All State

Has anyone here ever done All State (NYSSMA or any other state competitions.) What's it like (auditions and everything)? I'm doing it in a month and I'm so nervous! Can someone give me advice on my performance? I'm doing Tu Lo Sai (an Italian soprano song).

all state is sooooooooo mega fun!!

okay, here's my #1 tip for you - when you go to auditions, don't get freaked out by the other girls who are going to be singing. they'll all be standing around the warm-up piano singing as loud and as high as they can trying to show off. this does NOT matter. seriously. even if they sound like they're 35 and warming up to go onstage at the met - this does NOT matter. at my new englands audition (much like all state, only for all of new england), my judge was happy to hear that i had an age-appropriate voice; aka i wasn't trying to sound older than i am.

tip #2 - do NOT look the adjudicator in the eye. it's just weird and they usually don't like it.

tip #3 - i ALWAYS forget about my posture, but it's the first thing they see!! make sure you stand up straight, smile, and remember that your audition starts as SOON as you walk in the room. be friendly, introduce yourself, give a brief introduction of your song ("i will be performing 'tu lo sai' by..."). you don't need to give a translation because they will already know it.

after your performance, expect criticism from your adjudicator. some judges do, some don't. in general, they are VERRRRRRRRRRY nice about this...but do be prepared for it. i have seen girls come out crying saying that they didn't know they would be given criticism. don't do that. there's no need to cry, i can guarantee they have seen much worse. and probably some better. but a LOT worse!!

after a few weeks, your choral director will recieve your audition form back with your score and comments. there will be a state-wide cutoff score for sopranos (for us it's usually about 100-110/115). the soprano cutoff will ALWAYS be higher than all the other voices - that's just the way it is. whether you get in or not, look at their comments seriously - most of the time they are very constructive and articulate.

good luck, i hope you get in!!!!!!!!!!!

maggie

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Hahaha, NYSSMA memories. I certainly don't have a voice, but I auditioned in clarinet my last two years. I made area all-state, not all-state, oh well. The fact that sopranos get higher voices is probably akin to flute being the hardest instrument to get into anything--a couple years in all-county and area all-state I had friends who were flutists who got a higher score than me not make it but I did. At least one of my best friends got area all-state last year.

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In Pennsylvania, you had to make it through Districts and Regionals first...All State qualification was based on your chair rank in Regionals, which was, of course, based on your chair rank in Districts.

It sucked, though...they had ALL the festivals (Band, orch, choir) on the same weekend, so you had to pick one if you qualified for more than one, and I qualified for all three every year. O, the heartache! O, the misery! O, the chance to share a hotel room with strange high school music boys!

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sorry... double post

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Updated On: 3/31/05 at 07:51 PM

Wow, all of this helped so much. I too am auditioning for NY All-State, and I am already nervous. If I miss a day of practice (that includes just picking up my viola and scratching out the terrible cord section over and over) I flip out, but I feel like this has helped me too. I didnt have any idea what to expect. Thanks so much for pointing out the thing about criticism too, because I come out crying if I mess up the smallest thing. That would so put me over the edge if I didn;t know.

Is it true that the All State judges are way way harder on you than the level 5/6 judges?

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Yes, at least for NYSSMA, the all-state judges tend to be harder on you than normal level 6. I don't know how it quite works for viola, but for clarinet, I had to have an accompanist for all-state, not for level 6. I think they're still pretty on for accuracy, but I think they're harder in the tune/tone/posture parts of the score. One year in area all-state and all-county I think to equivelate all-state and level 6's they added 3 points to all-state scores which made it comprable with a level 6 score, so I guess on average an all-state score may be 3 points lower. Hope that helps, and don't worry so much! I was always tough on myself after getting out, and always did better than I thought. And my first couple of years, I cried the night before b/c I thought I was horrible, just don't get down on yourself--and have confidence!

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yay i recently finished all county and it was soo fun! and today i just got my NYSSMA solo today- On the street where you live (My Fair Lady) SOO EXCITED

That's so great! Less than a month until my audition and I haven't had a voice lesson in a month. Also, I'm only having two between now and NYSSMA.

My daughter has done these with her flute and now for voice. You have been getting excellent advice, but I would like to add several things:
Dress well- I have seen everything from overalls to oufits that looked like they belonged in the chorus of "Sweet Charity". Something tasteful and age appropriate for you. I have gone a few rounds with my daughter on this one, but she has gotten many "thank you for dressing respectfully" comments on her score sheets.
Site Reading is Important!
Remember to thank all the people that are working there, not just your judge, and tossing in an few "sirs" and "ma'ams" will go a long way!
Good luck and Have Fun!

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