .....................................................................................................................16 Use of Student Accompanists; Eligibility; Date of Auditions; Material to Prepare; Number of Accompanists; Audition Committee; Audition Procedure; Assignment of Parts; Concert Dress; Accompanying Concert Solos; Advancement to Regional Chorus Concert Solos .......................................................................................................................................................18 Philosophy; Eligibility; Accompaniment; Presentation; Audition Committee; Scoring; Comments; Audition Order; Anonymity; Call Backs; Number of Soloists; Programming; Concert Dress; Concert Solos at Regional Chorus Student Guidelines ..............................................................................................................................................20 Attendance; Participation; Transportation; Concert Dress; Banquet Dress; Behavior; Meals; Housing; Host Family Gift Directors' Schedule and Responsibilities ..........................................................................................................21

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Chorus Audition Score Sheet ..............................................................................................................................22 Concert Solo Judging Sheet ................................................................................................................................23 Inclement Weather Procedures ..........................................................................................................................24 Contingencies involving the Host School; Contingencies Involving Participating Schools Judge’s Checklist .................................................................................................................................................26 Holding Room and Audition Room Monitor Checklists ..................................................................................27 Preference Sheet ..................................................................................................................................................28 Student Eligibility Appendix A ..........................................................................................................................29

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District 3 Chorus 1. FESTIVAL – a. The District 3 Chorus Festival will consist of a chorus of students chosen from the participating schools in PMEA District 3. b. This festival will be held each year concurrent with the District Chorus Festivals in the remaining eleven PMEA Districts on the dates prescribed by the PMEA calendar. 2. HOSTING – a. A director may act as host for this festival by submitting a letter from his/her administration to the District President offering to host the festival. Smaller schools may share hosting responsibilities. b. When possible, the choral directors of PMEA will approve the request to host.  3. DAYS – a. The District 3 Chorus Festival must have 14 - 22 hours of instruction for the students as per state policy.  b. The format of said time frame is at the discretion of the festival host. 4. ELIGIBILITY – a. Students may participate only if their director is a bona fide member of PMEA. A valid membership card must be presented by each director at registration. b. Students must be in tenth grade or higher and be bona fide members of their school performing group.  5. FEES – a. Festival fees must be received in full by the start of registration. b. If the school district has not remitted these fees before the festival, it will be the responsibility of the director to pay the fees by check. The check will be held by the host for one week following the festival to allow time for the school check to arrive.

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Host Responsibilities Hosts should be familiar with all of the following responsibilities. It is highly recommended that each area be considered separately and, if possible delegated to responsible people. This broadens the interest base and keeps the host somewhat sane. 1. GUEST CONDUCTOR – a. The host will choose a guest conductor. Host must send a resume of prospective festival conductors to the District 3 executive board. b. The guest conductor will receive a negotiated stipend and travel expenses of mileage (at the prevailing IRS rate), round trip airfare at the lowest fare possible (if applicable), lodging, and meals not provided to the students (excluding alcoholic beverages). The rate of pay for guest conductor will be $400.00 per day. 2. MUSIC SELECTION – a. The host and guest conductor will collaborate on the music program for the concert. The music chosen should represent a variety of styles and be challenging for each voice part. 3. FACILITIES – a. The host should work with school officials to secure appropriate facilities and services to accommodate the festival. These include lunch arrangements with the cafeteria, necessary adjustments to athletic schedules, etc. 4. PROCURE AND ORGANIZE MUSIC – a. The music is purchased from a vendor of the host’s choice or is borrowed from music libraries and organized into folders. b. The music should be numbered and should match the folder number. c. Purchased music becomes the property of District 3 and will be collected at the end of the final concert. d. Schools not returning music will be billed for the music at replacement cost. e. These folders should be available at the selections meeting and should be mailed to directors unable to attend selections on the first business day following. 5. HOUSING – a. The host school should secure host homes for the visiting students. These home-stays should be prepared to provide transportation, some meals, and clean sleeping arrangements for students they host. Host families will receive complimentary tickets to one of the festival concerts. 6. CONCERTS – a. The host may schedule two public concerts and an assembly concert.

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b. The public concerts will be ticketed events with the price of tickets being set by the host school. c. An accurate accounting of ticket receipts is necessary to complete the report to the PMEA state office. 7. BANQUET – a. The host shall arrange for a banquet for the students and directors to be held before the final concert. 8. RECEPTION – a. The host shall arrange for a reception for the participating directors and the guest conductor and their guests during the festival. Student registration fees cannot be used for the directors reception. 9. CLINICS – a. The host shall schedule clinics, reading sessions, or other workshop sessions as they deem necessary. At least one of these should be scheduled. Registering these clinics with the state PMEA office will enable PMEA to award Act 48 In Service Credit for the clinics. Requests for this requires prior approval at least two months before the clinic is held. 10. LOGISTICS – a, The host shall make arrangements for robe storage, director’s meeting room, eight audition rooms and eight holding rooms. b. The host shall secure necessary assistance to facilitate registration of students at the beginning of the festival. 11. FESTIVAL REPORT – a. The host will file a summary report of the festival within two weeks of its conclusion with the state PMEA office and with the District 3 Secretary. 12. MUSIC a. All festival music purchased should be organized and sent to the PMEA District 3 Choral Library at Oil City High School. Music borrowed should be organized and returned. 13. HOST SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION – a. The host shall arrange for a representative from the host school administration to introduce each concert. 14. RECORDING – a. The host shall contract to have at least one concert recorded. 15. PHOTOS – a. The host shall arrange for photos of the chorus to be taken.

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16. CONFIRMATION NOTICE Within one week of the selection meeting, the host shall send to each school a typed list of all students from that school who are participating in the chorus and the part to which they have been assigned. This list could come in the form of an invoice It is the responsibility of each director to make corrections in part assignment and/or spelling and communicate those directly with the host ASAP after receiving the confirmation list. 17. SELECTIONS MATERIALS a. Selection materials are available online. b. Participating directors must send completed packets containing: 1. preference sheet 2. PMEA medical form 3. application to District Chorus to the host director by the postmarked dates below: c. Failure to have completed forms postmarked by October 15th will result in a loss of quota with this system: - Postmarked 1-5 days past due date = negative 1 quota. - Postmarked 6-10 days past due date = negative 2 quota. - Postmarked 11-14 days past due date = negative 3 quota. - Postmarked 15 + days past due date = negative 4 quota. If forms are not received by the host director by the day prior to the selections meeting, the sending school will not be permitted to participate in the festival. (February 2013) 18. PREFERENCE SHEET a. The host will contact participating schools at the start of the school year and provide the following information: • Site and dates of the festival • Site, date, and time of the selections meeting • A statement reminding the director of the auto return policy • A place to record the school name, mascot, and colors • Spaces for listing students names and up to two parts for which they may be selected • Spaces indicating previous PMEA Chorus Festival Experience in grades 10 and 11. • The date by which all completed preference forms must be returned to the host. 19. GUEST CONDUCTOR EVALUATIONSa. The host must complete a guest conductor evaluation form.

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District 3 Chorus Selection Procedures I. SUBMISSION OF PREFERENCE LISTS – a. Participating directors will download the preference sheet from the District website. b. The director of each participating school will submit a completed preference list to the host director postmarked by October 15th. Failure to meet the October 15th deadline result in penalties listed above. c. A completed application and medical form for each student listed must accompany the preference list. It is the responsibility of the each director to see that the application and medical forms are completed with all necessary signatures. Incomplete applications will render the student ineligible to be selected to the chorus. The host director is not obligated to notify participating directors of incomplete applications, but may choose to exercise graciousness and make such notification. d. Each director may indicate two voice preferences for each student listed. Accompanists should be listed on this form as well. e. Any student who may be considered as a substitute must be included on the preference form. (added 2003 District Chorus) II. ELIGIBILITY – a. Students may participate only if their director is a bona fide member of PMEA. The director must include proof of membership in PMEA with the preference list. A valid MENC membership card must also be presented by each director at registration. Membership verification can be faxed to the host school from the MENC national office at your request. b. Students must be in tenth grade or higher and be bona fide members of their school performing group. c. When a school using block scheduling offers chorus for a full credit in one semester, students enrolled in that class will be considered eligible for District Chorus even if the class has concluded before or during the actual festival dates. III. REPRESENTATION – The choral policy chair will ensure that: a. Each county shall have a designated representative. One other county director may assist the representative. The pattern or system which is used to determine the rotation of placement from schools within each county should be set by the members from that county. Every attempt should be made to permit a fair and equitable distribution of positions among the county schools represented. IV. HOST SCHOOL PARTICIPATION – a. The host school will not submit a preference list. b. The host determines the size of the chorus ( minimum of 160) and may add up to ten percent of the filled ensemble after selections have been completed.

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V. QUOTAS – a. The quota of students eligible from each school is determined by the population of the school in grades 10-12. Each year before selections, the District 3 President will contact all participating schools and request an statement of population in grades 10-12 which is authorized by the school principal. b. When the population has dropped in such a manner that would result in a lower quota, the school will be extended grace for one year, receiving the quota from the preceding year. The District President will notify the participating directors from that school that their school is on grace and may lose one spot of eligibility the following year. c. Increases in population go into effect immediately for that year’s selections. VI. ORDER OF SELECTION a. The order in which counties may select is determined by lottery. Each county representative will draw a number from one to five from a container. The number drawn will determine the order of selection in that round. VII. THE FIRST ROUND a. The first round begins with the county representative who has drawn number one making the first student placement. b. It is the responsibility of the county representative to submit the names from the preference list of the schools they represent in the exact order in which they appear on each list. c. The selection is made by giving information as follows: 1) the county choosing; 2) the voice part selected; 3) the school represented; 4) the name of the student. d. The PMEA officer in charge of the meeting should keep a visible running account of the number of students placed in each section so it is readily apparent to representatives and observers how the chorus is filling. e. The same procedure is followed in sequential numerical order until each school has had one student named to the chorus. VIII. THE SECOND ROUND – a. All numbers are redrawn for this round. The round closes when all schools have placed a student in the chorus during this round. IX. THE THIRD ROUND – a. In the third round, all numbers are redrawn. b. Only schools with a quota greater than four will select in this round.

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X. THE FOLLOWING ROUNDS a. All numbers are redrawn for each round. Each round closes when all schools have placed a student in the chorus during that round. XI. WHEN SECTIONS CLOSE – a. When a section has closed, the PMEA officer in charge of the meeting will announce that the section has closed. b. As the round continues, the county representatives will continue to place students in the order in which they appear on the preference list, using second voice part designations if necessary. If a student cannot be placed due to a section being closed, the student listed next will be eligible for placement in the chorus. If no students remain that can fill any of the available openings, that school does not receive a placement in that round. XII. REMOVING SCHOOLS FROM THE ROTATION – a. After the third round, the county representatives will be instructed to remove all schools with a quota of three and place those preference lists to the side. Only the remaining schools are eligible for placement in the fourth round. b. The same removal procedure occurs at the end of rounds four, five, etc. until the number of rounds equals the highest quota. XIII. EXTRA ROUNDS – a. When the final quota round has been completed, extra rounds will be held to fill remaining spots in the chorus. b. County representatives will survey their entire compliment of preference sheets for students listed who would be eligible to fill these openings. c. Each county again draws to determine a selection order and one additional student from each school with eligible students is added until the chorus is filled or the round is completed. d. Additional rounds are held until the chorus is filled. XIV. AUTOMATIC RETURNS – a. After the chorus has been filled, students qualifying for automatic return will be added. b. The District President should notify the host director of the number of students eligible for this privilege prior to the selections to enable the host to plan accordingly when setting the size of the ensemble. c. Eligibility: Students must meet all of the following criteria. 1. Finished in seventh chair or above at the previous District Chorus Festival. 2. Finished tenth chair or above at the previous Regional Chorus Festival. 3. Name appears within their school’s quota on the preference sheet. d. Students need not return on the same voice part. e. If a student transfers to another school in District 3, the student’s former director should exercise professional courtesy and notify the new director of the automatic return status of the student.

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XV. SUBSTITUTIONS a. If a student who was selected is unable to attend the festival, the host should be notified immediately, even up to the morning the festival is to begin. b. In the event a student cancels, a substitution will be made up to 3:00 PM on the Monday of the festvival week. The host may make replacements beyond the deadline at their discretion (following policy on replacement procedures). (January, 2011) b. Substitutions will be made on the same voice part. c. Protocol: The host should follow the following steps in arranging for a substitute: 1. Substitute another student from the school of the student who is canceling. 2. Offer the spot to a qualified applicant from another school within the county of the school of the student who is canceling. 3. Every effort should be made to first award the spot to a school which has not met quota, then to a school which does not exceed quota so as to maintain an equitable representation from the schools within that county. 4. Offer the spot to a qualified applicant from any school. Every effort should be made to first award the spot to a school which has not met quota, then to a school which does not exceed quota so as to maintain an equitable representation from all schools. 5. Fill the vacancy with a qualified student from the host school. 6. Leave the spot vacant. XVI. SPELLING AND PARTS ASSIGNMENTS – a. Each director will receive a typewritten confirmation listing participating students and the part to which they have been assigned. b. This confirmation could come in the form of an invoice. c. It is each director’s responsibility to check spelling and part assignments for accuracy and to notify the host at once of any errors. XVII. RE-ASSIGNING PARTS a. Teachers who are preparing students their students for the festival may switch parts among their own students provided that they notify the host at least three weeks prior to the festival. XVII. DIRECTOR’S FAMILY MEMBERS - (adopted February 2005) a. At the end of all selections, any director who teaches an immediate family member may add that student to the chorus. This student’s name must appear at the bottom of the preference sheet and indicate the relationship between the director and the student. Acceptable relationships for this privilege include children, step children and siblings. b. This courtesy is to protect directors from accusations of favoritism by the selection of their own family members over other qualified students. c. Any student selected in this manner shall not be eligible for replacement if they cancel out of the festival.  ;9,,,4827$2)25025( D6FKRROVZLWKDTXRWDRIRUPRUHPD\DGGDQRWKHUJLUOLIWKH\FKRRVHWRGRVR7KLVHQDEOHVDOO SDUWLFLSDWLQJVFKRROVWRDFKLHYHDPRUHEDODQFHGUHSUHVHQWDWLRQWRWKHIHVWLYDOFKRLU FKDQJHWRHQGRIVHOHFWLRQSURFHVV

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Registration at District 3 Chorus

   1. DIRECTORS a. Directors must present their current MENC membership card at registration. b. Directors are responsible for registering any student they bring who wishes to audition for a concert solo. c. If the host requests, directors may be required to pre-register any student they bring who wishes to audition for an incidental solo or small ensemble which occurs within a piece. d. Directors must indicate to the host where they are staying and provide a phone number by which he or she can be contacted in case of an emergency with a student from their school.   2. PACKETS – a. Packets should be available for all students and directors. b. Student packets should contain: 1. Name badge or name tags 2. Half sheet 3. Pencil 4. Host home information 5. Student schedule 6. Any host school policies with which the students should be familiar. 7. A map of the school showing restrooms, audition rooms, and other places which are available to the visiting students. 8. Photo and recording order forms if available c. Director’s packets should contain all of the above information plus 1. director’s schedule 2. audition assignments 3. host home information for all students from his/her school 4. Judge’s checklist 5. Audition room and holding room monitor checklist

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District 3 Chorus Guidelines for Selecting Audition Passages 1. PURPOSE - Auditions at District Chorus serve an important purpose. They provide a platform to evaluate the preparedness of the participating students, rewarding those students who audition well continued participation in the PMEA choral festival system. 2. FAIRNESS - The guest conductor shall choose the audition material. The beginning and ending of two passages per voice part should be clearly identified and sent to the host in eight separate sealed envelopes. Each envelope should identify the voice part on the outside of the envelope. The host must receive these by the beginning of the festival. The guest conductor should sign each selection before sealing the envelope and sign across the seal. 3. ACCEPTABILITY - If the audition committee determines that the passages selected for audition by the guest conductor are inappropriate for any reason, they may agree to change ONE of the passages. Reasons for changing could be extremes of range, inordinate length of passage, difficulty level, etc. 4. CRITERIA - The guest conductor should consider the following criteria when choosing the audition material: • Materials selected should not contain long sections of rest. • Incidental solos should not be used for auditions. • Music should be sung in concert language and use divided parts for “second” sections, if appropriate. • Extremes of range should be used minimally, when possible. • Passages chosen should reflect contrasting musical styles. 5. SUGGESTED RANGES - Women’s range guidelines apply to treble clef, men’s to bass clef. Soprano I = Middle C to A above the staff. Soprano II = B flat below the staff to G above the clef staff. Alto I = A below the staff to fourth line D. Alto II = G below the staff to third space C. Tenor I = Second space C to G above the staff. Tenor II = Second line B flat to F above the staff. Bass I = First line G to E above the staff. Bass II = F below the staff to D above the staff.

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District 3 Chorus Audition Process 1. SCHEDULE – a. The auditions will be held on Wednesday evening of the festival. 2. HALF SHEETS a. Directors must authorize the response of any student they bring to the festival who is not willing or able to participate at the next level of festival experience by initialing the half sheet where that response is indicated. 3. COMMITTEES – a. Prior to the festival, the host director will form audition committees for each section, attempting to avoid assigning directors to a section in which they have participating students. b. Each committee will have a chairman and as many directors as deemed necessary by the host. 4. DIRECTOR’S AUDITION MEETING – a. The District President or his/her designee shall conduct a meeting prior to auditions to review and clarify the audition process and assignments. b. All directors will follow the checklist for their audition assignment exactly. 5. PARTICIPATION – a. All directors must participate in auditions as assigned or their students are considered ineligible for the festival. b. Adjustments to assignments can be made at the meeting held prior to auditions. F,IDQHPHUJHQF\DULVHVUHVXOWLQJLQDGLUHFWRU VLQDELOLW\WRDWWHQGWKHIHVWLYDODQGSDUWLFLSDWHLQDXGLWLRQV DERQDILGH30($PHPEHUDSSURYHGE\WKH'LVWULFWSUHVLGHQWDQGKRVWPXVWEHSUHVHQWDQGDFFHSWWKH UHVSRQVLELOLW\LQWKHGLUHFWRU VDEVHQFH G6WXGHQWVPXVWDXGLWLRQRQWKHSDUWWKDWWKH\ZHUHDVVLJQHGDWVHOHFWLRQV  6. AUDITION MATERIAL – VHH*XLGHOLQHVIRU6HOHFWLQJ$XGLWLRQ3DVVDJHV a. In the interest of fairness, the guest conductor shall choose the audition materials. b. The guest conductor will make these recommendations in compliance with guidelines received from the host director. c. The recommendations should be submitted in eight sealed envelopes, one for each voice part. These will be opened in the audition room by the audition chairman. d. The committee may elect to change one of the two proposed passages.  7. SCORING – a. A ten point scale will be usedIRUHDFKRIWKHWZRDXGLWLRQH[FHUSWV.  10-9 Superior; 8-7 Excellent; 6-5 Good; 4-3 Fair; 2-1 Poor. 8. LOGISTICS – a. The host director shall provide eight separate audition sites and eight holding rooms. b. Each audition site will have a music stand. c. There will be three monitors for each section, one audition room monitor, one holding room monitor, and one hall monitor. Holding room monitors should be adults. d. Monitors will follow their checklists exactly.

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9. ASSIGNING AUDITION NUMBERS – a. Each section will be taken to the holding room first. b. In the holding room, students will be assigned an audition number, randomly predetermined by the District Secretary. c. The holding room monitor will read each student’s name in the audition order from a list provided by the host director. d. As each student’s name is read, the student will hand their half sheet to the audition room monitor who will write the student’s audition number in the appropriate space on the form. e. In the case of a registered student being absent from the festival, it will be the audition room monitor’s responsibility to notify the audition chairman of the vacant number. f. In the case of students who have been added as replacements, the holding room monitor should make the name change beside the number previously assigned to the replaced student. The numbers will not be reassigned. g. Holding room monitor, after assigning audition numbers, will collect all half sheets. h. Holding room monitor will give each student their half sheet when they leave the holding room to audition. i. Students will give their half sheets to the audition room monitor. j. Once the half sheets have been completed, the hall monitor will bring the sheets to the tabulations room. 10. INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE AUDITION JUDGES - (The judges will follow the judge’s checklist exactly) a. The section then proceeds to the audition room. b. The chairman of the committee will introduce the judging panel to the students. c. Students will be reminded that the judge’s will be facing away from them during their audition to insure fairness, and that no talking is permitted during the audition. d. The chairman will then review the seven criteria upon which the scores will be based. e. The chairman will explain that the starting pitch for each of the two selections will be played on a pitch pipe and sung or hummed by someone on the panel to assist the student in staring accurately. f. The students will be told that only one restart is permitted, either from the beginning of the piece or from the mid-point of the passage, if they have passed it. g. The chairman will then identify the beginning, midpoint, and ending of the two required audition passages and the order in which they are to be sung. h. Students should then place these two selections in the fronts of their folders. i. In the audition, the students must sing both passages entirely, using the concert language. j. Speaking the text, monotoning, or singing on a neutral syllable is not permitted and will not be considered as a valid audition. k. Students who refuse to complete their audition will be sent home. 11. WARM-UP – a. The first half of the section remains in the audition room and the second half returns to the holding room, leaving all folders in the audition room. b. The first pitch of each audition passage is played on a pitch pipe and the students remaining in the audition room together sing through each passage RQFH. c. Then they return to the holding room, leaving all folders in the audition room.

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12. AUDITIONS BEGIN – a. The hall monitor will escort student number one to the audition room. b. The audition room monitor will verify the student’s audition number and remind the student to respond to questions silently and signal the monitor if and when they desire to restart. c. The monitor will assist the student in locating his/her own folder. d. The monitor will introduce the student by audition number only. H7KHPRQLWRUZLOODVNWKHVWXGHQWLIVKHKHZLVKHVWRVLQJDZDUPXSVFDOH1RWHWKDWWKHZDUPXSVFDOHLVQRWWR EHVFRUHGDVSDUWRIWKHDXGLWLRQ,IWKHVWXGHQWFKRRVHVWRGRDZDUPXSVFDOHWKHSLWFKHVXVHGZRXOGEH DVIROORZV6*6)$%E$$E7)7(E%&%%E  I When the audition is over, the student will return to the auditorium. J. The audition room monitor will remain in the room unless the chairman of the committee deems it necessary to have a conference with the committee that would require the audition room monitor to wait in the hallway. K. All student folders will remain in the audition room until the entire section has completed their individual audition.  13. AUDITIONS CONTINUE – a. When student number one has finished auditioning, the hall monitor will return to the holding room and will escort student number two to the audition room. b. Both will remain in the hall until the audition monitor invites student number two into the audition room. c. This pattern continues until the first half of the section has auditioned. d. When the first half of the section has completed auditions, the hall monitor will escort the second half of the section to the audition room where they will locate their folders and go through the warm up process.  14. HOLDING ROOM PROTOCOL – a. There is to be absolutely no singing or humming in the holding room or hallways. b. Problems should be brought to the attention of the host director or any teacher immediately.  5. TABULATING – a. After the first half of the section has been heard, the audition chairman will collect the score sheets and give them to the hall monitor who will carry them to the tabulations room. b. Each judge should sign his/her score sheet. c. The tabulations committee will consist of the District President and other assigned PMEA members. d. The committee will enter the scoring data into the computer. e. The computer will rank all sections according to the highest scores, breaking ties according to the criteria established by the choral directors of PMEA District 3.  16. SEATING – a. The District President will read, in reverse order, the names of the students who chaired tenth or higher in each section on Thursday morning before rehearsal begins.  17. POSTING – a. The scores will be posted in the Director’s Room after the seating has been announced to the students on Thursday morning.

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District 3 Chorus Audition Policy for Accompanists 1. USE OF STUDENT ACCOMPANISTS - Preference will be given for Distrcit 3 students to be the accompanists for Festivals. Guest conductors should be aware of this and will be expected to adhere to this policy. Professional accompanists will be hired in the event no student accompanists are available. They will be paid at the rate of $200 per day, not to exceed $500.00.

2. ELIGIBILITY- Any student from a participating school may audition as an accompanist for District Chorus. Directors should include accompanists names on the preference list along with their completed application and medical form. Students need not be selected as a singer in the chorus in order to qualify as an accompanist. 3. DATE OF AUDITIONS - Accompanist auditions shall be scheduled not later than one month prior to the District 3 Festival. Notification of the audition date should be included in the preference sheet information mailed to the directors. The director should make every effort to attend the audition with the student. If this is not possible, the students’ director must notify the host. 4. MATERIAL TO PREPARE - The host, with or without corroboration from the guest conductor, shall specify which passages from the folder are to be prepared for the accompanist audition. The passages should reflect different styles of accompaniments and include part playing. Two or three passages of each type should be specified. 5. NUMBER OF ACCOMPANISTS - Two accompanists shall be selected. If the audition committee feels strongly that only one student has successfully demonstrated the proficiency necessary to accompany a District Chorus, only one accompanist shall be chosen. If all auditioning students are deemed inadequate, directors reserve the right to higher a professional accompanist. 6. AUDITION COMMITTEE - When possible, the guest conductor shall be the audition committee. Otherwise, the audition committee shall be formed from the directors of the students auditioning. The host may invite private piano teachers or other qualified persons to assist in the process, either to replace directors who are unable to attend or to supplement the committee. 7. AUDITION PROCEDURE - Each student auditioning will be assigned a number at random. Each accompanist shall play as many of the prepared passages as necessary for the committee to clearly determine proficiency and make recommendations. One director should serve as a conductor for all of the auditions. The auditions will be blind with the judges sitting between the conductor and the piano with their backs to the accompanist. This permits them to observe first hand the ability of the accompanist to follow the conductor as well as determine accuracy of playing. The committee may elect to hear a brief diagnostic section from each category with a call back system if a large number of students audition.

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8. ASSIGNMENT OF PARTS - The host director, the accompanists directors, the auditioning committee or any combination thereof has the option to divide the primary accompaniment responsibilities between the selected accompanists. Otherwise, each accompanist will be responsible to prepare the entire folder and the guest conductor will make the accompaniment assignments during the festival. If a division of primary responsibility does occur before the festival, the accompanists should be prepared to step in for the other pieces in the event that illness or some other emergency renders the other accompanist unable to play. 9. CONCERT DRESS - Accompanists will wear robes or dark, formal wear. The directors of the two accompanists should confer to reach agreement for a single style of dress for both accompanists. 10. ACCOMPANYING CONCERT SOLOS - In order to minimize rehearsal interruptions, the festival accompanists should not be used to accompany concert solo auditions, if possible. 11. ADVANCEMENT TO REGIONAL CHORUS - The guest conductor will select one of the two accompanists to represent District 3 at the Region II All State Chorus Festival. All regional accompanists are eligible to apply for All-State accompanist. The guest conductor will notify the District President of the selection by the end of the Saturday concert. It is recommended that the guest director communicate his selection directly to the students, if possible, so that personally offered suggestions and thanks to each can be expressed.

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Concert Solos at District 3 Chorus 1. PHILOSOPHY - Since the primary purpose of PMEA is to promote school music, the encouragement of private study is a desirable part of school music programs. Therefore, PMEA should provide incentive and reward to students who take the time, make the effort, and spend the money to study voice privately. The inclusion of concert solos at choral festivals provides opportunity for feedback and positive reinforcement for students interested in vocal solo work. The festival setting brings together students who have interest and commitment to singing, providing an encouraging and appreciative environment for such performance. The inclusion of concert solos also provides the chorus with a respite in a program that can be difficult and taxing. The opportunity for the chorus to relax physically and mentally is not to be understated. The feedback received by the students who audition for concert solos is a vital part of their music growth and development, offering opinions of other professionals to their teachers at home. 2. ELIGIBILITY - Any student who is a member of District 3 ChorusDQGKDVSODFHGLQWKHWRSKDOIRIKLVKHU VHFWLRQDWWKLVIHVWLYDOmay audition for a concert solo.   ThHVtudent’s director must register the student to audition during registration Wednesday.  3. ACCOMPANIMENT - The piece should be accompanied by solo piano. No pre-recorded accompaniments are permitted. It is the responsibility of the student’s director to make arrangements for an accompanist.  4. PRESENTATION - The solo shall be memorized for the audition. The student should be prepared to introduce the selection and the accompanist at the audition and, if selected to perform, at the performance.  5. AUDITION COMMITTEE - At the Thursday morning business meeting, the District President will ask for volunteers to serve on the solo audition committee. Only directors who do not have a choral or private student auditioning for a solo should volunteer. If possible, at least one representative from each participating county should be on the committee. The District President will select at least five judges and appoint a chairman. Another volunteer should serve as a door monitor.  . SCORING - The committee shall judge using a ten point scale. 10 - 9 = Superior; 8-7 = Excellent; 6-5 = Good; 4-3 = Fair; 2-1 = Poor. A score shall be given in each of the following four categories: Tone Quality and Intonation; Musicianship, Expression, and Phrasing; Compatibility of Repertoire to student’s voice; Stage Presence and Presentation.  . COMMENTS - Each solo audition committee member shall write comments on the bottom of the judging form. These should be of a positive nature and suggestions for improvement should be expressed in a constructive tone. The soloist will receive these comments after the audition process has been completed. The judge will sign the form.  . AUDITION ORDER - The District President or his/her designee shall assign a number to students registered for Concert Solos. The order should be different from the order in which they were registered.

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. ANONYMITY - The Committee shall not consider the name or the school of the student auditioning. . CALL BACKS - The Committee shall agree on whether to hear all solos in their entirety or whether to hear a representative section of the piece and have call-backs. 1. NUMBER OF SOLOISTS - Five soloists shall be selected. In the event that students selected for a concert solo have not qualified for Regional Chorus, additional ranking will take place to ensure that District 3 will have five concert soloists at the Regional Festival. These additional soloists may be asked to perform at the discretion of the host. This could occur during a break in the rehearsal or during the banquet. 1. PROGRAMMING - All five soloists may or may not have a performance opportunity at the District Festival. Soloists will be assigned spots in the concert(s) with the highest scoring soloist performing at the last available concert solo opportunity. The host director may elect to provide solo opportunities at the banquet. 1. CONCERT DRESS - Soloists may remove their robe to present their solo. Dress should be appropriate to a formal concert presentation. 1. CONCERT SOLOS AT REGIONAL CHORUS - All five soloists shall be eligible to audition at Regional Chorus. If one or more of the top five soloists at District Chorus did not qualify for Regional Chorus, they will be replaced at the discretion of the Auditioning Committee by the next highest scoring student(s). Soloists need not sing the same selection at Regional Chorus.

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District 3 Chorus Student Guidelines 1. ATTENDANCE - Students must be present for the entire festival. Exceptions may be granted only by the District President according to PMEA State Policy. 2. PARTICIPATION - All students will be expected to sing all of the material in the concert folder. Directors should take this into consideration when nominating students on the preference form. 3. TRANSPORTATION - Participating schools are responsible for their students transportation to the festival. Host school administration may prohibit student drivers, in which case, host directors will notify participating schools. 4. CONCERT DRESS - Singers will wear robes. Accompanists will wear robes or dark, formal attire. The directors of the two accompanists should confer to reach agreement for a single style of dress for both accompanists. 5. BANQUET DRESS - Students should dress appropriately for the banquet. Gentlemen in shirts and ties, dress slacks, and dress shoes and socks. Ladies in dresses or skirts and blouses, appropriate hosiery and footwear. No mini-skirts or halter tops, please. 6. BEHAVIOR - Students will be expected to observe the guidelines for student behavior at the host school, including dress codes. Behavior problems will be reported to the District President who has the authority to dismiss the student from further participation in the festival. Any student dismissed forfeits the right to participate in any other PMEA Festivals that year. This includes behavior at the host home and during the banquet. 7. MEALS - All students will eat all meals as planned by the host. Special dietary considerations should be reported to the host on the application or medical form and brought to the attention of the host by personal phone call. 8. HOUSING - All students will be housed, if possible by the host. Students should be paired with at least one other student. Problems occurring within the host home should be brought to the attention of the student’s director and the host director immediately. 9. HOST FAMILY GIFT - It is appropriate for the student to present the host family with a small gift.

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District 3 Chorus Directors’ Schedule and Responsibilities (added 2005) 1. WEDNESDAY – a. Directors must be in attendance for the Wednesday night meeting before auditions. b. Directors should provide the host with contact information such as a cell phone number or hotel information enabling the host to contact the director if an emergency arises. c. The policy chairperson will run the audition meeting. No audition policies are to be changed at this meeting unless extenuating circumstances make such an adjustment both necessary and amenable to the membership. d. It is each director’s responsibility to register all students, register those auditioning for concert solos, and to initial the half sheet of each student as to their intention to advance to regional chorus if they qualify. e. Directors will participate in the audition process as judges, monitors or in tabulations. 2. THURSDAY a. There will be a director’s meeting. b. The District President will preside over that meeting. c. The policy chairperson will record the minutes, updating any policy changes on the web-site. 3. THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY a. The host director will provide a schedule of in-service opportunities directors may attend. b. A picture schedule may be included. Directors should attend the photo sessions as scheduled by the host. 4. DURATION OF THE FESTIVAL Directors must be in attendance throughout the entire festival.

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8-7 Excellent

Demonstrates an overall preparation and knowledge of the music

Sings on pitch Maintains pitch integrity

Accurately performs the written rhythms

Produces a tone pleasing to the listener and free of vocal problems Exhibits appropriate voice categorization

Performs with an understanding of the inherent style, dynamics, tempo, and any additional interpretive notation

Performs phrases appropriately

Selection #2 Score

Uses correct pronunciation of the text in English or a foreign language

Selection #1 Score

x

Diction

x

Breath Control & Phrasing

x

Musicianship

x

x

Tone Quality

x

Rhythmic Accuracy

x x

Pitch Accuracy

x

Familiarity with Music

AUDITION NUMBER

Rating Scale: 10-9 Superior

6-5 Good

4-3 Fair

PMEA District 3 Chorus Audition Score Sheet

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2-1 Poor (Do not use zero)

Part ________________

Judge _____________________

PMEA DISTRICT 3 CONCERT SOLO JUDGING SHEET Audition # ____________ Song Title _______________________________ 10-9 = Superior

8-7 = Excellent

6-5 = Good

4-3 = Fair

2-1 = Poor

Tone Quality and Intonation Musicianship, Expression and Phrasing Compatibility of Repertoire to Student’s Voice Stage Presence and Presentation TOTAL

Comments written below will be given to the students. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Comments:

Judge’s Signature ___________________________________________

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Inclement Weather Procedures Since PMEA High School festivals are typically scheduled during the winter months, it seems wise to anticipate situations which would affect the typical festival schedule. The following contingencies should be clearly understood by the host and the host school administration prior to agreeing to host. While not every situation can be foreseen, the following contingency plans should suffice in most instances. Any decision should consider the safety of the students as the uppermost concern. Adopted 2/17/00 Region II All State Chorus, St.Marys

Contingencies involving the host school I. The host school is canceled on the day the festival is to begin. A. Host notifies attending schools via phone chain. B. Festival will begin the next morning. C. Auditions will take place as soon as possible in the following format: 1. The school administration will provide eight sites, if possible, WRDFFRPRGDWHDXGLtions. 2. In lieu of holding rooms, the sections will sit on the sides of the auditorium under the supervision of the holding room monitor. 3. Students returning to the auditorium after auditions will sit in the center section. II. The host school is canceled on a festival day other than the opening day. A. The District Presidents and host will confer with the host school administration as to the feasibility of continuing the festival or canceling it. B. Notification of the decision will take place via festival phone chain created from the information gathered from the directors when they register at the festival. III. The host school has a delayed start. A. If the festival students are using school transportation, the festival will operate on the delayed school schedule for that day. B. If no school provided transportation is being used, the Host Director and the District President will determine the schedule. IV. The host school closes early on the opening day of the festival. A. The host will contact host families to arrange for students arriving for the festival to be picked up and transported to the host home as soon as possible after their arrival. B. In no case will any students remain unsupervised at a host home. V. The host school closes early on a day of the festival other than the opening day. A. The District Presidents and host will confer with the host school administration as to the feasibility of continuing the festival or canceling it. B. The host will contact host families to arrange for students to be picked up and transported to the host home as soon as possible. C. Students will remain with the host director or their director until they can be safely returned to their host home. VI. Some unforeseen condition results in the school being unavailable on the closing day of the festival. A. The District Presidents and host will confer with the host school administration as to the best course of action to be taken and the appropriate notification procedures.

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Contingencies involving participating schools I. The participating school is canceled on the day the festival is to begin. A. Canceled school’s director notifies festival host and his/her District President as soon as possible. B. Every effort is made to secure authorized, safe transportation to the festival on that day. C. If permission is withheld for transporting students to the festival, the affected school’s director should give the host some indication of when his/her participants will arrive at the festival. 1. Sections rendered incomplete by the absence of the affected students will audition the following morning after the students arrive. 2. Administration will provide the number of rooms needed to accommodate this contingency according to the policy outlined above in I.- C. D. If the students are unable to arrive at the festival before noon the section will begin auditions. Should the auditions be completed (scores tallied, chairs ranked, results announced or posted) before the students are able to arrive, they will be ineligible for advancement to the next festival level. E. The host director has the option to refund all, a portion of, or none of the registration fee with the agreement of the District President or Region Chairman. II. The participating school has an early dismissal on the opening day of the festival. A. The participating school director should make every effort to secure permission to bring the students to the festival. B. If permission is withheld, follow the policy explained above in item I. – C through E.

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PMEA DISTRICT 3 CHORUS JUDGE’S CHECKLIST Follow this list step by step to guarantee that each section is handled the same way. ❏ 1. Entire section enters audition room with folders.

❏ 2. Chairman welcomes students and introduces judges and audition room monitor.



❏ 3. Chairman identifies categories for scoring.



❏ 5. Chairman identifies the beginning, mid point and ending of the first audition passage.



❏ 6. Chairman identifies the beginning, mid point and ending of the second audition passage.



❏ 7. Chairman explains that the starting pitch is given on a pitch pipe and will be hummed by one of the judges.



❏ 8. Chairman explains that only one restart is permitted, either from the beginning of the piece or from the midpoint of the passage if they have passed it. (2009)



❏ 4. Chairman identifies two audition passages and the order in which they are to be sung.

❏ 9. Chairman reminds students that there will be no direct communication with the judges. All communication will be done through the audition room monitor. ❏ 10. Chairman explains that following the audition, the folder will be left in the room and the student must return to the auditorium. ❏ 11. Chairman instructs the second half of the section to leave folders in the room and dismisses them to the holding room. ❏ 12. Chairman leads the remaining singers through each audition passage ONCE. (2009) ❏ 13. Chairman instructs the remaining singer to leave folders in the room and dismisses them to the holding room. ❏ 14. After hearing the first half of the section, the chairman will send the score sheets to the tabulations room with one of the judges and will instruct the audition room monitor to bring the second half of the section into the audition room. ❏ 15. The chairman will lead these remaining singers through each audition passage ONCE. (2009)



❏ 16. Chairman instructs the singer to leave folders in the room and dismisses them to the holding room.



❏ 17. After evaluating all singers in the section, the chairman will collect the scoring sheets and enlist the help of either the audition room monitor or other judges to bring the scoring sheets to the tabulations room and the folders and the music stand to their designated areas.



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PMEA DISTRICT 3 CHORUS HOLDING ROOM AND AUDITION ROOM MONITOR CHECKLIST Follow this list step by step to guarantee that each section is handled the same way.

❏ 1. Students are escorted to the holding room and arrive with folders and packets.



❏ 2. Holding room monitor welcomes students and introduces self and the audition room monitor.



❏ 3. Holding room monitor instructs the students to remove the half sheets from their packet and to prepare to write in their audition number.



❏ 4. Holding room monitor opens an envelope with the audition number assignments and reads these assignments to the students.



❏ 5. The audition room monitor explains that when the students arrive at the audition room, he or she will verify their audition number and that they are using their own music folder before they begin the audition.



❏ 6. The audition room monitor reminds the students that they are available to communicate to the judges any requests for restarts or repeating the starting pitch.



❏ 7. Holding room monitor reminds students that there is to be no singing or humming, and no audio players used while in the holding room or while waiting outside the audition room.



❏ 8. Holding room monitor explains that the students will be individually escorted to the audition room and will return to the auditorium after their audition has concluded.



❏ 9. Holding room monitor collects the half sheets in numerical order.



❏ 10. Holding room monitor notifies the audition room monitor of and gaps in the numerical audition sequence and takes the half sheets to the tabulations room before returning to monitor the holding room.



❏ 11. The audition room monitor escorts the entire section to the audition room.



❏ 12. The audition room monitor informs the judges of the total number of singers they will be hearing and any gaps in the numerical sequence.



❏ 13. Following the last audition, the audition room monitor should inquire of the chairman to see if any assistance is needed in returning the music stand or the folders to their designated areas.

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Colors

Mascot

Director

9/01/2013 –

Student’s First Name

Grade

PMEA District 3 / Chorus Preference Sheet

Student’s Last Name

1st Part Choice

2nd Part Choice

Dist. Ch. Reg. Ch. St. Ch. 10th? 10th? 10th?

Dist. Ch. Reg. Ch. St. Ch. 11th? 11th? 11th?

List the students in the order that you want them to be considered for membership in PMEA District 3 Chorus. You may list an alternate part for each student. Any student wishing to audition as an accompanist must be listed as such. A completed application and medical form for each student listed is required for that student to be eligible for membership in the festival chorus. Incomplete applications will render the student ineligible, please check to see that all necessary signatures are present on both forms. A copy of your current PMEA card or proof of membership in PMEA is also required for your student’s to be named to the chorus. Please PRINT or TYPE all information. If the student has previous festival experience, print “YES” in the appropriate box.

THIS FORM IS DUE BACK TO THE HOST SCHOOL ON OR BEFORE THIS DATE:

School

PMEA DISTRICT 3 CHORUS PREFERENCE SHEET

Appendix A—TERMS OF AN INDIVIDUAL STUDENT’S ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE All districts must use an application form, which contains the following statement: Students should not apply to participate in festivals if, for any reason (including religions activities), they plan to miss part of the affair. A student must participate in the complete festival program commencing with registration and concluding with the final concert, except in the case of illness. All student participants are to be required to sign this application. It is also recommended that the application be signed by the student’s parent, director, and school principal. The guidelines for exceptions and appeal process which follow are to be listed in the correspondence to each director. Guidelines for Granting an Exception 1) 2) 3) 4)

The conflict must have developed after the date on which the student was selected for the festival. The nature of the conflict must be unique (a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity). Maximum rehearsal time missed may be no more than four (4) hours. The student may not miss a concert. Procedure for Requesting an Exception and Appealing an Exception Denial Procedure







Student’s Director confers with Host Director





Step One Step Two

Host Director confers with District President

Possible Action None 2 Yes Votes=Exception Granted 2 No Votes=Exception Denied Split Vote=Confer with the Immediate Past President

Step Three Appeal Procedure (OR Procedure for Regional Questions—Step One) District President confers with Other District President of Region

PMEA State President

2 Yes Votes=Denial Overruled 2 No Votes=Denial Approved Split Vote=Confer with State President Final Appeal

Final Decision

Once selected, if the student cannot participate in the festival, it is the responsibility of the student’s director to contact the host before the registration deadline of the event in order that an alternate may be selected. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 1. 2. 3.

A student sent home for disciplinary action will not participate in any subsequent PMEA festival for the remainder of the school term, but may be eligible to participate the following year. Students must participate in their own school organization in order to be eligible to participate in any PMEA or MENC festival (band for band, orchestra for orchestra, and chorus for chorus). The only exception to this rule may come if the high school lacks an organization. Home schooled students will be eligible to participate in PMEA festivals if they are sponsored by their local school district and the appropriate member-director. 29

Festivals and Festival Clinics A Statement of Principles Governing Participation in PMEA Festivals Adopted by PMEA State Executive Council on June 16, 1984 The system of band, chorus, and orchestra festivals at district, regional, and all-state levels is organized and maintained by PMEA as one of its principal vehicles for implementation of its goals to further music education and encourage the development of music programs in the schools. PMEA members who are the directors of bands, choruses, or orchestras in their schools have the privilege of sponsoring students from their organization to participate in the various festivals, subject to the regulatory policies of the State Executive Board, the individual District, and whatever powers the individual District delegates to the collective body of participating directors to establish procedures. PMEA is a private association of individual professionals, and as such, “may restrict participation in its activities and may impose restraints providing they do not violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act, i.e. restrictions based on race, creed or sex.” PMEA adopts officially the MENC policy from their legal advisors relative to the exclusion of students of nonmember from participation in events sponsored by MENC, and in so adopting, we substitute “PMEA” for “MENC”. The statement therefore reads: “Since PMEA, rather than the school systems, is the sponsor of these events, we assume that there would be some financial and other support given to the event by PMEA. This would appear to us to establish a “rational justification” for the exclusion. If there is this rational justification, the exclusion would not violate the federal civil rights law. The Supreme Court has distinguished two kinds of classifications: so-called suspect classifications, like race or alienage; and other classifications. The classification of students based on whether or not their teachers are PMEA members is obviously not a suspect classification. Accordingly, to sustain the legality of such a classification, we need only show that it has a rational justification and, as indicated above, the PMEA sponsorship and support appears to us to be sufficient for this purpose.” (See “Dues” Section C re sabbatical substitute teachers) PMEA holds that participation by a student in a PMEA festival is a privilege granted by, and authorized through, the membership and active participation of the individual teacher/member who is the director of the given organization in the student’s school. It rejects the concepts of institutional membership; of membership by a school administrator who is not the director of the school musical organization (intended as a method of qualifying students for festivals); or of sponsorship of a student by another PMEA member who is not the director of the specific school performing group in that student’s school. Exceptions, due to legitimate, specific, extenuating circumstances will be detailed later in this document.

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Terms of an Individual Student’s Eligibility to Participate All Districts must use an application form which contains the following statement: “Students should not apply to participate in festivals if, for any reason (including religious activities), they plan to miss part of the affair. A student must participate in the complete festival program commencing with registration and concluding with the final concert, except in case of illness that must be verified in writing by a physician within 5 days of the festival. Students must rehearse and perform all musical compositions selected for the concert. (Amended, April 14, 1999) All student participants are to be required to sign this application. It is also recommended that the application be signed by the student’s parent, director, and school principal. The guidelines for exceptions and the appeal process which follow are to be listed in the correspondence to each director.

Guidelines for Granting an Exception 1) 2) 3) 4)

The conflict must have developed after the date on which the student was selected for the festival. The nature of the conflict must be unique (a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity). Maximum rehearsal time missed may be no more than four (4) hours. The student may not miss a concert.



Procedure for Requesting an Exception and Appealing an Exception Denial



Procedure

Possible Action

Step One Student’s Director confers with Host Director

Step Two Host Director confers with District President

None

2 Yes Votes = Exception Granted 2 No votes = Exception denied Split vote = Confer with the District Immediate Past President

Step Three Appeal Procedure (OR Procedure for Regional Questions --Step One) District President confers with 2 Yes Votes = Denial overruled other District Presidents of Region 2 No Votes = Denial approved Split vote = Confer with State President

Final Appeal PMEA State President

Final Decision

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Once selected, if the student cannot participate in the festival, it is the responsibility of the student’s director to contact the host before the registration deadline of the event in order that an alternate may be selected. In consideration of the unique characteristics of each district, in order to insure a quality performing organization and educational experience for all students involved, PMEA gives authority to each District to determine the grade level eligibility for all district level events. Participation in Regional and All-State events will be restricted to grades ten, eleven, and twelve. A student sent home for disciplinary action will not participate in any subsequent PMEA festival for the remainder of the current school term, but may be eligible to participate in the following year. Students must participate in their own school organization in order to be eligible to participate in any PMEA or MENC festival (band for band, orchestra for orchestra, and chorus for chorus). The only exception to this rule may come if the high school lacks said organization. (The original intent of this provision was to disqualify a winds or percussion student from participating in an orchestra festival, when, although continuing membership in the school band, the choice is made not to participate in an active orchestra in the home school. PMEA feels that to do otherwise would tend to undercut the efforts of the director/member in the home school program. If there is an orchestra in the school, the orchestra director must be the sponsoring director/member; if there is no orchestra, the director of the band may sponsor students for an orchestra festival, subject to the rules of the individual district. Although the most common exception granted has pertained to orchestra, it is possible that a situation warranting consideration of an exception might arise for band or chorus participation. Authority for granting exceptions found to be compatible with PMEA goals will reside with the State Board. A written petition to the appropriate District President must be initiated by a certified music teacher who is a PMEA member prior to a meeting of the Board which, in turn, precedes the selection process for the festival. The District President would be responsible for investigating the validity of the request and for preparing copies of a written brief on the situation for the Board. The District President would then present the report to the Board with his recommendations. (Board members could add discussion notes to their own copies, and following formal action, could file the document for reference in the future regarding established precedent.) Miscellaneous In designing concert programs, festival hosts/all-state chairmen should avoid the use of the phrase “public schools.” Either Music in Public and Private Schools, or Music in the Schools of Pennsylvania is preferable. Participation by Home Schooled Students Home schooled students will be eligible to participate in PMEA festivals if they are sponsored by their local school district and the appropriate member-director. Private School students will continue to be accepted as per current policy. ..April 1995, page 5 Opinion written by Attorney John Killian

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