2014-2015
Handbook

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NORTH ZONE MS/JH COORDINATOR
 The Coordinator will receive a $475.00 honorarium per year.
 The Coordinator is elected to serve a two-year term.
Coordinator Duties:
 Preside at Region meetings.
 Prepare agenda for meetings.
 Attend TMEA MS/JH Coordinator meetings at TCDA and TMEA conventions as well as other scheduled meetings as they occur.

Keep membership informed of deadlines, meetings, etc. through email, US mail and/or telephone.

File official TMEA reports, meeting all deadlines.

Keep accurate bank records, receive monies, make deposits, pay bills and do all accounting for Region
XVI North Zone MS/JH Vocal Division bank account.

Contact & Contract Clinicians for Region Honor Choirs and Judges for Solo/Ensemble Contest.

Select music, along with other region directors, for Region Honor Choirs.

Receive and process entries for Region Honor Choirs.

Organize and preside over the Region Honor Choir auditions.

Select the audition “cuts” and make appropriate number of iPods/iPod playlists for the audition.
 Print all audition materials for audition and take to audition site; including audition badges, sign-in sheets, call sheets, judges score grids, etc.
 Run tabulation software at audition as needed.
 Organize the Region Clinic and Concert, including making schedules, securing sites, making director assignments, securing licensed vendors for recording and T-shirt sales, etc.
 Order Region patches for distribution at completion of Region clinic/concert.
 Assist in setting up the site for the clinic/concert.
 Communicate with clinicians regarding hotel accommodations/directions/transportation, etc.
 Act as master of ceremonies during Region Honor Choir concert.

Coordinate with Region XVI Executive Secretary and North Zone HS division on organizing Non-UIL
Solo/Ensemble contest.

Receive and process entries for Non-UIL Solo/Ensemble contest as well as make schedules for said contest.

Order medals for Non-UIL Solo/Ensemble contest.

Arrange judge’s lunch with Solo/Ensemble site host.

Print all official Non-UIL Solo/Ensemble judges’ sheets/documents and organize by school; deliver to contest site on contest day.
NORTH ZONE MS/JH CO-COORDINATOR

The Co-Coordinator will receive a $275.00 honorarium per year.

The Co-Coordinator is elected to serve a two-year term and upon completion of the said term will be promoted to Coordinator.
Co-Coordinator Duties:
 Record minutes at every meeting and distribute to membership.
 Select music, along with the Coordinator and other directors, for Region Honor Choirs.
 Secure and assign judges for Region Honor Choir auditions.
 Oversee the making & distribution of the rehearsal CD’s for the Region Honor Choir.
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
Be in charge of registration at the All Region Choir audition, including securing all registration materials upon close of registration and determining all DNA’s from each school.
 Register late entries and provide the cuts and cuts rehearsal for the late registrants.
 Collect lunch money from directors at audition. Coordinate lunch with the host school director.
 Run tabulation software at audition as needed.
 Assist Coordinator with audition as needed.
 Secure hotel arrangements for Region Clinicians and Solo/Ensemble judges as needed. Communicate with Coordinator in doing this.

Make seating charts for Region clinic/concert.

Assist Coordinator in organizing the clinic/concert as needed.

Make arrangements for lunch and snacks for clinic/concert. Communicate with Coordinator in doing this.

Arrange for the official TMEA Region program to be printed and bring printed programs to the concert site.

Assist in setting up the site for the clinic/concert.

Assist Coordinator on day of clinic/concert.

Act as “Office Official” during Non-UIL Solo/Ensemble contest; Coordinate with Region XVI Executive
Secretary on tabulation of scores.
NORTH ZONE MS CO-COORDINATOR ELECT:

The Co-Coordinator Elect will receive a $200.00 honorarium per year.
 The Co-Coordinator is elected to serve a two-year term and upon completion of the said term will be promoted to Co-Coordinator.
North Zone MS Co-Coordinator-Elect Duties:
 The Co-Coordinator Elect will be responsible for assisting the Coordinator and the Co-Coordinator with all duties described above.
 The Co-Coordinator Elect will be expected to attend all meetings, including Region and Division meetings along with the Co-Coordinator and the Coordinator.

Select music, along with the Coordinator and other directors, for Region Honor Choirs.
 Secure and assign judges for Region Honor Choir auditions.

Oversee the making & distribution of the rehearsal CD’s for the Region Honor Choir.

Assist Coordinator in organizing the clinic/concert as needed.

Assist in setting up the site for the clinic/concert.

Assist Coordinator on day of clinic/concert.
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Entry Process:
 The audition processes and procedures listed in the high school handbook will also be used at the middle school level. Entries for TMEA and UIL are processed at:
.

TMEA Active Membership is required in order to enter/sponsor students in TMEA auditions. You may find the membership forms and procedures at www.tmea.org
 Please mail the following items to the coordinator after completing the online entry: o TMEA Audition Entry - Official Entry Form o Signed Director’s Statement of Responsibility o Entry Fees
 All contest deadlines will be 14 days prior to the day of the audition. The late and final online entry deadline will be seven days prior to the day of the audition o Correction to an existing student entry may be made between 13 and seven days prior to the contest without penalty, but a student entry added less than 14 but more than seven days prior to the contest will result in an additional 100% student late fee.
o A campus entry begun less than 14, but more than seven days prior to the contest, will be assessed a 50% additional campus fee charge and 100% student fee charge.
o A campus entry created less than fourteen days prior to the contest will be subject to the TMEA
Grievance Process.
o Directors will be allowed to add or change student entries the day of the audition. The 50% additional campus and 100% additional student late fees will be assessed.

All fees must be paid or supported by a school purchase order prior to the start of auditions.
Audition Fees:

The audition fee will be: o $8.00 per student o $25.00 school fee o $40.00 CD fee per school

Fees are to be sent to the Middle School Coordinator before the audition.
 *A late fee of $8.00 per student and $32.50 per campus will be charged after the entry deadline.
Audition Music:
Treble Choir
1.
2.
3.
4.
Spring Song
Tenor/Bass Choir
- Gardener
In You I Found – Farnell
Hello Girls– Pfautsch
SSA
Sonatemi Un Balletto – Gastoldi SSA
SSA
SSA
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sanctus – Juneau TTB
Come Travel with Me – Farthing TTB
She is Evening – Courtney
Fillimiooriay – Beery
TTB
TBB
JW Pepper # 10352299
JW Pepper # 1976786
JW Pepper # 10284809
JW Pepper # 1687847
JW Pepper # 3700895
JW Pepper # 3281565
JW Pepper # 10352305
JW Pepper # 10008299
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
Audition music will be selected by the MS Coordinators and North Zone directors. All pieces are subject for audition.
 A complete list of audition music will be made available after the Fall Meeting.
 All music may/may not be auditioned. However, students should not be made aware of any selections to be omitted in the actual audition process.
 Audition cuts are determined by the Region 16 NZ MS Coordinator. The coordinator may discuss possible options with other Region/Audition personnel as needed, so that the best possible cuts may be selected.
 The judges must hear each student sing a portion of each of the prescribed selections before auditions are complete.
Region Choir Composition:

The All-Region Treble Choir will be comprised of 32 Soprano I, 32 Soprano II, and 32 Alto. There will be no alternates named to the choir. Only girls shall audition for the S/A sections.

The All-Region Tenor-Bass Choir will be comprised of 22 Tenor I, 22 Tenor II, and 22 Bass. There will be no alternates named to the choir. Only boys shall audition for the T/B sections.

ONLY current 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grade students may enter the MS/JHS All-Region Choir auditions who meet the TMEA eligibility requirements.

Once a student enters the TMEA audition process, he may be eliminated only by: (1) the audition process itself, (2) the TMEA Appeals Process, or (3) the student’s director.

Patches will be awarded to students who are selected and satisfy the requirements of participation in the region clinic and concert.
Student Eligibility Requirements:
These requirements apply to all public, private and home school participants.

A student must be enrolled as a full-time student (as defined by rule of the State Board of Education) in a Texas school during the semester in which the TMEA activity takes place. If an audition takes place in one semester and the resultant concert or clinic takes place in another, then the student must be enrolled as a full-time student during both semesters.
 Only full-time students enrolled grades 6-8 may participate.
 All TMEA activities are extracurricular. In order to participate in TMEA activities, a student must be passing the number of courses required by state law and by rules of the State Board of Education.
 A student must be certified by his TMEA Active Member director as a viable member of the school’s parent organization during the semester in which the TMEA activity is held. If there is no parent musical group in the school, the student must be certified by a TMEA member sponsor. This sponsor must hold an Active Membership in TMEA and must have been designated as a sponsor by the chief administrator of the school the student attends.

A student shall compete in the Region in which he is currently receiving the majority of his educational instruction.

Only students enrolled in Region 16 public schools may participate in Region 16 auditions. Students in private schools may enter the audition process in Region 16 if their private school is located in a public school ISD which is a part of Region 16. A private school student shall compete in the comparable UIL classification according to the enrollment of the school. Students representing home schools may enter the audition process in Region 16 if their home is located in a public school ISD which is a part of
Region 16. Home school classification is considered to be the same as the public school in which boundary they reside. A home school student must minimally represent this classification.
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Anonymity:
 Each student shall be assigned a unique, random and anonymous audition number through the use of the TMEA audition tabulation software.
 All judging panels and contestants must be screened from view from one another in the audition room.
Care must be taken during all breaks to keep contestants and judges from realizing audition numbers.
Anonymity is vital!
 At no time during the audition process should a contestant and their respective section judges have direct communication. Any necessary communication must be done through an audition monitor.
Audition Personnel:
 TMEA requires the use of 5 member panels for all auditions. Variances must be requested by each region for middle school level auditions. o The Region 16 South Zone Vocal Coordinator will designate one person on each panel as the chair of the panel. The chair shall be responsible for:
 Collecting the scores of the panel
 Keeping the audition room running smoothly and quickly
 Distributing and collecting all judging materials for their panel
 Documenting any situations that vary from the norm and notifying the region coordinator of any problems o No volume checks or changes will be allowed during the audition. The judging panel and audio monitor are responsible for setting the volume level before the audition begins. Judges should listen to the entire CD/tape to determine the best level for all students. Do not change the volume level once the audition has begun. o There shall be no discussion between judges during the audition process. o Students shall be heard on the entire audition. Uniformity must be maintained in how each student is started and stopped. o A judge may not assign duplicate scores during singing rounds – a raw score/rank conversion chart shall be utilized. You also may NOT give a score of “0”. o Judges shall consider the entire audition performance before awarding a score. o Judges shall remain actively involved in judging through each singer's entire audition. o Each judge shall be charged with the responsibility of knowing and following the audition procedures. o Every effort shall be made to be consistent from the beginning to the end of the audition. o The judging panel chair shall ensure that the panel conducts itself in a professional manner throughout the audition. The same members of the judging panel must judge the same section throughout the entire audition.
 Director Responsibilities: o Directors from each school are required to attend all of the region choir activities, including the audition and region clinic/concert. No student will be allowed to participate in the region choir unless his/her director is present and performing their assigned responsibilities. o If for some reason a director should miss the audition, the director must find a proxy to fill in for his/her absence and receive permission from the Region Chair or MS Coordinator for the proxy to assume the assignment. The director will be responsible for payment of the proxy. o Directors should not combine schools, even if just one or two students are involved from those schools – unless both schools have the same director.
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o All middle school/junior high directors shall attend high school auditions and receive a $50 honorarium. o If any director fails to conform to these rules, will be subject to the TMEA Grievance and Infractions
Process .
 Judges for MS/JH Region Audition: o $50.00 for non-director judges or HS directors with no students involved in the audition. o Mileage for out-of-town, non-director judges paid at current official Texas State Comptroller mileage rate.
Staff Required for All-Region Choir Audition
 Site Host – responsible for facilities and proper staffing for the audition or clinic/concert

Registration Aides (adult – 1 per section)

Announcer (adult – 1)

Section Guides (students – 2 per section)

Room Monitors (students – 1 per audition room)

Audio Monitors (adult – 1 per audition room)

Tabulators (adults – 3+ must know how to run TMEA software)

Tabulations Runners (student – 1 per audition room)

Hall Monitors (students – as needed)

Concessions Team
Audition Schedule:
8:00am Registration and mark cuts
8:15am
8:45am
Director’s Meeting
First registration closed.
9:00am
9:15am
1:00pm
2:00pm
First group to Holding Rooms to sing through cuts
Audition begins
Late registration opens (requested PM times only)
Registration closed. No student may register at this time.

Each voice part with register separately.

Students will sign the Student Registration Form and receive a badge with their audition number with a copy of the cuts.

Students will proceed to the holding area.

Students with problems with their registration will check in at the TABS room, so that corrections can be made.
 Check-in for PM students will be at the tabulations room.
Audition Materials:
 Original copies of music
 Paper clips
 Pencils
Audition Procedures:

Each audition will begin with group warm-up by the site host or their designee in the holding area.
 The cuts will then be run with the actual cut CD or iPod twice.
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 After the cuts have been sung, there will be no further singing. Students may study the music silently, but may make no audible sounds. Students can be disqualified by the Region NZ Coordinator for breaking this rule.
 The first group of audition numbers will be called and taken to the smaller holding rooms.
 In the holding rooms, the students will sing through the cuts two times. After everyone has had a chance to ask questions, the first auditioning student will be sent to the Audition Room and the auditioning process will begin.
 Students will audition solo with CD/iPod accompaniment in an order predetermined by the computer.
 After the student has finished the auditioning process, he/she will be escorted to the post-audition
Holding Area to wait. Students are to be in designated areas only! Students may not have communications with a director until the last student has completed the audition.

Electronic devices are NOT allowed at the region audition. This includes mp3 players, phones, etc.
Students who have a travel release form on file prior to the audition must be escorted to the contest headquarters by a school sponsor to call parents prior to leaving. Students can be disqualified by the
Region NZ Coordinator for breaking this rule. Cell phones must be relinquished to contest staff prior to registration. Cell Phones may be returned to the student in the post audition holding area after the student has completed their audition.

A reasonable number of chaperones are REQUIRED for every group that attends.

Audition results will be announced at the conclusion of the audition day. Directors will be shown results and given hard copies of their school’s results before the announcement begins.
Appeals Process:
Any Region that wishes to remove a student from the audition process must appeal first to the Region steering committee, then to the State Division Chair, and then to the President’s Committee. See the TMEA Appeals
Process.
Region Clinic/Concert:

Student attendance at the Region Clinic/Concert is mandatory. Requests for exceptions to this policy must be communicated in writing by the director/sponsor in advance. An effort will be made to avoid scheduling all region events on major religious holidays or observances of any faith.
 Music will be performed from memory on the region concert.
 Attire for the region concert shall consist of each school’s choir uniform. In the event no school uniform is available, girls shall wear a nice dress or skirt/blouse and dress shoes (no flip flops). Boys should wear dress slacks, a collared dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes. All clothing should comply with school dress code.
Director Assignments:
 Directors will be assigned duties for the clinic/concert.
 If a director cannot fulfill their assignment due to an emergency situation, another responsible adult should be designated and the NZ Coordinator must be notified of the change.

Section leaders shall direct sectionals when needed, check attendance/tardies, arrange students on risers, and work with students as directed. They will also attend to the clinician’s needs.

Ticket sales personnel are responsible for money of sales and change, sell tickets on hour prior to the concert, and help set up the selling area.

Ushers will take tickets at the door, hand out programs, and assist audience in seating.
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Attendance Policy:
 Students who are selected to participate in the All-Region Choirs are expected to be in attendance at all rehearsals and the performance.
 An excused absence from rehearsal may occur for the morning block only.
 All participants must be in attendance for the afternoon block.
 The amount of time missed cannot exceed one-third of the combined rehearsal time.
 A student will be subjected to dismissal from the group for violating the attendance policy. Rulings on attendance must be made before an absence occurs, not afterwards.
Tardy Policy:

Any student late to a Region Choir rehearsal will be given a tardy.

A tardy will be given for up to 20 minutes lost from the beginning of the rehearsal time. After that time the student will be given an absence.

One unexcused tardy will constitute an absence and the student will be dismissed from further participation in the choir.
Absence Policy:

Excused absence: participation in a post-district playoff game/meet; family emergency such as critical illness, etc.; serious illness that would prevent the singer from being effective or would be harmful to other participants.

Unexcused absence: non-district athletic games or social events.
Concert Admission:

There will be an admission charge of $2.00 for the All-Region Concert.
 Choir students not participating in the concert may use an admission ticket printed by his/her director.
A template for these tickets can be found in the appendix of this region handbook. These admission tickets are to be used by current choir students only.
Clinicians:
 Clinician honorariums will be $400.00.
 Travel expenses will include mileage calculated at the current official Texas State Comptroller mileage rate, lodging (when necessary), and a $36.00 per diem.
Accompanists:
 Accompanist honorariums will be $200.00.

Other Instrumentalists (as needed and indicated in the music score) will be paid at the discretion of the
Region 16 NZ Middle School Coordinator.
CD Recording:

Honorarium of $100 per voice part will be paid for recording and $200 for accompaniment recording, to exceed no more than a total of $800.
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Non-UIL Solo and Ensemble is open to students in middle school or junior high choral programs grades 6, 7 and 8. Entries must be made online through the UIL website: http://www.uilforms.com
. Once you have entered your students, please mail the Contest Fee Invoice and entry fees to the MS Region Coordinator.
*Remember that Non-UIL is run with large blocks of time for each school. Numerous DNA’s before the contest day could cause rooms to run earlier than expected. Please consider being at the contest site early!
Entry Fees:
 $5.00 per Solo
 $5.00 per Ensemble Member
 An additional fee of $5.00 will be assessed for late entries and any change of literature after the entry deadline.
Awards:

Soloists who earn a first division rating will receive a medal.

Each member of an ensemble earning a first division rating will receive a medal.

Judge’s ratings are final.
Judges:

The judge’s honorarium shall be $200.00 per day.

Travel expenses will include mileage calculated at the current official Texas State Comptroller mileage rate, lodging (when necessary), and a $36.00 per diem.
Eligibility:

All soloists and ensemble members in approved events must be members of a choir currently eligible to compete in the district music contests.
 ALL competing students must be academically eligible.
 The Non-UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest will be governed by the UIL Eligibility Guidelines.
 All solos and small ensembles must compete for ratings.
Limitations:

No Small Ensemble may have more than 16 members.
 All ensemble music must consist of at least (2) two vocal parts (unison passages are allowed) with no more than (4) four on a vocal part. An ensemble with all 6 th or 7 th grader members or a majority of 6 th and 7 th grade may have a maximum of (8) eight on a vocal part.

No medium ensembles.

Each student may enter up to three vocal events, which may consist of: o A vocal solo and two different vocal small ensembles. o Three vocal small ensembles, provided they are different ensembles performing different literature, and the majority of the ensemble members are also different.
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Performance Regulations:
 REQUIRED SELECTIONS o Solo selections for performance must be acquired from art songs, classics, spirituals, folk songs, etc. NO pop, rock, country, contemporary Christian, or any other literature of this nature will be allowed in competition. o Ensemble selections for performance must be sacred or secular literature acquired from arts songs, classics, spirituals, folks songs, etc. NO pop, rock, country, contemporary Christian, or any other literature of this nature will be allowed in competition. o Appropriate Broadway Classics may be used in small ensembles events ONLY. o Any solo selection on the Class III PML List is recommended. o Any ensemble selection on the Class III PML List is recommended.
 EMERGENCY SUBSTITUTION o In emergency situations, the director may substitute another eligible student for an ensemble member after the entry has been submitted with no late fee, provided the substitute has NOT already been entered in the maximum number of events. o All substitutions must be certified by the contest chairman prior to performance.

LITERATURE SUBSTITUTION o Any change in performance literature, after the entry has been submitted, MUST be made known to the contest chairman one week prior to the contest to avoid the late fee. o The contest chairman must approve the change of performance literature.

SCORES o Each soloist and each director of an ensemble shall supply the judge with an original score with numbered measures. o The judge is instructed not to permit the performance to begin until the original score has been acquired.

MEMORIZATION o ALL vocal solos are to be performed by memory. o ALL vocal small ensembles are to be performed by memory.

ACCOMPANIMENT o All vocal solos and ensembles shall be accompanied, except those works which are written expressly for unaccompanied voices. o A piano will be used as the accompanying instrument. o Recorded piano accompaniment, although discouraged, may be used.
 Professional accompaniment tracks WILL NOT BE ALLOWED.
 If a piano accompaniment tape is used, the student must provide the tape player. o Directors are encouraged to limit the number of events one pianist may accompany.
 SMALL ENSEMBLES MAY NOT BE CONDUCTED BY A DIRECTOR.
Suggested Literature Sources:
A. “Folk Songs for Solo Singers”
B. “The Young Singer”
C. “Heroes and Vagabonds”
D. “Traveling On”
E. “My Heart Sings”
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F. “Pathways of Song” Volume I, II, III, and IV
G. Donald Moore Literature
H. Ruth Artman Literature
I.
J.
Emily Crocker Literature
Joyce Eilers Literature
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Date
AUG 9, 2014
Sept 26, 2014
Sept 27, 2014
OCT 11, 2014
Oct 25, 2014
Nov 8, 2014
JAN 17, 2015
JAN 31, 2015
Event
Fall Region Meeting
TTU Men’s Clinic
Judges Audition Clinic
All-Region Entry Deadline
All-Region Audition
All-Region Clinic and Concert
Non-UIL Solo-Ensemble Event
Non-UIL Solo-Ensemble Entry Deadline
March 3, 2015 UIL Entry Deadline
APRIL 1/2, 2015 UIL Concert and Sight-reading
May 4, 2015 Region Spring Meeting
Location
Post HS
Texas Tech University
Treble Choir
1.
Spring Song - Gardener SSA
2.
3.
4.
Sonatemi Un Balletto – Gastoldi SSA
In You I Found – Farnell
Hello Girls– Pfautsch
SSA
SSA
Tenor/Bass Choir
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sanctus – Juneau
She is Evening – Courtney
Fillimiooriay – Beery
TTB
Come Travel with Me – Farthing TTB
TTB
TBB
JW Pepper # 10352299
JW Pepper # 1976786
JW Pepper # 10284809
JW Pepper # 1687847
JW Pepper # 3700895
JW Pepper # 3281565
JW Pepper # 10352305
JW Pepper # 10008299
Frenship MS, Wollforth
Online entry deadline
Hutchinson MS
Coronado HS
Online Entry
Frenship HS
Online Entry, $ to Raymond
Frenship MS
Post HS
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All Region CD Notes
Sanctus-
Ms 52; Bass take “F” (not A)
Come Travel with Me-
Ms 28; Bass take Bb
Ms 37; Tenor 1 take Eb
Ms. 39; Tenor 1 take Eb
She is Evening
Tenor 2- Take all optional notes
Spring Song-
Ms. 58; Sop 1 take “C”
Soprano 1- do NOT sing descant for audition. Top chairs will sing descant for concert, track is included.
Sonatemi un Balletto
Alto- Final measure take either “G” octave. Both are sung on the CD.
Hello Girls
M. 51- we will change D Natural to D# in the piano accompaniment to match the Alto D#
M. 39 and M. 65- (Alto) change Fa la la Fa la la to Fa la la la la Fa to match the other voice parts.
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