AUDITION RULES, PROCEDURES & INFO

To Register, log in to your profile on www.nats.org and click on the green “NATS Audition Registration” button
  1. "Years of Study" shall constitute a completed year of study. If a student has completed any portion of a year, beyond a year, student must automatically advance to the higher category. Therefore, if a student has had 2.5 years of study the student should enter in the 3-5 years of study category, regardless of age. Students taking a "gap year" after high school should enroll in Lower College, even if they are not currently enrolled in a collegiate program  Lower College is defined as "0-2 years post-high school training".
  2. Repertoire must meet the requirements of the categories described above and must represent diverse styles, composers, and musical periods.
  3. Repertoire should not have been used in previous Student Auditions. It is advised that students keep a copy of their application/s to avoid disqualification.
  4. All repertoire must be performed from memory with the exception of Oratorio, Mass, Requiem, and Cantata Arias.  Singers may hold music scores for these types of arias as is traditional performance practice.
  5. All pieces must be performed in their original language, unless otherwise noted.
  6. Singing for comments - we encourage students of all ages and levels who may not be interested in or ready for competition to sing for comments alone.
  7. Accompaniment for video recording: Students may provide their own accompaniment or hire an official NATS Collaborative Pianist for accompaniment.  Students may use pre-recorded accompaniments such as karaoke tracks (piano only), Hal Leonard Virtual Library, Appcompanist, PianoTrax, etc.  Note:  NATS is allowing teachers to accompany their students in video auditions while COVID-19 precautions are in place.
  8. Accompaniment for in person auditions: Students may provide their own accompanist or select to hire an official NATS Collaborative Pianist for the day of the audition. NATS Collaborative Pianists are available at the following rates:
           - $30 for auditions of 3 or less songs
           - $40 for auditions of 4 or more songs
    Select the official NATS Collaborative Pianist when registering with AuditionWare.  Fee includes a brief rehearsal on the day of the audition and the 8-15 minute audition.  Additional rehearsals before the audition day may be requested pending pianist availability, at the rate of $25/half hour.
  9. Students may enter classical, musical theatre and CCM divisions and must pay application fees for each division entered.
  10. Only original music or approved copies are allowed, in accordance with the NATS Copyright Policy.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION  
FALL REGISTRATION 
  1. Online registration begins Sept 26th.
  2. All fees are due by Oct 13th
  3. Registration closes Oct 24th, 9:59pm
SPRING REGISTRATION 
  1. Online registration begins March 14th
  2. All fees are due by March 31st
  3. Registration closes April 10th
To access the AuditionWare site, teachers must login to NATS.org, click on Member Home, scroll down, and click the green button "NATS AUDITION REGISTRATION".  
ENTRY FEES 
  1. $30 per category, all ages
  2. All applicable fees will be collected online through AuditionWare.
  3. Entry fees are non-refundable


ADJUDICATION
  1. All teachers who submit students to the Student Auditions are expected to adjudicate via Auditionware for the event. If a teacher is unable to adjudicate, they must submit a $40 non-attendance fee. 
  2. There will be a Zoom meeting for adjudicators to instruct all teachers on the online adjudication process (TBA).  A recording of this meeting will be posted on our website, www.natssd.org.  All teachers must view this information before starting.
  3. Adjudication will take place:    
    FALL:  October 27 - November 2        SPRING:  April 14 - April 21
    Teachers may watch the videos and fill in the forms at any point during these 7 days (you can start and come back at a later time, as well).  You MUST leave enough time to complete all of the scheduled auditions before 9:59pm on the last day.
 
SCHEDULING 
  1. All registrations, with video links, must be submitted by:      
    FALL:  October 24th, 9:59pm            SPRING:  April 10, 9:59pm
    Late entrants/changes will not be considered.
  2. Teachers will be notified of the results on:    
    FALL:  November 4th                SPRING:  April 22nd


ADJUDICATION, AWARDS & NOTIFICATION 

  1. The Auditions Chair and Committee will fairly enforce the rules and regulations in order to fulfill the Mission of the Student Auditions. The Auditions Chair shall be the final authority regarding the rules and regulations.
  2. Contestants will be assigned a number and their names will not be known to the judges.
  3. If any division has less than five entries the division will be combined with its counter- category.
  4. Previous 1st place winners are ineligible to compete for placement in the same category the following year, but may participate for judges' comments or compete at the next higher level.  If they are still of age, they can return to the level they won in the 3rd year.
  5. We encourage students of all ages and levels who may not be interested in or ready for competition to sing for comments alone.
  6. During the online adjudication process, if there is a suspected rules or guidelines violation, one Adjudicator will notify the Auditions Chair who will make a ruling on the matter. The decision of the Auditions Chair is final.
  7. All singers will participate in the Preliminary Round, and the top three singers with a score above 90 from each category will place.  Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place.  Awards will be given at the discretion of the judges. The awards are primarily intended to be recognition of the singers’ achievement. The judges reserve the right to award no winners if there are an insufficient number of entries in any given division.
  8. Teachers will be notified of the results of the competition on November 4th / April 22nd
  9. The Honors Concert on November 6th  will feature one pre-selected video for each 1st Place winner. Video links for 2nd Place, 3rd Place and Honorable Mentions will be included in the program for friends and loved ones to view
  10. Video Permission for Minors - The safety of your students' privacy is important to us.  We believe we have created a plan to ensure privacy for all students as well as celebrate them in a safe online community environment.  
    1. During the adjudication process, videos will only be able to be accessed by the three adjudicators in your category.
    2. A link to the live Zoom Honor's Concert and the concert program (which will include links to 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention winners' videos) will be sent to NATS SD members and adjudicators only.  Winners will be permitted to share the links with friends and family members so that those people can join the concert live.  Only people with the link can join the Zoom Concert.
    3. A recording of the concert and a copy of the program will be available in the password protected section of the NATS SD website (only NATS SD members can view).  
    4. There will be no streaming onto Facebook or other social media platforms of the Honor's Concert.
    5. If a singer is uncomfortable having their video posted to our private site as part of the Zoom recording of the Honor's Concert, then we can celebrate that singer without featuring their video during the concert or in the program.
    6. Students will receive their prize regardless of whether or not they elect to have their video shared.
  11. Judges will provide written evaluations of each performer. These evaluations are quite useful to the student and teacher.
  12. Award Certificates and winner’s checks will be mailed to teachers after the event.

NOTIFICATIONS
Please direct any questions to Jennifer D'Onofrio, Student Auditions Chair:  jen5@donofriomusic.com 
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