MacPhail Concerto & Aria Concert Application

The MacPhail Concerto & Aria Concert is MacPhail’s premiere performance event featuring MacPhail student soloists performing with an orchestra of professional musicians. Six performances are selected through two rounds of auditions to perform with orchestra. One additional student soloist is selected to perform with an Orchestra in the Twin Cities. The MacPhail concert features a chamber-sized orchestra.

While there are two performance opportunities, there is only one application and audition process; seven performances total will be selected. Please see the bottom of this application page for more details regarding audition piece length, orchestra size, instrumentation and orchestral difficulty.

Complete this form to apply.

Eligibility

• The MacPhail Concerto & Aria Concert is a distinguished student performance. Performers audition before a panel of judges in two separate rounds of competitive auditions in order to be selected for the final performance with orchestra.
• The judges’ decisions and selection of performers is based on the demonstrated musical and artistic merits during the performance auditions. MacPhail values artistry and musicianship: anything performed artistically and musically is eligible to be selected, irrespective of technical difficulty. Further, MacPhail believes that the audition process should be educational as strives to provide the best experience possible for all auditionees. Performers will receive written comments from the judges for both rounds of auditions, if selected to advance.
• Applicants must be registered at MacPhail for at least eight (8) hours of private instruction in the fall term of 2024 and register for at least eight hours of private instruction for the spring 2025 term.
• Within an academic year (September-May): students who have performed in an Honors Recital with a concerto movement or aria, may not audition for the MacPhail Concerto & Aria concert with the same piece. Likewise, students who have performed on the 2024 Concerto & Aria Concert cannot audition with the same piece in a subsequent Honors Recital. Performers in the 2024 MacPhail Concerto & Aria Concert are not eligible in 2025 unless that student is in their senior year of high school.
• The Concerto and Aria competition is a competition for amateur and developing musicians. Students with a performance degree in music or students who make the majority of their income from music performance are not eligible to compete in Concerto Aria. 
• Repertoire instrumentation: The MacPhail concert requires instrumentation for a chamber-sized orchestra. Suitable instrumentation is no larger than: Strings, 2 2 2 2 – 2 2 0 0 tmp. The Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis concert requires instrumentation for a symphonic-sized orchestra. Suitable instrumentation is no larger than: Strings, 3 3 3 4 – 4 3 3 1 tmp. (The instrumentation numbers correspond to the number of orchestral members on flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon – French horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba.) The overall difficulty of the orchestra parts will also be taken into consideration as a part of the deliberation and decision process.

Fees & Accompanists

• A $20.00 audition fee is required of ALL applicants and must be submitted with the application form. Students receiving financial aid may request a waiver of the registration fee. This is a onetime fee and includes both rounds of auditions, if applicable.
• A $30.00 audition accompanist fee is required of any students wishing to use the services of a MacPhail staff accompanist for their audition. This fee should also be submitted with the application form and is not subject to a financial aid waiver. This fee covers the staff accompanist’s services for one rehearsal and both the preliminary and final rounds of auditions, if applicable.
• The audition and accompanist fees are both non-refundable.
• All students are required to audition with an accompanist. The accompanist’s name must be listed on your application form for scheduling purposes. Please confirm any scheduling conflicts with your accompanist prior to submitting your application.
• If you wish to use the services of a MacPhail staff accompanist, please complete and return a MacPhail Staff Accompanist
  Request form and submit it with a copy of the piano accompaniment. The staff accompanist scheduled to accompany those auditions will contact performers about scheduling a rehearsal prior to the audition date. The MacPhail Staff Accompanist Request form and the piano accompaniment should be submitted to any Student Services location by the deadline.

Time Limit

• Your audition must not exceed 15 minutes. Students will be assigned audition times no longer than 15 minutes for both the preliminary and final rounds. Similarly, performances during the concert will not exceed 15 minutes. In addition to tutti sections, some solo material may need to be cut to stay within the guidelines of each round of auditions. These cuts should be discussed thoroughly with your teacher. Both the preliminary and final auditions should reflect the cuts performers would choose to perform, if selected, on the concert.
• Please indicate the length of your performance as you perform it on the application. This is necessary for planning the concert programs. Please do not estimate or use timings from recordings of other artists.

Other Details

• Concerti and arias are traditionally performed from memory. If you choose (in consultation with your teacher) to use music for your audition, it must be used for both rounds of the auditions as well as the concert.
• You will be notified by e-mail of your audition time. Please indicate any special scheduling needs on the application form. There will be no changes in scheduled times once students are notified.
• You must bring one original score and one photocopied score to the audition for the judges. All cuts should be clearly indicated for the judges. Photocopies are not acceptable unless the piece is permanently out of print.
• All students must perform a live audition in the preliminary round in order to be eligible for the final auditions.
• All students chosen to perform on the MacPhail Concerto & Aria Concert must be available for the entire rehearsal times listed
  on the front of this application. Rehearsal times for individual pieces are typically not arranged until 1 to 2 weeks prior to the rehearsals. It is expected that the students will attend the entire concert in which they perform.

Questions

Please contact Soojin Lee, Student Performance Coordinator, at [email protected].