Festivals

The Mildred M. Gaddis Festival Guidelines

To provide performance opportunities, to develop theoretical knowledge and musicianship, to encourage high teaching standards through adjudication, and to encourage students through an award program.

SOLO PERFORMANCES: piano, vocal (instrumental may be coming soon)
The Solo Festivals are an opportunity for students to play/sing in front of a single judge with or without a small audience (family may sit in). Students should plan approximately 30 to 45 minutes to park, check-in at their rooms, and play. Students may request either Saturday/Sunday/AM/PM, etc. on their applications and will receive the specific time approximately 2-3 weeks in advance. All levels encouraged. Teachers are required to turn in a Volunteer Form specifying how they will help that day.

FEES: $20 per student of DSMTA or DMEA teacher. $50 non-member fee applies toward membership.
Teachers are required to turn in a Volunteer Form specifying how they will help that day.
WHEN: See “Calendar of Events” for dates, locations, and times.
REGISTRATION: Festival Registrations
REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS FOR SOLO PIANO FESTIVAL:
REPERTOIRE GUIDE FOR PIANO SOLO, DUET, DUO, AND CONCERTOS
ELEMENTARY (“E”) – Any 2 contrasting pieces. Each should be at least 16 measures. 3 minute time limit.
LOWER INTERMEDIATE (“LI”) – 2 periods of music history; At least one must be Baroque or Classical. No
     Arrangements or Popular Music. Also see note in “IA”. 6 minutes time limit.
UPPER INTERMEDIATE (“IA”) – Any 2 periods. No arrangements or Popular music. *No arrangements for
     Intermediate or advanced students, with the exception of standard literature such as Bach-Busoni or
one of the Liszt transcriptions. Otherwise all repertoire must be in its original form. 9 minute time limit.
ADVANCED (“A”) – 2 musical periods or one complete sonata or Baroque Suite. No arrangements. See
     Above note*. 12 minute time limit.
FOR VOCAL SPECIFICS- VOCAL GUIDELINES
NOTE:

A jazz selection or a piece by an educational composer such as Bober, Gillock, Faber, Alexander, etc. is acceptable as a modern piece.
All pieces must be memorized.
Students are required to bow when finishing their performance.
It is the teacher's job to communicate details of time and location of the event to their students. There is no "make-up"
judging if a student misses his or her time or location, even due to emergencies. We are always so sorry to not be able to help in bad luck or circumstances, but the judges, teachers/room monitors, and chairs have their own needs and circumstances, too.

Photocopied music is not allowed and will result in disqualification. Only out of print music may be photo copied and presented to the judge with a letter of permission from the publisher. Computer generated music is acceptable if proof of an official download is printed on the music.

PIANO DUET and CHAMBER ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL
The Piano Duet and Chamber Ensemble Festival is an opportunity for piano & instrumental students (two or more) to play in an ensemble in front of a single judge, with or without a small audience (family may sit in). Ensemble examples: Piano duet, Piano Duo, Piano Trio, String quartet, Flute Quartet, Cello Sonata, etc... Participants will be judged based on the ensemble’s performance – Rhythmic synchronization, communication between players, balance between instruments, and musical intent – not on individual performances. Students should plan approximately 30-45 minutes to park and play for their listening teachers. Students will receive the specific time approximately 2-3 weeks in advance.

FEES: $10 PER JUDGED STUDENT for DSMTA or DMEA teachers. $50 non-member fee applies toward membership
WHEN: See “Calendar of Events” for dates, locations, and times.
REGISTRATION: Festival Registrations
REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS FOR ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL:
ELEMENTARY: 2 contrasting pieces, not to exceed 12 minutes.
LOWER INTERMEDIATE: 2 contrasting pieces, not to exceed 12 minutes.
UPPER INTERMEDIATE: a representative work or movement(s) not to exceed 12 minutes
ADVANCED: a representative work or movement(s) not to exceed 12 minutes
Please consult the festival chairperson with questions on repertoire BEFORE REGISTERING.
NOTE:

Memorization is not required.
Transcriptions of classical pieces are allowed for duets/trios in elementary and lower intermediate. Concertos are permitted.
A non-judged participant (teacher, sibling, parent, etc.) may now play with students using the Flexible Ensemble Form where one or more participants may be marked as "not judged" (and will not earn points).
Performances with non-judged participants will be still be adjudicated based on the ensemble performance.
Mixed chamber ensembles to be determined regarding Honors Recital. Piano still eligible as in past years with S+ and other qualifiers.

It is the teacher's job to communicate details of time and location of the event to their students. There is no "make-up"
judging if a student misses his or her time or location, even due to emergencies. We are always sorry to not be able to help in bad luck or circumstances, but the judges, teachers/room monitors, and chairs have their own needs and circumstances, too.
Practice Tests along with the Keys are found in the Theory Papers page. Some sample tests are quite long, but the actual tests given will be shorter. The sample tests are designed to give the student extra practice and to introduce different ways in which a concept may be tested.
Each student practice test packet is complete: Term Sheet; a number of worksheets; a music history sheet in upper levels, and the Written and Aural sample tests. Teachers also have the option to give their students Keyboard, Aural, and sightreading samples if they wish.
The Music History portion (beginning Level 4) is intended for enrichment (not a memorization exercise). The committee feels that music history is important in understanding the pieces a student plays.

DETAILS:
Piano students can participate in the following 4 categories: written skills; aural awareness; sight-reading; keyboard harmony/technique. Vocal students are not required to do the keyboard and piano sightreading skills, although they may do so if they wish. If any teacher wishes to add practical skills for any other instrument, they must be presented to and approved by the theory chair and incorporated in the overall musicianship program. There are vocal technique and vocal sightreading tests available to substitute for the keyboard skills. Vocal students may be tested in all four areas but their teachers should contact the Vocal Festival Chairman who is listed in the “Contact Us” section of this website. Keyboard icons are used in the primary level, even though the piano is not some students’ instrument. Instrumental students (if offered in the future) may take both the written and aural categories. If all four categories are tested, the student can earn up to 20 points. Each of the 4 categories is worth up to 5 points. Not all 4 categories are required to be taken.

There are 11 levels of progressive difficulty. Students may begin testing at any level at the discretion of the teacher. Most students advance one level each year, but students may skip a level if the teacher wishes. A student may not be tested in more than one level of each testing area in a year because of scheduling considerations. However, the student is not obligated to take the same level at the same time for all 4 categories. For example, the teacher could decide to have a student do level 4 on the written but level 2 on the aural. The 4 areas are designed to correlate, but some students, especially transfers, may be uneven in their placement. Students may repeat a level at the discretion of the teacher, as not all students progress at the same rate. Here are some guidelines to help you determine when a level should be repeated:
WRITTEN TESTS:
     Below 70: recommended to repeat level
     71-100: at the discretion of the teacher
AURAL, KEYBOARD, AND SIGHTREADING TESTS:
     Needs Improvement, Fair: highly recommended to repeat level
     Good, Very Good, Excellent, Superior: at the discretion of the teacher

DSMTA Festivals acquire points for trophies

How the Point System works:

Students earn points for each of the various activities below. Points carry over from year to year except if the student neglects to participate for three years in a row. If that should happen, the carry-over points are lost. At 50 points, they receive a 50 point trophy. At 100 points, they receive a 100 point trophy, etc… (In order to be eligible to perform in the Honors Recital, they first have to have earned 75 points AND receive a Superior Plus in the current year’s Piano Festival and have played in a DSMTA recital.) If you have noticed, the Tenuto registration system keeps track of student points and trophies. When you see the system say "last trophy awarded March 22, 2022" but your student hasn't gotten that trophy, you can know that trophies have been ordered! You just haven't received it yet. Typically, there are two batches of orders. One around Feb/March and one around May. You will receive an email when/where they are ready to be picked up!

Up to a total of 20 points can be earned for participating in four of the categories of the THEORY FESTIVAL. Each of the four categories is assigned 5 points. A five in a category is “Superior”. A four receives “Excellent”. A three receives “Very Good”. A two receives a “Good”. A one receives “Fair”. In SOLO, ENSEMBLES, CONCERTOS FESTIVALS, 22 points is a “Superior Plus”. “Superior” is 20 points. “Excellent” is 16 points. “Very Good” is 12 points. A “Plus” adds two points; a “Minus” deducts one point. Up to an additional three points can be earned if the student helps out at a Festival. Up to 2 trophy points can also be earned if the student attend a classical music concert, submit a program, and write a few sentences about what they liked or what interested them in the program.

DSMTA Recitals do not earn points.