Regionals
Okay, so regionals were...interesting. My audition went terribly. I know I made the cut for regionals, but I have no idea about all-state, and that was what I was really aiming for. The judges in our room were really hard. So were the ones next to us. But I have no idea about the other two alto judges, which means I don't know what scores other people got, which makes me very uncomfortable about the situation. So here are my scores.
Solo Evaluation:
with a strong sense of tonality/intonation - 5 (highest value)
Pitch accuracy - 8 (all but 1 or 2 pitches accurately)
Rhythm accuracy - 8 (all but 1 or 2 rhythms accurately)
Utilizes appropriate posture for efficient breathing - 3/5
performs with efficient breath management - 5/5
performs with an open vocal tract - 5/5
performs with clarity and resonance - 3/5
performs register transitions without severe quality changes - 5/5
words correctly, intelligbly, and with correct syllabic stress -3/5
vowels appropriately - 3/5
consonants clearly and rhythmically - 3/5
visually communicates an understanding of the music/text - 3/5
performs the song with dynamic contrast - 5/5
performs appropriate articulation style - 5/5
performs phrases with shape and direction - 5/5
Total - 69/85
Scale:
with good intonation - 5/5
rhythm accurately at a consistent tempo - 3/5
with acceptable rone quality in all registers - 5/5
Total - 13/15
Sight-Singing: (ugh)
Pitch/tonal accuracy - 3 (performs many pitches accurately but maintains
original key/tonality)
Rhythmic accuracy - 3 (performs many rhythms accurately and maintains a steady
tempo)
Expression - 2 (performs a few musical phrases and indicated dynamics with
acceptable vocal technique)
Total - 8/15
Total Score - 90/115
So this is a lot lower than I expected. Especially on the solo. I thought I did really well! I really think they scored me wrong on pronunciation especially. And they were contradicting themselves too. They said in comments "nice clear tone" but gave me 3 points for performing with clarity and resonance. Steph got a 97 and Kathleen got a 92. Kathleen's really worried about making all-state. Steph's actually worried that we won't make regionals, since she has the highest alto score from my school, but we know she's going to make both. She's just stressing since it's her senior year and she's going to be a vocal performance major. Last year the alto cut-off for all-state auditions was 95 and regionals was 85. Auditions were a lot harder this year, so I might make all-state if the regionals cut-off is 80 or lower. I'm really hoping it will be. For me and Kathleen. She was really excited about it since she went last year, and if I'm going to Spain, the only other time I could possibly make it is senior year.
Oh, and another thing about the judges. When Kathleen came out, she was freaking out because during sight-singing, they refused to give her her starting pitch. They're supposed to give you your starting pitch, give you thirty seconds to figure it out, and then give you the starting pitch again. They wouldn't give us the starting pitch before the thirty seconds though. So Kathleen went and complained to the head judge and he came after I went. She thought that he would give us an extra point or two, but he just told them to give the last two people the pitch. So Melissa got it and I didn't. I think that's really not fair! I took forever trying to find a pitch in my head to match the pitch on the paper and lost my time and screwed up the piece! I only got 8 out of 15! My score would be 97 if I had all those points!
Okay, well I'm kind of tired now. We were waiting to get into the room for 5 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so ridiculous! All the band and orchestra people came up to talk to us for a couple hours after they finished. I would have done so much better if we didn't have to wait so long. I warmed up at 10 and performed at 4! My voice was so horrible. It CRACKED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SONG!!!!!!!!!!! Jon said nothing came out of his mouth at all for the first half of his song! I felt so bad for him. He got an 85, Mo got a 49, Derrick and Kim both got a 76, Mike Yanofsky got a 59, Rachel Lafolle got a 67, Melissa got a 70, and Kyle got an 85. I felt so bad for them! Some of them will make the cut, but they won't make all-state. But you should have heard Chris Banach! His run on Vittoria! Vittoria! is so beautiful it makes me want to cry! He has the most AMAZING voice and he doesn't really realize it. Everyone in the world should hear his voice!
I think I should stop rambling about vocal technique and people you don't know. I think only Tammy cares about the vocal technique stuff. I highly doubt anyone has read this whole thing, but if you have, good for you! Thanks!
Solo Evaluation:
with a strong sense of tonality/intonation - 5 (highest value)
Pitch accuracy - 8 (all but 1 or 2 pitches accurately)
Rhythm accuracy - 8 (all but 1 or 2 rhythms accurately)
Utilizes appropriate posture for efficient breathing - 3/5
performs with efficient breath management - 5/5
performs with an open vocal tract - 5/5
performs with clarity and resonance - 3/5
performs register transitions without severe quality changes - 5/5
words correctly, intelligbly, and with correct syllabic stress -3/5
vowels appropriately - 3/5
consonants clearly and rhythmically - 3/5
visually communicates an understanding of the music/text - 3/5
performs the song with dynamic contrast - 5/5
performs appropriate articulation style - 5/5
performs phrases with shape and direction - 5/5
Total - 69/85
Scale:
with good intonation - 5/5
rhythm accurately at a consistent tempo - 3/5
with acceptable rone quality in all registers - 5/5
Total - 13/15
Sight-Singing: (ugh)
Pitch/tonal accuracy - 3 (performs many pitches accurately but maintains
original key/tonality)
Rhythmic accuracy - 3 (performs many rhythms accurately and maintains a steady
tempo)
Expression - 2 (performs a few musical phrases and indicated dynamics with
acceptable vocal technique)
Total - 8/15
Total Score - 90/115
So this is a lot lower than I expected. Especially on the solo. I thought I did really well! I really think they scored me wrong on pronunciation especially. And they were contradicting themselves too. They said in comments "nice clear tone" but gave me 3 points for performing with clarity and resonance. Steph got a 97 and Kathleen got a 92. Kathleen's really worried about making all-state. Steph's actually worried that we won't make regionals, since she has the highest alto score from my school, but we know she's going to make both. She's just stressing since it's her senior year and she's going to be a vocal performance major. Last year the alto cut-off for all-state auditions was 95 and regionals was 85. Auditions were a lot harder this year, so I might make all-state if the regionals cut-off is 80 or lower. I'm really hoping it will be. For me and Kathleen. She was really excited about it since she went last year, and if I'm going to Spain, the only other time I could possibly make it is senior year.
Oh, and another thing about the judges. When Kathleen came out, she was freaking out because during sight-singing, they refused to give her her starting pitch. They're supposed to give you your starting pitch, give you thirty seconds to figure it out, and then give you the starting pitch again. They wouldn't give us the starting pitch before the thirty seconds though. So Kathleen went and complained to the head judge and he came after I went. She thought that he would give us an extra point or two, but he just told them to give the last two people the pitch. So Melissa got it and I didn't. I think that's really not fair! I took forever trying to find a pitch in my head to match the pitch on the paper and lost my time and screwed up the piece! I only got 8 out of 15! My score would be 97 if I had all those points!
Okay, well I'm kind of tired now. We were waiting to get into the room for 5 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so ridiculous! All the band and orchestra people came up to talk to us for a couple hours after they finished. I would have done so much better if we didn't have to wait so long. I warmed up at 10 and performed at 4! My voice was so horrible. It CRACKED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SONG!!!!!!!!!!! Jon said nothing came out of his mouth at all for the first half of his song! I felt so bad for him. He got an 85, Mo got a 49, Derrick and Kim both got a 76, Mike Yanofsky got a 59, Rachel Lafolle got a 67, Melissa got a 70, and Kyle got an 85. I felt so bad for them! Some of them will make the cut, but they won't make all-state. But you should have heard Chris Banach! His run on Vittoria! Vittoria! is so beautiful it makes me want to cry! He has the most AMAZING voice and he doesn't really realize it. Everyone in the world should hear his voice!
I think I should stop rambling about vocal technique and people you don't know. I think only Tammy cares about the vocal technique stuff. I highly doubt anyone has read this whole thing, but if you have, good for you! Thanks!