Each year, WSMA Festivals Committee members review festival rules and information from the perspective of how best to serve students. Discussion and suggested revisions are brought to a steering committee consisting of sub-committee chairs that then refines and forwards the recommendations to the WSMA Board for approval.
The 2015-2016 Festival Rules and Music List Event Headers reflect the following changes:
A. Festival Rule Changes (changes noted in italics):
IV.A.2: Participating schools establish Concert Festival dates. All Concert Festival dates must be submitted to WSMA by October 1 of the current school year. Concert Festivals may not be held on the following dates:
• Wisconsin State Music Conference (Wednesday – Saturday)
• Friday or Saturday of State Solo & Ensemble Festival weekends
• Additional dates as determined by WSMA
IV.E.3: Participating schools establish District Festival dates and formats. All District Festival dates must be submitted to WSMA by October 1 of the current school year. District Solo & Ensemble Festivals may not be held on the following dates:
• Wisconsin State Music Conference (Wednesday – Saturday)
• Additional dates as determined by WSMA
IV.A.6.c & IV.E.9.c: Subsidy checks cannot be sent to the Festival Manager until WSMA receives payment from each participating school. (Solo & Ensemble and Concert Festival registration is now done online and sending a Festival Registration Form to WSMA is no longer necessary.)
IV.A.4.d: The Concert Festival Manager must submit the Festival Financial Report to WSMA within one week of receiving the subsidy check.
IV.E.9.e: The District Festival Manager must submit the Festival Financial Report to WSMA within one week of receiving the subsidy check.
(The previous rules regarding this stated the financial report was due to WSMA within two weeks of the festival)
VI.B.3: Event 3878 (Woodwind Ensemble) has been added to the list of events that a student may enter more than once as long as the number and/or combinations of voices/instruments differ for each entry, and coincides with Special Ensemble exceptions as outlined in Section VI.B.4.
VI.B.4: Double reed players may perform in Event 3878 more than once.
VI.B.7: Accompaniment, when written for ensembles, is strongly encouraged, but not required. Taped,
pre-recorded, or sequenced accompaniments are permitted for regular ensembles but are not permitted for special ensembles unless indicated in the event header. Alternative accompaniment instruments (i.e. guitar, harp, SmartMusic, etc.) may be substituted for piano in regular ensembles.
VI.B.8: Class A and B vocal ensembles may be transposed up or down as much as a minor third into a key that best accommodates the tessitura of the performers voices. There are no transposition restrictions in Class C vocal ensembles. Doubling parts is allowed in Class C Barbershop Quartets.
(Doubling parts on a Class C vocal duet in Event 1182, 1282 and 1882 is now transferred to Event 1912)
VI.B.19: An adult piano accompanist may be used in the rhythm section of Events 6118, 6119, 6128, 6138, 6139, 6228, 6229, 6238 and 6239 however all other members of the ensemble must be students. Pre-recorded accompaniment without vocals is permitted.
B. Festival Music List Event Updates (changes noted in italics):
Event 1918: Music must be at least 3-part has been added to the event header to clarify participation.
Events 1182, 1282, 1882: Doubling parts on Class C vocal duets is no longer provided for in these events. Doubling parts on a Class C vocal duet in Event 1182, 1282 and 1882 is now transferred to Event 1912.
New Event – Event 1912: This No Permission, Limited Transfer event is intended for 3-6 singers performing 2-part music in any combination for Class C. See event header for further information.
Event 5918: Multiple performers may play the same part. Parts with multiple instruments may be split has been added to the event header to expand opportunities for students.
Event 5918: String bass, guitar, piano, celesta and/or synthesizer parts indicated in the score may be used and will be judged as part of the ensemble.
Event 6329: For any combination of 6-28 players, multiple performers may play the same part.
(The previous headers in Event 5918 and 6329 stated that some players were not included in the total number of performers. All student performers in these events are now included in the total number of performers)
C. Other Changes (changes noted in italics):
Events 2511 & 2521: Beginning with the 2015-2016 Festival Season, Lever and Pedal Harp Solo events will have a rubric specific to the harp.
