All-East Choirs ETVA Policy Manual All-East Choirs Table of Contents General Information... 1 Guest Conductor Selection... 2 Music for All-East... 2 Assignment of Alternates... 3 Freshman Honor Choir Procedures... 3 Student Regulations... 4 Teacher Responsibilities... 5 Appendix E: All-East Choir Chair Duties... 6 Appendix F: All-East Chair Duties... 8 Appendix G: All-East General Chair Duties... 9 I. General Information A. There are four All-East Choirs for high school students: Mixed Choir, Men s Choir, Women s Choir, and Freshman Honor Choir. B. To be eligible students in the Mixed Choir, Men s Choir, or Women s Choir must have been assigned to an All-East chorus based on their audition and must have passed their screening audition. Students in the Freshman Honor Choir are not required to audition or screen. C. All-East shall meet the third Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in November. D. The site for All-East will be determined by the Executive Board. E. Rehearsals will begin on Thursday at 7:30 PM and will be full rehearsals with the guest conductor. F. All-East student participation fees are posted on the ETVA website. G. Concert attire for All-East High School Choirs is as follows: TB White tux shirt or white long- sleeve button- down shirt with black bow tie, black tux pants or black dress slacks, black dress shoes and black socks. No jackets and no tennis shoes; SA ankle length black dress with a sleeve, or an ankle length black skirt, or ankle length black dress slacks with a black top with 1
sleeves of similar or complementary fabric, black shoes no more than 2 inches in height, optional modest jewelry such as a single strand of pearls or a drop- pearl or single stone on a delicate chain. No long dangling earrings or heavy necklaces. H. If a graduating senior who has previously attended All-East has NEVER been placed in the All-East Mixed Choir (or the All-East Men s Choir or Women s Choir as appropriate to their gender) their director may request that the student be allowed to participate in a specific chorus by notifying the ETVA Executive Secretary. This request must be made PRIOR to the posting of the All-State assignments. Once assignments have been posted, there will be no option to switch ensembles. II. Guest Conductor Selection A. The Executive board shall prioritize a list, from nominations submitted by the membership, of prospective conductors for All-East Tennessee Choirs. B. The President will make the necessary initial contact with prospective conductors and obtain a proposed repertoire list. 1. Guest conductors shall be informed that in their repertoire selections they are limited to one piece using a single instrument other than piano. 2. The Executive Board shall approve or recommend changes to the submitted repertoire. C. The Executive Secretary will follow up as needed with each conductor, obtain a signed contract and make necessary arrangements for travel and lodging. III. Music for All-East A. Music for All-East Choruses shall be up to twenty minutes of music determined by the guest conductor and approved by the Executive Board. B. The selected repertoire list will be posted on the ETVA website on or before early August. C. ETVA will order the music, minus the prescribed audition pieces, for the Mixed, Men s and Women s All-East choirs as a service to participating schools. Schools will be invoiced for the number of copies they receive. It is the responsibility of each director to order Freshman Choir repertoire for their students. 1. Directors who have students audition for All-East choirs will receive a packet of music on the day of auditions that includes the repertoire, minus the prescribed audition pieces and any CPDL editions, for each of the All-East choirs: Freshman, Mixed, Men s, and Women s. ETVA will invoice schools for the cost of this music. 2. Prior to ETVA ordering student copies of the All-East repertoire, directors will have the opportunity to omit from their school s order any repertoire they already have in their 2
choral library. The deadline for submitting repertoire omissions is September 1, of each year. 3. All-East repertoire should be available to students within a week after All-East choir placements are announced. IV. Assignment of Alternates A. Up to five alternates per voice part will be designated for each choir. These students must have passed the All-East screening to be eligible to replace an All-East chorus member. 1. Students who are unwilling to be designated with an alternate status must indicate this preference at the time of their audition registration. B. When a director becomes aware that a student assigned to an All-East Choir will not be able to participate, the director should notify the Executive Secretary of the drop. The Executive Secretary will call the next designated alternate for that voice part and choir. C. Should the first alternate in line decline, the next will be called until the position is filled or until no more alternates for that voice part in that choir are available. D. Alternates may be called until 24 hours prior to the first rehearsal. E. If a choir runs out of alternates on a particular voice part and there are additional drops in that section, a student of the same voice part but who was assigned to the another choir may be asked to prepare the music and do a makeup screening to allow them to become eligible to take the open spot. V. Freshman Honor Choir Procedures A. Schools may register up to 8 students, in ranked order, per voice part: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass. B. The student from each school ranked first by their director in their respective voice part is guaranteed membership in the Freshman Honor Choir. The remaining students registered will be added to the membership of the Freshman Honor Choir on the basis of the needs to balance the voice parts of the choir. 1. The Freshman Chorus Chair will make final decisions regarding the balance and size of each voice part. C. After the initial membership of the Freshman Honor Choir is announced, directors may replace any drops from their school with another of their registered students who is of the same voice. All drops and substitutions must be reported to the ETVA Executive Secretary. 3
1. If a school does not have a registered replacement for a drop, the Freshman Chorus Chair will substitute a registered student from another school. D. Since members of the Freshman Honor Choir are not auditioned or screened, it is the responsibility of each director to insure that their Freshman Honor Choir students are prepared musically and that they are informed regarding behavior, dress code, and All-East Choirs Student Regulations (See Item VI). VI. Student Regulations A. Attendance shall be required at all rehearsals for the full rehearsal time with no tardiness allowed. 1. The only exception to this rule is football players whose teams are playing in the playoffs may ask the Executive Board to approve their missing all or part of the Friday afternoon rehearsal only to allow them to play in the game. The Executive Board may grant or refuse the request based on the distance to and time of the game in question and the position the student plays on the team. B. Students should be in their seats for roll call ten minutes prior to the stated time of rehearsal. C. If a student is tardy for their rehearsal they must appear before the All-East disciplinary committee. D. Students should have their own copies of all the assigned music for their choir with all measures numbered. E. Students should have a pencil in rehearsal. F. Students must power off all cellphones, and other electronic devices at the beginning of each rehearsal or performance and the devices must remain in powered off through the entire rehearsal or performance. 1. Devices may be powered on during announced breaks in rehearsal but must be turned back off at end of the break. 2. If a student is anticipating an emergency situation for which they must be contacted quickly, they should leave their phone/pager with the chorus chair who will take any messages. 3. If a student is seen with a powered-on device in rehearsal or performance they may be sent home. If a student is seen using an electronic device in rehearsal or performance they will go before the All-East disciplinary Committee. 4
VII. Teacher Responsibilities A. Directors having All-East singers will be assigned duties as rehearsal monitors and or/roll checkers. B. For the duties of the All-East Chair see Appendix E. C. For the duties of the All-East Choir Chairs see Appendix F. D. For the duties of the All-East General Chair see Appendix G. Appendix E All-East Choir Chair Duties Prior to All- East 5
Make contact with guest director to introduce yourself. Will there be soloists? If so, how many? Determine audition method. What is the conductor s preference for rehearsal seating? Will the conductor want sectionals? Make arrangements for your own students to be covered so that you can be available to assist the clinician with transportation to/from hotel, if needed. Coordinate with All- East Site Chair to arrange for equipment needs or additional rooms for sectionals, if needed. Freshman Honor Choir and Middle School Honor Choir Chairs are responsible for balancing the voice parts in their choir from the students registered. Conductor Provisions During All- East Arrange transportation from the airport if necessary. Assist with hotel check- in. Arrange transportation to and from rehearsals. See that the conductor is taken care of at meal times, free time at night, etc. ETVA will pay for the Chairman s meal expenses when eating with the conductor. Duties During Rehearsals Obtain attendance rosters for your ensemble from the Executive Secretary. Update attendance rosters with drops as they occur. Present the guest conductor at the initial rehearsal. Begin every rehearsal on time. Make any necessary announcements at each session. Provide a copy of the attendance rosters to the assigned teachers for roll check at each session. Collect these after each attendance check. Keep accurate attendance records. Inform the Executive Board if any student does not comply with attendance rules. Duties on Day of Performance Organize a procedure to leave the rehearsal room and enter the stage. Secure all entrances into the rehearsal room so purses, coats, etc. can be locked during the performance. Make arrangements for all equipment to be removed from the stage and returned to the owner. Return rehearsal room to its proper arrangement. See that the conductor is taken care of and returned to the airport if necessary. Secure the conductor s honorarium check from the Executive Secretary and present it immediately following the concert. Return the attendance rosters to the Executive Secretary. 6
Appendix F All-East Chair Duties General Duties 7
The All- East Auditions Chair is responsible for securing rehearsal and performance facilities, as well as all equipment necessary to operate the All- East choral clinic. This person shall work closely with the Executive Board in selecting appropriate venues, paying close attention to hotel and restaurant proximity to rehearsal and performance locations. Prior To All- East Work with the Executive Secretary to arrange for appropriate rehearsal and performance sites. Arrange for lighting and sound at the performance venue for the All- East concert. Secure any necessary approvals and/or room keys to ensure access to the necessary facilities during the All- East clinic. Serve as a liaison between ETVA and the appropriate parties with regard to facility usage. Coordinate with Chorus Chairs to address equipment needs at each venue on an as- needed basis, including a clinician mic, choral risers, room availability for sectionals, etc. Duties During All- East Maintain regular contact with the Chorus Chairs and the Executive Board to ensure the smooth operation of All- East. Duties on Day of Performance 13.4.1. Coordinate with the All- East General Chair and the Chorus Chairs to facilitate smooth transitions during the sound check and concerts. Return all equipment in the rehearsal / performance venues to the proper locations. Secure all venues, return keys if needed. Appendix G All-East General Chair Duties 8
The All- East General Chair shall serve as a liaison between the Executive Board and each of the All- East Chorus Chairs, relaying information as appropriate, and assisting the Chorus Chairs as needed on a limited basis. Duties During Rehearsals Make regular contact with each the Chorus Chairs for each All- East ensemble to determine the current status of rehearsals. Assist the Chorus Chairs with any attendance or discipline- related issues. Make regular reports on the above items to the Executive Board. Duties on Day of Performance Coordinate with the Chorus Chairs to facilitate smooth transitions during the sound check and concerts. 9