Who should audition?
All 9th - 11th graders! Even if you think you’re not going to get into Wind Ensemble, I recommend you audition. Going through the process of preparing for an audition is very valuable in many ways for your growth as a musician!
Current 9th - 11th grade students who are already in Wind Ensemble must audition for seating purposes.
Current 12th graders, please be respectful and don’t sign up for audition time slots. It only makes more work for me when generating lists
If you know someone in Marching Band or not in band that wants to audition, feel free to share this information and materials with them.
When are auditions?
Auditions will be held in person on Thursday, 3/25 & Friday, 3/26 during lunch lessons and after school. Please let me know ASAP if this will be an issue.
Students can sign up for a timeslot by looking to see what’s available on the 2021 Wind Ensemble Audition Timeslots Google Sheet and by contacting Mr. Kuntz (you can’t edit the Google Sheet, only Mr. Kuntz can). Sign ups are first come, first serve. If you have work, please schedule your timeslot as early as possible in case auditions run behind. Percussionists, be prepared to stay for 2 timeslots worth of time to complete the entire audition.
How will auditions work?
Students come into the school through the theater entrance and report directly to the warm up area (most likely the Band room, still TBD).
Arrive at the school with enough time to Warm Up and tune BEFORE your scheduled audition time. You will not be allowed to use a metronome or tuner during the audition.
When it’s your turn to audition, you’ll be called into the audition room (most likely my office or the art room, still TBD) and perform everything.
Please note: All auditions will be recorded for accuracy and educational purposes.
Audition Requirements (click here for audition materials)
Winds Audition Requirements:
- All Major Scales, up to and including 4b's and 4#'s (Ab, Eb, Bb, F, C, G, D, A, E) - If you play a transposing instrument, play YOUR Ab, Eb...etc. Scale when asked. DO NOT TRANSPOSE INTO CONCERT PITCH. I will pick the 2 Major Scales you need to play during your audition, but you should have all of them prepared. The Scales should be memorized in as many octaves as possible according to the provided instrument ranges.
- Chromatic Scale of your choosing. Chromatic should be at least 2 octaves.
- Solo - 1 short technical exercise and 1 short lyrical exercise. (click here for Solo Excerpts). You are only required to play the sections that have been bracketed. I will have printed copies if you need.
- Sight Reading -The sight reading is not handed out ahead of time. You will have 30 seconds to look it over. You are not allowed to play during those 30 seconds. You may however finger, tap, clap, or hum through the exercise.
Percussion Audition Requirements: (All Players must demonstrate the following)
- Snare Drum Rudiments (Refer to the rudiments page in the Audition Materials packet for how each rudiment should be played)
- Buzz roll (multiple bounce roll, closed roll)
- Single stroke roll
- 5 stroke roll
- 9 stroke roll
- Single paradiddle
- Flam tap
- Mallet Scales played on Marimba, up to and including 4b's and 4#'s (Ab, Eb, Bb, F, C, G, D, A, E) - I will pick the 2 Major Scales you need to play during your audition, but you should have all of them prepared. The Scales should be memorized in 2 octaves.
- Chromatic Scale of your choosing. Chromatic should be at least 2 octaves.
- Choose either the Snare Drum Solo or the Mallet solo (click here for Solo Excerpts). You are only required to play the sections that have been bracketed. I will have printed copies if you need.
- Auxiliary Percussion (bass drum and crash cymbals). click here for Auxiliary Excerpts (last page). You are only required to play the sections that have been bracketed. I will have printed copies if you need.
- Sight Reading. The sight reading excerpt will be performed on Snare Drum. The sight reading is not handed out ahead of time. You will have 30 seconds to look it over. You are not allowed to play during those 30 seconds. You may however air drum, tap, clap, or hum through the exercise.
Audition Rubric Breakdown
Winds (out of 90 total points)
Scales, 30 points. 10 points per scale (2 Major and 1 Chromatic)
Solo, 50 points. 20 points for Musicality/Interpretation. 10 points for Technique, 10 points for Rhythmic Accuracy, and 10 points for Tone/Tuning
Sight Reading, 10 points. Looking for accuracy of: rhythms, notes, pulse/steady beat, dynamics, articulation, and tone/tuning.
Percussion (out of 115 total points)
Rudiments, 30 points total. 5 points per rudiment. Looking for accuracy of the rudiment, pulse/steady beat
Mallet Scales, 5 points per scale (2 Major and 1 Chromatic)
Auxiliary Percussion (Bass Drum & Crash Cymbals), 10 points each.
Solo, 40 points total. 20 points for Musicality/Interpretation. 10 points for Technique and 10 points for Rhythmic Accuracy
Sight Reading on Snare Drum, 10 points. Looking for accuracy of: rhythms, pulse/steady beat, dynamics, and articulations.
When will results be posted?
Most likely during the 1st week of April (Spring Break). I will take the weekend to think through the auditions and go through videos again as needed. I also may need to use 3/29 - 3/31 for make-up auditions and to listen to 8th graders.
What if I can’t play my scales in multiple octaves or something up to tempo?
Do the best you can.
For scales, I have included ranges for each instrument for what is expected. I always look to hear cleanliness, but if Student A can play the scale in 3 octaves and Student B can only play the scale in 2 octaves, Student A will earn more points according to the required ranges.
For tempo, again, I would rather hear something clean that’s a little slower than something messy at full speed. Students who can play their music the cleanest at appropriate tempos will receive the most points.
Percussionists are allowed to use the percussion equipment in the band room to practice for the auditions. Please contact me to make appointments after school.
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