Audition Information

 

See the policies page for more specific eligibility information.

General Information

Colorado All State Orchestra 2025 will be at the University Center for the Arts in Fort Collins February 6-9. All participating schools must be CHSAA Members, and the director(s) must be an active NAfME member. The audition fee is $35, and the participation fee is $65 per student.

Chaperone Information

All students are required to be chaperoned at Colorado All State Orchestra at all times. It is not acceptable for students to be at the event without an adult.

Audition Process

Registration will open for Colorado All State Orchestra Auditions in September. (coloradoaso.org)  Directors must register themselves before their students will be able to register.

Your school must be a CHSAA Sanctioned School or in the process of becoming one. 

In order for students to be eligible to participate in ASO, they must be enrolled in a performing ensemble within school programs for the entire year. Standard eligibility rules also apply (grades and number of credits). 

IMPORTANT: The audition fee is $35. All payments will be submitted by directors. Students & Parents, speak to your director about how to get this paid at your school.

For your planning purposes, all participating students will need to be chaperoned at all times by a person designated by the school - this may be a teacher, administrator, parent or other school employee.

Auditions are due November 15, 2024 @ 5:00 PM and are submitted by the director. Auditions may be submitted beginning September 18. Students, please submit to your directors early to give them enough time to get the audition submitted by the deadline. It is not their emergency if you are not ready to submit until 4:55PM on the final day.

The audition process follows these steps: 

1. Director Registration

2. Student registration

3. Students submit recordings to directors (or directors help students make recordings)

4. Director listens to auditions to ensure that the recording is in fact your student and that all materials are present. Students caught submitting dishonest recordings may be deemed ineligible to audition in the future. Schools with repeated dishonest recordings that are not caught by the director may lose eligibility.

5. Directors submit the each student’s audition in one mp3 file. (File name does not need to be anything specific as they are attached to students through the audition platform)

Audition Guidelines

Audio ONLY audition recordings (mp3 files only) must be submitted by the director in the following format:

  • All required audition material must be included in one file in the following order: Scales, Orchestral Excerpts, Solo Selection (Solo selection is for strings and piano only). Solo selection should be between 2 and 2.5 minutes in length. Only one file including all audition requirements should be submitted per applicant. There should not be any speaking on the recording. Do NOT announce the student name.

  • String players may refer to the standard literature lists for solo ideas. Pianists may choose whichever solo they would like. It should showcase technique and musicality. Piano solos are not rated based on difficulty. String solos are rated based on difficulty. Please see our policies page for more information on string solos. It is NEVER a good idea to play a solo that is too hard to earn the points associated with it. Playing a solo that is at your level well gives you the best chance of making All State Orchestra.

  • Audition recordings must be recorded without accompaniment and without a metronome. Recordings must also be unedited with no added “overdubs,” reverb, or pitch correction. You may splice together separate recordings of each scale, excerpt, and solo, but please do not edit the individual elements. This type of editing will be considered a dishonest audition and may forfeit eligibility.

  • Mp3 files must be compressed at a bitrate of no more than 256 kbps. Files larger than 20MB will not be accepted. Consider that the quality of the audition recording may reasonably affect the perception of the adjudicators.

  • Video submissions will not be accepted.

  • The audition fee is $35 and can be paid online by the director. It must be paid online November 15th. 

NOTE: Students can submit auditions on multiple instruments for no additional fee. We require separate auditions for flute and piccolo.

You will be adjudicated based on the rubric linked below. Your completed rubrics with feedback will be emailed to your director prior to the event. Please ask your director for a copy. That feedback should help you when you audition again next year!

 

Audition Material

Colorado Mesa University has created some preparation videos for each instrument. You can find them here.

 
 

Piano

Piano Audition | Extended Deadline: Due Dec 2 @ 5PM, Emailed to ColoradoASO@gmail.com directly. 2-2.5 minute SOLO is Required.

Harp

Harp Audition | No solo is required for harp

 

Wind, Brass, & Percussion Information

The Audition material is the same as for All State Band. The List of Excerpts can be found here.

Drum Set| Extended Deadline: Due Dec 2 @ 5PM, Emailed to ColoradoASO@gmail.com directly.

Drum set instructions:

  • Drum set part (Traps & 4 Pitched Drums realized on set): Pkcup to m. 43 - 61

  • Drum set part (4 Pitched Drums realized on set): Pickup to m. 88 - 100

  • Drum Set Part (realized parts from: Hi Hat, snare, tenor drum, snare, Traps, Tom-tom/4 pitched drum), m. 644-729: MAY ELABORATE ON EXISTING PRINTED PARTS (reference recording: https://youtu.be/J_NelA3ZW4g?si=rRUNQnX0C0iWyfoS&t=920 should start playing at 15:20)

  1. Colorado All State Orchestra accepts the standard orchestral instrumentation for both orchestras every year. We may double the standard wind section to help students save chops and perform at their best on the concert. That instrumentation is as follows:

    • Piccolo and Flute

    • Oboe

    • Bb Clarinet (may be asked to double on A)

    • Bassoon

    • French Horn

    • Bb Trumpet

    • Tenor and Bass Trombone

    • Tuba

    • Timpani

    • Percussion

  2. When a conductor picks pieces that call for specialty instruments, we will accept additional auditions on those instruments. (scroll down for this year’s list!) Examples of those specialty instruments are as follows:

    • Alto Flute

    • Eb and A Clarinets

    • Bass Clarinet

    • English Horn

    • Contra Bassoon

    • Saxophone

    • Trumpet in C or D

    • Euphonium

    • Specialty Percussion Instruments

  3. When specialty instruments are called, the audition material for those instruments is typically the same material as their non-specialty counterpart. For example, when we call for A clarinets, we usually ask students to perform the same material as the Bb Clarinets. If the audition material is different because of range or instrument appropriateness, then we will specify. We encourage students to audition on multiple instruments, and only charge one audition fee per student. If a student is selected for more than one instrument, that student will have to choose which one they want to participate on.

  4. The specialty instrument audition list for 2025 is:

  • English Horn

  • Contrabassoon

  • E-flat Soprano Clarinet

  • E-flat Alto Clarinet

  • B-flat Bass Clarinet

  • E-flat Alto Saxophone

  • B-flat Tenor Saxophone

  • E-flat Baritone Saxophone

  • Baritone

Students are responsible to provide their own instruments for the All State Weekend. Students are encouraged to work with their directors and private instructors to secure the needed instrument if transposed parts are not available.