Middle-Level Honor Choir

As we near the 2022 NDACDA State Conference, I would like to update you on some important event details. This annual event has proven to provide a high-quality opportunity for our middle school students. I do not have any doubts that 2022 will not disappoint! We are very excited to be bringing both Victor Johnson and Dr. Kira Winter to work with our students.

With the audition process not far in the past, I wanted to make sure to communicate with teachers of a few tips. Paige and I have tried to post clear directions and simplify the process with the uploading option to the Google forms, but we both understand that there’s always areas that could be missed or misunderstood. We hope that the tips and reminders below can be saved in your files to help ease the process next year! Also, always know that we are more than welcome to help and answer your questions.

1. Overall, the uploading seemed to work very well this year! The only issue that we noticed were that a few people had their files mislabeled. The labeling is very important because when you submit them they are then moved into separate folders and sorted by voice part. Some students were listed as alto on the student form, but their files were labeled soprano. Also, please remember to use the following format when submitting: Part-LastName-FirstName-Solo (Example: Alto-

Hanson-Lacey-Solo or Alto-Hanson-Lacey-America) 2. Please check your files before submitting. We try our best to listen to every single submission, but keep in mind we had close to 500 auditions! Some accidently sent the solo twice and had one labeled as “America”, some were blank, and others had some sound quality issues. (very soft – hard to hear the student, reverb, buzzing in the background, etc.) Also, please note for next year that

“America” must be unaccompanied. We did have some submit files that had it accompanied. When it comes to the recording quality, we all understand that everyone has different types of recorders. We are very lucky that NDACDA has purchased multiple zoom recorders for members to check out and use to record their auditions. If you are interested in this, please contact Brian Saylor at: brian_saylor@bismarckschools.org 3. When you are submitting your forms, please do not close out of the window too

quickly after clicking “submit”. We noticed this year that some of the “America” files (the last to be uploaded) were randomly missing from the submissions. After talking with others the only thing we could come up with is that the teacher may have closed too soon after submitting and the audio file didn’t get uploaded completely. 4. Once selections are announced, please remember to submit both the school and the student registration Google forms. T-shirts cannot be ordered until all of the student forms are submitted. Also, remember to print off the consent/ behavior forms from the NDACDA site and keep them for while you’re at the conference. The forms do not need to be sent to Paige or myself. 5. When submitting checks to Paige, please make them out to “NDACDA” vs.

“ACDA”. Also, please keep in mind that the checks need to be postmarked by the deadline to have their auditions considered!

We had another year of high-quality auditions from across our state. They are truly an example of the outstanding Music educators representing ND! Our judges had a lot of great comments and were very impressed with the talent within our state. Below are some of the common comments from all of the judges. Please keep

these in mind when recording next year’s auditions: 1. Phrasing – each judge noted that the phrasing on “America” was one item that set students apart. Some suggested singing it at a slower tempo. 2. Tone quality: Some noted breathy tone, pop style voices, and scooping (especially on “America”). 3. Sound quality: Some heard reverb, buzzing, and volume issues (mic/recorder too close or too far from the singer). 4. Diction: This is a vital part of both the solo and “America” that some directors forget about. Several of the judges noted that this was an area that was lower for some students.

If you have students participating in the upcoming Honor Choirs, please keep in mind the following and know that if there are any schedule changes we will notify you all via email and on the NDACDA website. 1. February 4-5 at St. Mary’s High School, Bismarck. (Registration begins at 12:30 and rehearsals start at 1:00) 2. Dress-Code (please reference the NDACDA website and upcoming emails as we near the event) – Friday’s concert is the Honor Choir t-shirt and nice jeans. Saturday: Girls – dress or dress pants; blouse; skirt/dress falling BELOW the knees. Boys –dress pants/dress shirt/tie/dress shoes. 3. Please reference the NDACDA website for bios on the guest conductors, full schedules, and rehearsal files. https://www.ndacda.com/junior-high-all-statehonor-choirs

Congratulations to all of your students and to all of the directors! You are all doing an amazing job and it shows with these amazing auditions. Please let us know if you have any questions, or suggestions to make this process clearer for everyone. We look forward to seeing you all in February!

Lacey Hanson Center-Stanton Public School

NDACDA Middle School/Junior High R&R Co-Chair