Overview

The Large Ensemble Festival opportunity seeks to welcome Maryland public and private school educators to submit recordings of their ensembles for adjudication and rating. All qualifying ensembles must have participated in the county/district festival and earned a rating of superior on a music difficulty level of grade 2 and above. Pieces performed at county/district and state recording submissions must be on the MMEA approved repertoire lists.

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​The Goals of the Festival are to:

• Provide an opportunity for string, vocal, percussion, and wind students to perform musical literature for evaluation in large groups.

• Provide a formative and reflective tool so that students and educators can receive quality feedback about their technique and performance.

• Provide feedback from regionally and nationally experienced adjudicators.

• Provide the opportunity for an ensemble to receive state recognition.

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Festival Format

The 2023 Large Ensemble Festival will be held as an asynchronous recorded submission festival. There will not be an in-person event for any grade levels. Please see Eligibility and Recording Requirements for full festival submission details.

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​​Festival Application Timeline

Submission Window
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 to Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 12:00pm (noon)

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Results Released To School Music Educators
Week of May 22, 2023

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Eligibility

The eligibility rules for this festival are as follows:

1. The ensemble must be representing a private or public middle or high school. 

2. The ensemble must have participated in the county/district festival in order to participate in the state festival. 

3. Ensemble must have earned a Superior (I) rating on repertoire grade 2 and above.

4. The two adjudicated musical selections performed at county/district must be from an appropriate MMEA approved repertoire list.

5. Music educator membership in MMEA/NAfME is not required but encouraged.

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Repertoire

All music performed/recorded must be listed in the MMEA approved lists for Instrumental or Choral large ensembles. On the submission form, list the ID number and title of the piece exactly as it appears on the MMEA Repertoire Lists.

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The ensemble should perform the same repertoire or same grade of repertoire that was performed at their county/district festival.

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If the selection is multi-movement or a longer work, the same time limits implemented at county/district should be followed.

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Music Copyright Rules

MMEA operates in compliance with the US Copyright Act. Anyone using a photocopy of the music that is not in Public Domain must be accompanied by written verification of permission from the publisher. Music purchased online as digital copies should have clear indication of ownership/performance permission.

Educators will be required to upload a copy/scan of the score via a secure portion of the submission form.  Scores may be in .doc, .docx, .pdf, .jpg, or .png format.

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Festival Requirements

All educators must abide by the following submission requirements:

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• One submission (2 recordings) allowed per qualifying ensemble. 

• All festival submissions must be on the Approved Repertoire List.

• Festival submissions MUST be recorded on or after this year’s county/district festival. Recordings can come from a designated recording session or a recording from the county/district.

• Submitted recordings of the two adjudicated pieces must match grade level of music performed and adjudicated at the county/district festival.  

• Each ensemble’s personnel of the recording must match the personnel of the ensemble that performed at the county/district festival. 

• Directors/Educators will be required to provide an electronic copy of their certificate and/or set of comment sheets as proof of qualification.

• School music educators are responsible for completing the submission form and paying the fee. Fees may be paid at the time of submission or educators can request an invoice which must be paid prior to receiving comments. 

• MMEA will only accept materials via the online submission form. Submissions will not be accepted in any other form (ex: telephone, mail, fax, or email.)

• The school public or private school music educator will serve as contact. 

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Recording Requirements

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! 

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• Each adjudicated piece should be recorded and uploaded separately on the submission form.

• Two (2) recordings are required per submission.

• Festival submissions MUST be recorded on or after this year’s county/district festival. Recordings can come from a designated recording session or a recording from the district.

• Submitted recordings of the two adjudicated pieces must match grade level of music performed and adjudicated at the county/district festival.  

• NO audio or video editing OF ANY KIND is allowed.  Performances of each recording should be recorded in one take, without stopping.

  • If the work is multi-movement, the work should be recorded in one continuous take. 

• Please VIEW or LISTEN to the submissions in their entirety before submitting.

• Festival recordings can be provided in one of three formats:

  • Video file uploaded in the following formats: .avi, .wmv, .mov, or .mp4. 

  • Audio file uploaded in the following formats: .mp3 and .wav

  • Online link, such as YouTube or Vimeo.

  • For uploaded recordings, the maximum file size allowed for uploading is 2Gb. Please be aware that the larger the file, the longer it will take to load.​

• Final Recording Reminders: please reference the Eligibility section for correct submissions and notes about ensemble personnel.

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Adjudication and Rating

Performances will be judged by conductors/adjudicators specifically chosen for their expertise in large ensembles. Adjudicators will have regional and national experience.

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Certificates

Certificates will be provided to the school music educator, in the ensemble name. Educators are welcome to share/copy the certificate for their student musicians. Individual certificates for students will not be provided.

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Submission Fee

A fee of $50 for each submission is required when submitting. These fees are to cover the cost to compensate the adjudicators and administrative costs to run the submissions, review, etc. 

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Educators may pay online with a credit card at the time of submission or request an invoice. Invoicing terms are NET15 and must be paid prior to adjudication results being released.

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​All transactions are final and non-refundable.

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Submission Form

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​​Questions and Communication

Only school music educators should contact MMEA with questions regarding the Large Ensemble Festival. Caregivers of participating students, please refer all questions to your student’s school music educator.

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Please contact MMEA Staff at mmeamarylandinfo@gmail.com with questions.

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Large Ensemble Festival Committee
Krystal Williams; Chair; Prince George’s County Public Schools
Jennier Kauffman; MMEA President-Elect, Baltimore County Public Schools
Dr. Christopher Cicconi; MBDA President, Towson University
Dr. Edryn Coleman; MCEA President, Howard County Public Schools
Dana Shieh; MODA President-Elect, Prince George’s County; Private School
Anthony Conto; MMEA Executive Director