Performance Standards
As a guide, the minimum performance levels expected are based on the following AMEB grades or their equivalents:
- Primary Symphonic Wind Ensemble – AMEB 2-3
- Junior Symphonic Wind Ensemble – AMEB 3-4
- Intermediate Symphonic Wind Ensembles – AMEB 5-7
- Senior Symphonic Wind Ensemble – AMEB 7 and above
It is not essential that you have taken these exams.
We are looking for talented musicians, some of whom may have never sat an exam.
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We will then place you in the right band for your age and your ability
Auditions
What’s in an Audition?
Audition Requirements
For your audition, you will be required to play the following:
- One major and minor scale and arpeggio (student’s choice)
- One solo piece, unaccompanied (student’s choice)
- A short sight reading extract (unprepared)
For your audition, you will be required to play the following:
- 1 piece of your choice
- Rudiments eg paradiddles
- Beat patterns: Rock, Latin, Swing
- 1 sight reading piece
Tips for your Audition
- Choose scales that show off your ability on your instrument. For example, 2 or 3 octave scale (depending on instrument and level).
- Also some sharps or flats in the key signature show technical knowledge.
Remember that an audition is not an exam, it is an opportunity to show how good you are on your instrument
The beginning of your musical journey
We start each year placing musicians in ensembles based on their auditions, a standard technique in the music profession. This lets us focus on the musical abilities of every student.
Auditions make this assessment as objective as possible.
The musical development at NSSWE is not static. The audition is the start of a journey. What we offer is musical development and evolution through the year. All of our directors continuously assess the progress of the musicians in their ensembles. And so through the year, every musician progresses, learns, develops, and ends the year at a musical stage far in advance of where they started 12 months before.
This applies to every student, whether they have a formal AMEB grade or not, whether they have achieved high grade attainment, or whether they have been a section leader or not.
Every musician contributes to the balance and musical excellence of every chart they play.
Every section of every ensemble has leaders, part of any orchestral structure, but every player in the section contributes equally, to create a balanced, harmonious sound. That choice is a musical one made by the directors.
Start your musical journey with NSSWE!
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over 200 young musicians