High School Solo & Ensemble Festival
HS State Solo & Ensemble Festival participation offers students the opportunity to express themselves through creating beauty, building self confidence and to be affirmed as a singer. Performers learn from the mentoring of an adjudicator and through preparation in a solo or ensemble event, students gain insights into the music as they continue their musical journey.
Eligibility
- Qualifying performance of Division I - Excellent at HS District Festival
- Soloists with a raw score of 23 or higher
Registration & Payment
Festival Scheduler
Login Instructions Registration Instructions
$35 |
Solo |
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$50 |
Small ensemble |
2 - 5 singers |
$80
$90
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Large ensemble
Large ensembles requesting All-State Festival consideration
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6 - 20 singers
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Deadline for registration and payment is March 1, 2023. Fees are non-refundable.
Payment can be made by school check or director’s personal check payable to MSVMA and must be postmarked by the deadline. Purchase orders are acceptable at the postmark deadline, but the State Office must receive payment by March 25, 2022.
Invoices and checks for fees payable to MSVMA should be mailed to:
MSMVA
P.O. Box 1131
Big Rapids, MI 49307
For registration questions, contact State Events Scheduling Coordinator Julia Holt, or Director of State Events Kathy Cunningham.
Transfer Request Guidelines
Directors may request a transfer from their school’s assigned site to a different site. Large numbers of event transfers can disrupt festival management. Directors are encouraged to perform at their school’s regionally assigned site unless:
- Travel from your school to the site exceeds 150 miles or 3 hours.
- Your school district is not in session on the performance date. (Examples: spring break, state-mandated testing.
The deadline for all State Event Transfer Requests is February 15. Requests will be considered according to capacity and criteria above. Requests that exceed capacity or do not meet criteria may not be approved. For questions, please contact kathycunningham@msvma.org.
Transfer Request Form
Repertoire
- Soloists and ensembles must sing two selections of a contrasting nature. Only one selection may have been performed at District Festival.
- Soloists may sing one opera aria.
- When choosing literature, soloists can use this Suggested Repertoire list as a guide. There is no longer a required list for soloists.
- Popular, show/musical tunes, vocal jazz, barbershop or novelty selections are not acceptable.
- Changes in literature must be made by one week before the Festival.
- If Public Domain or purchased online copies of music are used, proof of music origin is required.
Performance
- Soloists must perform from memory to receive a final determination.
- Ensembles may use music.
- Large ensembles desiring All-State Festival consideration must perform one a cappella selection.
- Instrumental accompaniment other than piano is allowed but must not detract from the performance.
- Small ensembles consist of 2 – 5 singers.
- Large ensembles consist of 6 – 20 singers.
- The personnel of the ensemble shall not change between the performance and sight reading rooms.
- The personnel of the ensemble shall not change from one selection to the other.
- Performance time may not exceed 8 minutes.
- Choreography is not allowed. However, artful staging and appropriate choral movement that reflect performance practice of the genre is allowed.
- An original score of each piece with measures numbered must be provided for the use of the judge in order for a final determination to be issued.
- Directors and accompanists may not conduct and/or play for more than 5 events on Friday, and no more than 5 events on Saturday morning or afternoon.
- Students may participate in up to 5 events, with no more than 3 occurring on Friday, Saturday morning or afternoon.
Sight Reading for Soloists
- Following performance, each soloist will proceed to the sight reading room.
- Only the soloist's director will be allowed in the sight reading room and may instruct the soloist.
- Prior to singing the passage, the soloist will be given time to study the exercise
- Each exercise will be 8 measures long.
- The adjudicator will establish the key as the soloist requests - starting pitch and/or tonic.
- The levels of proficiency are Primary, Intermediate and Advanced.
- Soloists may chose the level of sight reading to be performed. MYAF candidates must sight read at the Intermediate or Advanced Levels.
- The sight reading score will reflect the soloist’s knowledge of music fundamentals and sight reading ability.
- 9th grade soloists must adhere to senior high sight reading guidelines.
Sight Reading for Ensembles
- Prior to singing the passage, the ensemble will be given time to study the exercise.
- The key may be established by having the students sing scales or chord patterns.
- The director may change the key to best support the vocal abilities of the choir.
- Intervals contained in the exercise may be sung as long as they are not done in the sequence of the written material. For example, random intervals or patterns such as 1-3-5-3-1,1-6,1-4, etc. may be sung by the students in preparation. Directors may call attention to places where these occur in the exercise. They may not be rehearsed in the sequence in which they appear.
- The group may speak aloud the solfege, letter or number names preparatory to singing.
- Singers are allowed to discuss and/or vocalize with their neighbors during the prep time. The director may not assist by illustrating intervals or rhythms.
- The practice of "neighboring" shall not be a unified effort by a section or group of more than three students.
- Small and large ensembles desiring All-State Festival consideration must sight read at intermediate or higher.
- The ensemble’s performance will reflect its ability to understand and sight read the following:
Rhythm: note and rest values, feeling of pulse/tempo - appropriate and steady Pitch: pitches, tonality and intonation Other: Technique (either fixed or movable do, using either solfege, numbers, letter names, or neutral syllable(s)), concentration of group members, expression, phrasing, tone, quality
Final Determinations
Scores will be calculated by multiplying the performance judge's score by three and adding the sight reading judge's score.
Division I |
Excellent |
120 - 96 |
Division II |
Good |
95 - 72 |
Division III |
Fair |
71 - 46 |
Division IV |
Developing |
45 - 24 |
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Director of State Events
Kathy Cunningham
kathycunningham@msvma.org
Supervisor of State S & E Festivals Cindy Hunter
cindyhunter@msvma.org
State S&E Invitation
Central April 14 & 15, 2023 Districts 1, 2, 7 & 9 District 5: Bay, Clinton, Gratiot, Isabella & Midland Counties
Festival Coordinator Kathryn Becksvoort
kathrynbecksvoort@msvma.org
Host: McBain High School 107 E Maple St, McBain, MI 49657
East
March 17-18, 2023
Districts 3, 15 & 16
District 5: Shiawassee, Saginaw counties
District 8: Ingham, Eaton counties east of US127
Halie Watt
Festival Coordinator
haliewatt@msvma.org
Host: Eastern Michigan University
South
March 14-15, 2023
Districts: 4 & 12
District 8: Hillsdale, Jackson & Lenawee counties
Maxwell Trombley
Festival Coordinator
maxwelltrombley@msvma.org
Host: Northwest High School
4200 Van Horn Rd, Jackson, MI 49201
West March 24-25, 2023 District 8: Ingham and Eaton Counties west of US127 District 6, 10 & 11
Cindy Hunter
Festival Coordinator
cindyhunter@msvma.org
Anna Bolton
Host boltonann@apsfalcons.net
Allendale HS
10760 68th Ave
Allendale, MI 49401
UP April 14, 2023 Districts 13 & 14
Sheila Grazulis
Festival Coordinator
sheilagrazulis@msvma.org
Host: TBD
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