All-District Debriefing 12/8/01
General Observations:
Judges were much more random in the scales that they asked for. The 2000 auditions showed definite patterns that would've put students on notice. For example, each of my clarinet students was asked for one of their 3-octave scales (E, F, F# or G) last year, but several were asked this year for more innocuous combinations like B-flat and D.
Organization was very good at Carver MS, and score tabulation may be more computerized. At any rate, results were had very quickly, and the posting of results on the web helped to relieve crowding at the end of the day. The last folks were out of the building by 5:30pm.
Lack of lobby space at Carver MS made registration a long, cold wait for a record number of auditionees. This was further complicated by the fact that students were signed up in advance, and that each registration worker had to go through multiple lists. More tables and volunteers would've helped.
This year, individuals had to be signed up in advance to audition. Names were already on lists as students arrived. This probably made a great contribution to the fast tabulation of audition results.
Strange Items:
High school alto saxophonists were given their scale tempos by metronome, and a number of players reported being thrown off by it. I am told that this practice is an aberration and will probably not occur in the future. This was not done so far as I know with any of the other instruments.
Certain high school clarinetists were asked for as many as 4 major scales. It appears that the judges did this in cases where the students' chromatic scales were particularly impressive--possibly wanting the use the extra scales to help them in judging the top performers. I think that this helped make clarinet judging--a daunting task with over 100 players per judging team--more fair than last year. At least one band director disagrees with me, though.
Major Lessons:
Contrary to what I have been previously told, it is apparently better to start a botched scale over than to simply finish it as it. Full credit will not be given, but playing the corrected scale is helpful.
Lobby space is a critical factor for the auditioning school--particularly during registration. Carver falls short in this respect, and things would've been a nightmare if it had rained. A floor plan more like that of James River HS or Monacan HS would probably. Meadowbrook HS was very well set up for auditions.
Having auditions & final warmup take place on a different floor than initial warmup was a very good move by the host. It allowed maximum freedom of movement for students, while keeping the audition are completely closed off to unauthorized personnel. It was also a godsend to me, as I sought to greet and debrief each of my students following their audition.
All-District Audition Results:
YOU
ROCK!!!
2002 All-District Symphonic Band:
4th chair Alto Sax - Zach Anderson, 9gr, James River HS
1st chair Baritone Sax - Ben Bare, 11gr, Powhatan HS
7th chair Clarinet - Mary Bishop, 11gr, Monacan HS
15th chair Clarinet - Anna Manning, 12gr, James River HS*
2nd chair Bass Clarinet - Marcus Vaughn, 12gr, Colonial Heights HS*
2002 All-District Concert Band:
2nd chair Alto Sax - Jacob Neal, 11gr, Clover Hill HS
3rd chair Alto Sax - Ben Coffey, 10gr, James River HS
1st chair Tenor Sax - Jonathan Edge, 10gr, Clover Hill HS
9th chair Clarinet - Daniel Kim, 10gr, Colonial Heights HS
16th chair Clarinet - Josh Warriner, 9gr, Manchester HS
21st chair Clarinet - Desiree Raught, 11gr, Colonial Heights HS*
2002 All-District Middle School Band:
3rd chair Alto Sax - Ben Bracey, 8gr, Bailey Bridge MS
1st chair Clarinet - Kumiko Loftus, 8gr, Colonial Heights MS
2nd chair Clarinet - Michael Moore, 8gr, Providence MS*
4th chair Clarinet - Katie Collins, 7gr, Robious MS
5th chair Clarinet - Jane Coffey, 8gr, Robious MS
13th chair Clarinet - Susan McMahon, 8gr, Colonial Heights MS
16th chair Clarinet - Patrick Kennedy, 7gr, Robious MS*
19th chair Clarinet - Christopher Davis, 7gr, Manchester MS
20th chair Clarinet - Sarah Fagan, 7gr, Robious MS
* = former student