1. Online Entry Requirements
The Competition Intent, Director’s Clinician Report, and Application must be completed online by their deadlines.

HS Full, JH/MS Full, and JH/MS String Orchestras

• Part A must be completed by May 1.
• Part B & C and recordings must be completed, printed and submitted by June 1.

HS String Orchestra

• Part A must be completed by September 15.
• Part B & C and recordings must be completed, printed and submitted by October 25.

2. Mailed Entry Materials
The following entry materials must be mailed in the same package to the Contest Chair and must be mailed using a track-able mail delivery service to be delivered by June 2 for the summer contests and October 28 for the fall contest:

• Completed and printed application from the online entry system
• Superintendent letter (Rule #3)
• Music scores (Rule #4)
• Prepaid return postage envelope for scores

3. Superintendent Letter
The letter from the school district superintendent (or designee) must state the orchestra will be able to perform at the following TMEA Clinic/Convention. A template for this letter is provided in the online entry system. Schools may use this template or their own letter.

4. Music Scores
Five scores of each selection must be included. Observe all copyright laws. School names on the scores must be removed. The entire score must be checked and have the school name removed (including the covers and pages of movements that are not being played). Scores should be cleaned of any critical markings from previous judging.

5. Entry Fee
A non-refundable fee of $350.00 payable to TMEA. Entry fee checks should be mailed directly to TMEA, 7900 Centre Park Dr., Austin, TX 78754. Payment must be received in the TMEA office by June 1 for the summer contests and October 25 for the fall contest.

1. Student Eligibility
All performers on the recording must be full-time students at the school of the organization entering the competition. (See Eligibility Requirements for TMEA Activities, Section 1, Article II)

2. Performance Source
Recorded selections must have been recorded at a live concert during the current school year and this fact must be verified on Form C by the signature of the school principal.

3. Single Performance Requirement
All music must have been from the same concert performance. Material from two or more concerts is not acceptable. The order of selections uploaded on the TMEA website can differ from the performance order.

4. Ensemble Type
Full Orchestra recordings should only contain full orchestra selections. String Orchestra recordings should only contain string orchestra selections.

5. Recording Identification
There should be no announcements or any verbal identification on the recordings submitted. Identification of the school or group name is grounds for disqualification.

6. Upload and Time Limits
Each entry must upload the recorded tracks to the TMEA website.

The complete uploaded recorded program must not exceed these time limits:

• HS: 30 minutes
• JH/MS: 20 minutes

7. Recording Format
For *optimum sound, all recordings should be in stereo, WAV format (uncompressed), Sample rate 44,100 Hz, 16 Bit (required). Any deviation from this standard may result in a loss of sound quality. Do not use any type of enhancement technique to change the quality of the live performance.

• Recording standards accepted:
  • *Preferred: WAV (Uncompressed); Sample rate: 44, 100 Hz; Stereo; 16-Bit (required)
  • m4a (AAC-LC); Sample rate: 44,100 Hz; Stereo; Bitrate: 256 kbps, constant
  • mp3; Sample rate: 44,100 Hz; Stereo; Bitrate: 256 kbps, constant

8. Complete Selections
No excerpts of pieces may be submitted in any Honor Orchestra competition. The piece or movement must be submitted in its entirety (no fade in and fade out). Pieces must begin at measure one and end at the conclusion of the selection or movement.

9. Unethical Recording Practices
Verification of unethical recording practices is grounds for disqualification. Examples of unethical practices are:

• Private recording sessions
• Recording in a recording studio or under studio conditions (i.e. use of microphones for individuals or small groups, or multiple microphones placed within the ensemble)
• Multiple recordings of the same selection during a concert
• Any engineering, editing, or tampering with the recording after the performance in any way. Note: The only allowable technical alteration to a recording is adjustment of the master volume.

One five-member judging panel will judge Zone A and a separate judging panel will judge Zone B. Both panels will hear the complete program in Round One. Both panels will judge at the same venue, on the same day.

Additionally:

• One of the five judges could be a director entered from the opposite Zone.
• Judges can be hired who have done a clinic(s) in one Zone only. If hired, they would then judge in the opposite Zone.

Finals

One five-member judging panel will judge the finals.

Recordings will be randomly sorted by a method determined by the State Chair.

The judges will each listen to the recordings in a different order.

• Judge 1 will listen on a playback system with speakers and the room will be open for others to listen. Judges 2-5 will listen individually on headphones and should be in a different room than Judge 1.
• Judges will begin listening to different groups as specified below, continuing in the randomly sorted order and wrapping around to the first group after listening to the last randomly sorted group so they hear all groups.

Before calculating each judge’s starting position, take the total number of entries and divide by 5 to get a Spacing Interval Value.

To calculate each judge’s starting group position: subtract one from the judge’s number, then multiply that number by the Spacing Interval Value, then round that number down to get a whole number, then add one.

The following table is provided as a quick reference for a listening of up to 20 groups.
 

HS contests will advance 6 groups to the final round unless using Zone Contest Rules (more than 14 groups). JH/MS contests will advance 6 groups to the final round unless using Zone Contest Rules (more than 22 groups). Zone Contest groups will advance from each Zone to the finals based on the number of adjudicated entries at a rate of one group to each four entries in that Zone.

1 – 11 groups          3 Advance

12 – 15 groups        4 Advance

16 – 19 groups        5 Advance

20 – 23 groups        6 Advance

24 – 27 groups        7 Advance

28 – 32 groups        8 Advance

1. If more than 10 recordings are submitted to the Contest Chair in any category, an elimination round will be held for JH/MS String, Full, and High School Full Orchestras prior to July 1 and at least one day before the final round of High School String Honor Orchestra.

2. Recordings will be randomly sorted by a method determined by the State Chair.​

3. Recordings played at the auditions will be started at the beginning and played, non-stop, only for the amount of time allotted. Those running longer will be stopped at the maximum time. (See Recording Requirements, Rule #6).

4. Five-member judging panels will be utilized. Rankings will be assigned using the Olympic scoring system.

5. Finalists will be announced in alphabetical order by school. All participating directors will be notified of the finalists. A different panel of judges will then hear and rank the finalists recordings in Round 2.

6. If three of the five judges declare that no orchestra is qualified to perform as Honor Orchestra at the TMEA Clinic/Convention, the ranking of the groups will not be made available to the public.

7. Individual judges’ rankings will be available to each director involved in the competition, but not made available to the general public. The judges’ rankings will be documented from low to high score so as to maintain the judges’ anonymity.

8. Final round orchestra rankings will be announced after the final round is complete, or a winner determined.

All finalists will receive a certificate from TMEA acknowledging their placement in the rankings. The Honor Orchestra director and group will receive a plaque in acknowledgement of their achievement.

Each new Orchestra Vice-President will appoint a committee of 3-5 directors to review and make recommendations on the Zones in the 1st year of their term.  This committee will make recommendations to the Orchestra VP between November and February.  The Orchestra VP will seek approval from the TMEA Board for the committee recommendations at the March Executive Board Meeting.