Eligibility
Participation in four semesters of middle school music program and performed in three concerts.
Received a grade of "A" in music/ensemble course for three of these semesters.
Honor Ensembles and/or Solo and Ensemble Festival Participation
Auditioned, selected, and participated in school-district ensemble, All-County, All-District/Region Ensemble, All-State Ensemble, or National Honor Ensemble.
Participated as a soloist, duet, trio, or quartet performing a grade 2 or higher composition and received a rating of “Excellent” or "Superior." If a competition, placed in the top 20% of participants.
Basic Extracurricular Activities
Participation in at least two of the following activities within the past fourteen months:
Each of these counts as ONE activity
Attend three or more high school or college concerts or a marching band contest (High school or college football with marching band performing does not count)
Attend two or more musical theater productions at one of your town's theaters or at a high school or college production
Attend a civic or professional orchestra performance
Attend a civic band performance
Attend a half-day middle school, high school, or college Master Class
Attend a professional or collegiate recital of applicant's voice part
Watch at least two of the professional orchestra, symphony, operatic performances or movies/Broadway shows from the lists below
Participate in your school district/town middle school orchestra or civic band
Take four or more forty-five-minute private lessons
Attend a weekend invitational band, orchestra, or choral clinic
Attend at least one week of a summer music camp
Movies Based on Broadway Shows
Movies About Singers
Additional Resources
Demonstration of Interpretive Performance Abilities
Document in video format a solo performance of two of the following American Jazz/Swing Classics, Country Music Classics, or Rock 'n Roll Classics:
Jazz/Swing Selections
What A Wonderful World
I Got Rhythm
Ain't Misbehavin'
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Fever
Night and Day
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Mack the Knife
Georgia On My Mind
A Tisket, A Tasket
Honeysuckle Rose
Unforgettable
Fly Me to The Moon
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Stormy Weather
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
Love That Boy
Sentimental Journey
One O'Clock Jump
The Trolley Song
Paper Doll
Bill Bailey
The Man I Love
Bye, Bye Blackbird
Smile
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Swinging On A Star
What Is This Thing Called Love
The Way You Look Tonight
I'll Never Smile Again
Country Selections
Wichita Lineman
Coat of Many Colors
I Walk the Line
Can the Circle Be Unbroken
Take Me Home, Country Roads
Jackson
Friends in Low Places
Jolene
I Fall to Pieces
The Dance
Mountain Music
Smoky Mountain Rain
Cowpoke
Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Amarillo By Morning
The Gambler
Stand By Your Man
Go Rest High on That Mountain
I Love a Rainy Night
Rocky Top
The Tennessee Waltz
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Crazy
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Ring of Fire
He Stopped Loving Her Today
Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'
Your Cheatin' Heart
Don't Come Home A'Drinkin
Rock and Roll Selections
I Love Rock ‘n Roll
Me & Bobby McGee
Jailhouse Rock
Please Mr. Postman
Shop Around
How Sweet It Is
Splish Splash
My Girl
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Stand By Me
Respect
There's A Kind Of Hush
Yakety Yak
Sixteen Candles
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Can't Help Falling in Love
Good Golly Miss Molly
Rock Around the Clock
I Got You
Hotel California
Don't Be Cruel
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Blueberry Hill
Johnny B. Goode
Proud Mary
I Get Around
Hound Dog
Shake, Rattle and Roll
I Want You Back
Stop! In the Name of Love
The songs must be sung in their complete form, not just the chorus. They can be sung accompanied or unaccompanied.
All applicants are required to record an audition video which includes the content outlined below:
Each performance segment must be recorded in one take with no editing, though you may and should select the best of several takes.
Professional equipment and/or studio space is not necessary. With attention to a few details, your musical talent can be conveyed using readily available consumer electronics; even iPhone or other smartphone recordings are acceptable.
Please refer to the following article for additional information and suggestions for effectively recording your audition:
“7 Steps in Making a Great Audition Video”
Before you record your first musical selection, please include a spoken introduction in which you state your name, voice part, hometown, and state. Then announce the title of the song and composer and/or arranger before you begin the performance for each required tune/style/excerpt.
Tonal Memory and Pitch Accuracy
Document in video format a singing performance (unaccompanied) of the following tonal memory exercises on the movable Do system (where "Do" is always the tonic/tonal center):
1. Do, Re, Mi, Re, Do, Re, Do
2. Do, Mi, Re, Do, Do, Mi, Re, Do, Do, Re, Do
3. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, Fa, Mi, Re, Do, Do, Re, Do
4. Do, Re, Mi, So, Fa, Mi, Re, Do, Do, Mi, Re, Do, Re, Do
5. Do, So, Fa, Mi, So, Mi, Re, Do, So, Mi, Do, Do, Re, Do
You may perform each exercise with a rhythm pattern of your choice. You may perform each of these tonal memory exercises using Kodaly hand signs.
Click here for more information on solfege
Demonstration of Musical Knowledge
Demonstrate knowledge of 60 basic musical terms.
The original 25 terms under "Junior Letter" are included. Thus, this is an additional 35 terms to be learned.
Click here for Music Terms study guide
Demonstrate knowledge of the musical alphabet for both clefs and of the flats in order and the sharps in order.
Click here for Music Theory study guide
Knowledge will be tested in a ten-question assessment in the application process. You will have three chances to achieve the required perfect score.
Expressive Presentation
Write an essay up to 450 words on the topic "The Role that Choir (or Music) Plays in My Life" in the space provided.
Personal and Musical Reference
No Reference Required
National Scholastic Junior Choir All Star Musician Benefits
Written Feedback on Solo
Official Certificate and Star Patch
Name, Voice Part, School, City, State, and student's director's name listed on website NationalScholasticAcclaimedMusician.com. (Example, Tabitha Jenkins, Alto, Chicago High School for the Arts, Chicago, Illinois: Barbara Henderson, Choir Director)
Press release sent to hometown newspaper and social media outlets
Opportunity to purchase uniform medal
Opportunity to purchase official award displaying merchandise
Five-month free subscription to https://www.Accoladi.com