HIGH SCHOOL | MUSIKVEREIN

Application Details

Ready to apply? Follow the steps outlined below to submit your application materials.

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How to Apply

The honor of participation in the Honors Ensembles is offered to talented high school students identified an international pool of applicants. To be considered, you must be in US grades 9-12 (or equivalent international study level) during the 2020-2021 school year and submit a complete electronic application, in which all required information - as well as all supplemental files (audition recording, etc.) - are submitted online.

Please note: Enrollment for the 2021 Series is now closed.

How and When to Submit Your Materials

Please submit all application materials as soon as possible in order to ensure a timely review of your application. Each application component must be submitted individually using the links in the appropriate section below.

Required Application Materials

All applications must complete the following 4 steps.

Application Form and Deposit
Teacher Nomination or Recommendation
Performing Biography
Audition Recording

All required components must be received on or before the application deadline for an application to be considered by our Selection Board.

Step 1: Complete Application Form

If you have received an Invitation Number, please be sure to include this on your application form; this number will allow us to determine whether you have already been nominated.

In order to give appropriate attention to all applications, our Selection Board prefers to receive materials sooner than later; applicants must electronically upload all required application materials to our website on or before September 23, 2020, to be eligible for the 2021 Series.

If you are not selected as a Finalist, all but a $15 application review fee will be refunded—the application deposit is non-refundable for participants who withdraw after the final application deadline. Please note that the total program cost does not change based on the time a student’s application is received.

Once you have completed the online application form, you will receive an automated email that includes your Customer Account Number. This will be different than your Invitation Number and should be used as you submit your remaining application materials so we can properly link these submissions to your application.

Step 2: Obtain a Teacher Recommendation

If you have already received a Teacher Nomination (or were automatically nominated due to past musical achievements), your invitation materials will indicate that no additional nomination is required. Simply include your Invitation Number on your application form and your nomination will automatically be linked to your application.

Students who have not yet received a Teacher Nomination are welcome to apply; they will simply need to request a music professional endorse their application through our Recommendation Request Form below. A recommendation from any music professional (school teacher, private instructor, etc.) who is familiar with your musical abilities is appropriate.

If you have any questions about whether your application requires a recommendation, please contact us at honors@honorsperformance.org (including your Invitation Number, if you have one), and we’ll be happy to clarify your invitation status.

Request a Recommendation

Step 3: Complete the Performing Biography Form

Provide more information about yourself and your musical background by completing the brief Performing Biography form. Please use your Customer Account Number, included in the confirmation email sent after completing the online application form (see above), so we can match your biography to your application.

Complete Your Performing Biography

Step 4: Submit an Audio Recording

Each student must submit an audition recording by uploading a digital file with their application. Please review the below audition recording requirements in their entirety before recording your submission.

Recordings must meet the following criteria:

Recordings may consist of one or multiple pieces and should total between 3 and 5 minutes for each instrument/voice part for which you are auditioning (except percussionists – see below). Recordings will not be disqualified if they are slightly over or under this guideline.
Begin each piece with a verbal introduction of yourself, the instrument/voice part for which you are auditioning, and the piece that you will be playing (for example: “My name is John Smith, and the following is the suggested audition etude for snare drum.”).
Recordings should be audio-only (no videos, please) and submitted in MP3 or M4A format only. Please note: While we do our best to notify students if we encounter a problem with your audition recording, we cannot guarantee that the Selection Board will be able to review your submission if it is not submitted in the required format.
Include your first and last name and instrument/voice part for which you are auditioning in the file name.
Recordings may not be engineered or enhanced in any manner.
You may audition on more than one instrument and you may audition as both an instrumentalist and a vocalist. In both cases, you only need to submit one application form, deposit, Director Nomination, and Performing Biography. You should submit a unique recording for each instrument/voice part on which you wish to apply.
All applicants are encouraged to prepare one of the sample etudes listed below. See below for information about the selection of additional audition pieces.

Vocalists:

Vocalists should prepare a piece from Schirmer’s Library of Musical Classics, Twenty-Four Italian Songs & Arias of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.
If desired, vocalists may select and record an additional classical piece which they feel best demonstrates their abilities.
Your recording must be a solo performance, though piano accompaniment is encouraged.

Instrumentalists:

If you wish to audition on an instrument not listed below, please select a technical piece (or pieces) that you feel best demonstrate(s) your musical abilities. Classical pieces are preferred but not required.
All performances must be solo, without accompaniment.

Instrumentalist should prepare one of the following sample etudes, and if desired, may play an additional technical piece of their choosing.

Clarinet – Bass
Clarinet – Bb
Bassoon
Cello
English Horn
French Horn
Euphonium

Flute & Piccolo
Oboe
Percussion – See Below
Saxophone – Alto
Saxophone – Bari
Saxophone – Tenor

String Bass
Trombone
Trumpet
Tuba
Viola
Violin

Percussionists should include solos of the below etudes for snare, timpani, and marimba. You may also select an additional solo, if desired, that demonstrates your technical abilities on one of these or another percussion instrument. Please clearly identify each piece and instrument in your recording. Your total recording time for all audition recordings should be approximately 3-5 minutes. Please label your recordings clearly as to which instrument is featured in each.

Snare: Portraits in Rhythm by Antony Cirone, Etude No. 6 – page 8
Timpani: The Solo Timpanist by Vic Firth, Etude No. 18 (XVIII) – page 33
Marimba: Masterpieces for Marimba arr. by Thomas McMillan, Sonata in E MAJOR by Handel – page 22 (play to the end of measure 24; no repeats)

Submit Your Audition Recording

Evaluation Process and Selection of Finalists

Once you submit your application:

Applicants will receive an official confirmation email within approximately 2-3 weeks of the Series‘ receipt of your materials. The Series will use the email address(es) you provide on your application to send a number of official program communications.
Once a completed application is received, it will be reviewed by our Board of professional musicians to select Finalists for the Honors Ensembles. The 2021 High School Honors Performance Series is planned to feature a mixed choir, a concert band, and an orchestra (format TBD). The Selection Board considers applicants equally for all relevant ensembles.
Performers selected for the program to perform as part of the Honors Ensembles are designated as Finalists and will be notified by email on approximately February 1, 2021. Accepted Finalists are assigned to an ensemble based upon the recommendations of our Selection Board to satisfy balance requirements for each ensemble, as well as to maintain an equally high level of musicality for all ensembles. The Series cannot guarantee that, if accepted, an applicant will be placed into a specific ensemble.
Applicants who are not accepted will also be notified of their status by email: Runner-up (waitlisted) or Deferred (not waitlisted and not accepted).
Finalist and First Runner-up notifications will be sent via email to the address(es) listed on your account around February 1, 2021.
Accepted Finalists should expect to receive their sheet music and Conductor’s rehearsal notes in Spring 2021.
After acceptance, should any Finalist cancel their participation, a First Runner-up will be offered the opportunity to fill the open seat.