Klarinet Archive - Posting 000270.txt from 2004/04

From: "DWH46" <dwh46@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Music exams in U.S.
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2004 12:04:50 -0400

Tony -
The system Mark is describing to you is simpky our way of allowing students
grades 7 through 12 in our schools "compete" as soloists and in ensembles.
It's not truly competition, they are called festivals at least in my stste,
but students prepare their pieces with accompanist or as a group, and play
before adjudicators. The "I, II, and II" Mark refers to are scores, I being
superior, etc.

The students here who achieve a score of I are allowed then to submit a
recording of their performance to the state Music Educator's group, and from
those are chosen the best (I can't tell you what the standards of selection
are here, but they're clearly subjective and usually political in nature
among the music teachers who make up the selection committee), who then
perform publicly in recitals as "Honor" finalists.

A note about competition here - the number of students in our local music
programs has dwindled so badly, that instead of competition among for
example a hundred or more clarinetists for our All-County Band when I was in
it thirty years ago, competing for 24 seats, there are now barely enough who
audition, and it's a formality that a student makes the band just by showing
up for the audition for 20 clarinet seats if they manage to get that many
students out.

>>Thank you Gary and Mark. Could Mark elaborate a little more please with
how he says I, II, and III relate to grades 7-12. And whether the
requirements which roughly follow ABRSM will be grades 7-12, (as this does.
Performing in the S & E contests is not mandatory.
seem to be some form of a system of 6 grades) or I, II, III, or both? Does
7-12 continue(?) *after* I, II, and III, or do they run concurrently? I.e.
what is the difference between these?

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