American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition 2015 Guidelines

American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition 2015 Guidelines (These Guidelines can also be accessed at www.astaweb.com/solo) 1) Eligibility A. Instrumental categories are Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Classical Guitar, and Harp. B. Participants must be ASTA members or students of a current professional ASTA member. Proof of membership is required. C. For the preliminary competition, participants will enter via online video submission. Finalists will be selected from the Preliminary Round to compete in the live Final Round. D. There are two levels for the online Preliminary Round, the Junior Division and the Senior Division. The Junior Division is open to musicians under the age of 19 as of March 20, 2015 (born on or after March 20, 1996). The Senior Division is open to musicians 19-25 as of March 20, 2015 (born on or after March 20, 1990 and before March 20, 1996). The live Final Round will consist of 6 finalists chosen from among entrants in both the Junior and Senior Divisions. E. A copy of an official document proving the entrant s birth date (e.g. birth certificate, passport, driver s license, etc.) MUST be submitted in a scanned.pdf format with the application. F. Previous Winners: All eligible previous entrants may enter the competition again, including previous National Finalists and Second Prize winners. Previous Grand Prize and First Prize winners in the Junior Division may not compete again in that division; however, they may enter the Senior Division if they will have attained their 19 th birthday by March 20, 2015. Previous Grand Prize and First Prize winners in the Senior Division are not eligible to compete further. 2) Awards and Prizes $5,000 Grand Prize award $1,000 Audience Favorite award Six Laureate Finalists will each receive a $1,000 prize and free conference registration 1

First Place and Second Place winners will be chosen for each instrument in each division in the online Preliminary Round. They will be awarded a medal and a certificate but no cash prize. Honorable Mention recipients will receive a certificate. All winners will get recognition on the ASTA website www.astaweb.com and in the August edition of the ASTA journal American String Teacher. 3) Competition Rounds A. Preliminary Round (video recorded) 1. Entries MUST be submitted online at the official DecisionDesk entry site. 2. Entries must be submitted by 11:59pm PDT of November 12, 2014 to qualify for the competition. 3. Entries MUST include all information requested on the National Solo Competition Official Entry Form, proof of date of birth, student and/or teacher ASTA membership ID number, and the $150 National entrance fee plus a $5 service fee collected by DecisionDesk. 4. Six Laureate Finalists will be selected from among both divisions. 5. Laureate Finalists will be notified by January 16, 2015. 6. Those selected as Laureate Finalists must notify the National Office by February 1, 2015 of their acceptance to participate in the Final Round in Salt Lake City on March 20, 2015. 7. For additional information regarding the online Preliminary Round see Sections 4, 5, and 7 below. B. Final Round (live) 1. The Final Round will take place on March 20, 2015 at ASTA s National Conference in Salt Lake City. 2. Six Laureate Finalists will compete for the Grand Prize and an Audience Favorite award. 3. Laureate Finalists must play exactly the same repertoire as in their Preliminary Round video. 4. For additional information regarding the live Final Round see Sections 4, 6, and 7 below. 4) Repertoire JUNIOR DIVISION The Junior Division is open to musicians under the age of 19 (born on or after March 20, 1996). VIOLIN J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from the Sonatas & Partitas or the Chaconne Kreisler: Danse Espagnole (4') VIOLA J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from the Cello Suites (or the violin Sonatas & Partitas) C. F. Zelter: Concerto, 1 st mvt. with cadenza (7') 2

CELLO J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from the Suites Popper: Hungarian Rhapsody, op. 68 (8') DOUBLE BASS J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from the Cello Suites Koussevitsky: Concerto, 1 st mvt. (~6') GUITAR J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from a solo work or the Chaconne Mauro Giuliani: Sonata in C Major, op. 15, 2 nd mvt. (~7') HARP J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from a solo work Sophia Dussek: Sonata in C minor, op. 2, no. 3 (formerly attributed to Johann Dussek Zabeleta edition) complete (~7') SENIOR DIVISION The Senior Division is open to musicians ages 19-25 (born on or after March 20, 1990 and before March 20, 1996). VIOLIN J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from the Sonatas & Partitas or the Chaconne Sarasate: Caprice Basque (6 30 ) VIOLA J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from the Cello Suites (or the violin Sonatas & Partitas) Enesco: Concertstück (9') CELLO J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from the Suites Boccherini: Sonata in A major, Adagio & Allegro (~8') DOUBLE BASS J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from the Cello Suites Bottesini: Concerto in A minor, 3 rd mvt. (York edition) (~6') 3

GUITAR Bach: two contrasting movements from a solo work or the Chaconne Hans Werner Henze: Drei Tentos (~7') HARP J.S. Bach: two contrasting movements from a solo work Parish-Alvars: Serenade no. 83 (~7') B. Further repertoire guidelines and considerations: 1. The total amount of performance time for the Final Round is limited to 15 minutes including the required work, solo Bach, and free choice. In the Final Round, entrants must begin with the required work and performances will be stopped when 15 minutes has elapsed. The cutting of lengthy piano tutti sections of concertos is strongly encouraged. Judges may stop finalists at any point within a given piece to ask for other prepared repertoire. 3. Complete works or complete movements from multi-movement works will be required of all entrants. 4. No composer may be represented more than once in each entrant s program. Entrants may not use required repertoire composers for the free choice piece. Multiple movements of the same work are permitted but three composers MUST be represented. 5. All works (including sonatas) must be played from memory. 5) Preliminary Round: Video Recording A. Each entrant must present all of the required repertoire on the video recordings submitted online. Each video should have complete movements, e.g. no one should stop before a movement or the whole piece (if it has only a single movement) is finished. There is no time limit for repertoire in the Preliminary Round. B. All works intended to be played with piano accompaniment must be recorded with a piano accompaniment. C. All works (including sonatas) must be played from memory. D. The repertoire stipulations stated in Section 4 of these guidelines apply to all video recordings. E. DecisionDesk accepts the following video formats: mp4 (preferred), mpeg, mpg, ogg, mov, avi, wmv, m4v, vob F. Application, a scanned.pdf of birthdate documentation, and online payments of application fees must be submitted at the time of video submission. 4

G. Audition Video Requirements Each applicant will submit 3 video files. Each video file should contain a complete work, a complete single movement (or movements) from a multi-movement work, or the two Bach movements. Incomplete movements or incomplete single-movement works will be disqualified. Videos must not be edited in any way. The applicant must remain on screen at all times. Videos must not include the spoken or embedded name of the entrant or his/her teacher either in the video itself or in an introduction; videos that that do so may be disqualified. Individual files can be as large as 5 GB, but keep in mind that upload speed is dependent upon both your file size and the speed of your internet connection. Files larger than 50 MB may take some time to upload. Make sure your connection is stable and do not allow your computer to go into sleep or hibernation mode while your files are uploading. Please allow sufficient time to prepare and upload videos before the submission deadline. H. Each composition or movement must be recorded without editing; edited performances will be disqualified. Recording in a concert hall or recording studio with professional level equipment is suggested. For concert hall recordings the microphone should be placed approximately six to eight feet in front and above the contestant. Studio microphone placement will depend on the equipment available. Entrants should submit as high quality recording as possible. I. A panel of distinguished musicians will judge the video recordings submitted in the Preliminary Round and select the 6 Laureate Finalists as well as the First and Second Place winners and Honorable Mention recipients who do not advance to the finals. (N.B. The adjudicators are not obliged to make these awards.) J. The repertoire stipulations in Section 4 of these guidelines apply to all Preliminary Round submissions. (Entrants who advance to the Final Round must play must play exactly the same repertoire as in their video submission.) K. Preliminary Round video recordings must be submitted by 11:59pm PDT of November 12, 2014 to qualify for the competition. Late entries will automatically be disqualified. L. Laureate Finalists will be selected and notified by January 16, 2015 and are encouraged to contact their respective ASTA state chapters to inquire about the possibility of receiving funds to help subsidize the expenses of competing in the Final Round. 6) Final Round: Live A. A panel of distinguished musicians will adjudicate the Final Round on March 20, 2015 at ASTA s National Conference in Salt Lake City. All decisions of this panel will be final. The Grand Prize will be awarded only if there is an outstanding finalist; the adjudicators are not obliged to award this prize. The Grand Prize winner will be announced at the conclusion of the Final Round, as will the Audience Favorite. 5

B. Six Laureate Finalists each of whom will receive $1,000 chosen from among the Preliminary Junior and Senior Division entrants, will compete for the $5000 Grand Prize in the live Final Round, which will take place on Friday night, March 20, 2015 at the National Conference in Salt Lake City. In addition, the audience will select an Audience Favorite (to be voted on by concert attendees using cell phone technology), who will receive an additional $1,000. C. Laureate Finalists must play exactly the same repertoire as in their Preliminary Round video and they must begin with the required work. Judges may stop finalists at any point within a given piece to ask for other prepared repertoire and they will be stopped when 15 minutes has elapsed. The cutting of lengthy piano tutti sections of concertos is strongly encouraged. D. In the event that an online entrant is selected to be a Laureate Finalist but cannot attend the National Conference to compete in the live Final Round, he/she will forfeit the $1000 award and the designation of Laureate Finalist, but will still receive the First Place medal and certificate. E. Laureate Finalists must supply their own piano accompanist (ASTA will provide a list of local Salt Lake City accompanists) and they will be provided a rehearsal space for one hour with their accompanist on the day prior to the competition. Any additional rehearsal time with the accompanist must be arranged by the finalist at a different practice facility (a list of rehearsal locations will be provided). 7) Fees A. All entries submitted to the preliminary round must be accompanied by an ASTA entrance fee of $150 as well as the ASTA Solo Competition Entry Form. Note: DecisionDesk will collect an additional $5 fee for application processing. All entry fees must be paid via credit card on the upload site. B. Any inquiries or questions should be addressed to: Libby Dietrich ASTA Staff Contact Email: libby@astaweb.com or 703-279-2113 x20 Jeffrey Solow 2015 National Solo Competition Chair Email: solowcello@gmail.com 6