All State Band info

Good Evening!

State band auditions are this weekend and I thought I would pass along some information that I have learned the last couple of years.

Auditions are held at Hickman High School, 1104 N Providence Rd, Columbia, MO. I believe the school opens at 8:30 a.m. and auditions start at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Thurmond is the only person that needs to officially check-in and he normally does this when the school opens. There is no set time that you need to arrive…you just need to be there before the auditions close for your child’s room. Kayla and I usually get there around 9 a.m.

Once you get to the school, you will need to find Mr. Thurmond. Typically he will be in the lobby until all students have arrived. He will give the student their registration form and it will list their audition number. You will want to make a note of the audition number…the student will turn in the registration form at their audition and all call-backs will be announced using the audition number instead of name.

Lee’s Summit West usually gathers on the second level, at the top of the stairs. When you walk into the school, the stairs will be on your right. Just come up the stairs and you should see familiar faces. If you can’t find Mr. Thurmond in the lobby, come upstairs and we’ll help you find him.

Once you have your registration form, you will want to find your audition room (the room number should be listed on the form). The school is a large sprawling campus. Again, if you have any problems finding the room, any of the kids will be happy to help.

After you find the room, there will be a sign-up sheet hanging outside the room. The student will select a slot and write their audition number on the sheet. There will not be a time assigned to a slot ; just a number order. You will need to periodically check in with the room to see how the room is progressing so the student will know when it is time to go to the room to audition.

There are no assigned spaces to warm-up. Basically, kids will warm up anywhere there is an open spot…as long as it isn’t too close to an audition room. (Unfortunately, this means it is very nosy inside the school.)

Once it is time for the audition, the student will need to take their registration form with them to the audition. They will be nervous and will forget the form so you might want to keep track of it for them. The actual audition is very similar to the district audition.

When the audition is over, the waiting game begins. Once all auditions have finished in a room, the judges will begin making their selections. All call-backs and selections are posted on a large screen in the common area. The LSW home base on the 2nd floor offers an excellent view of the screen.

There are a lot more instruments that have call-backs at the state level. If your student is listed for a call-back, they will receive a piece of paper from the front office. They will warm-up on their instrument again and then proceed to the audition room. There is no order for the call-backs…students will audition in the order that they arrive at the room. Typically, they will be asked to play a different section of the music and they might be asked to sight-read a new piece of music.

Some other pointers:
* It is normally quite warm in the school, dress in layers.
* There are usually folding chairs available, but you might pack a couple of lawn chairs just in case.
* I will have bottled water, provided by LSW Music Parents.
* There is a PAC where you can hang out for a little peace and quiet. The chairs are somewhat comfortable and it’s one place where students can’t practice.

If you have any other questions, just ask 🙂

Nancy