Written by Laylin Hadley
Auditions for the Senior District Music Festival, hosted by the Southeastern District of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, are an important annual event for the members of band, orchestra, and chorus who audition. The highly competitive auditions consist of a solo piece and scales, as well as sight reading, a challenging task that involves playing a piece immediately after receiving the sheet music.
This year, auditions will be hosted at King Philip High School in Wrentham on November 23. The festival hosts auditions for all standard band, orchestral, and jazz instruments, along with the four major voice parts. For each instrument, a number of top-scoring auditioners are given the opportunity to audition for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association All-State Festival in January.
Sharon High School intends to send more students than ever before to this year’s Sr. District auditions. Sixty-two students will be attending, representing several instruments across all four grades.
Grace Zheng: Violist, Class of 2028
Freshman Grace Zheng will be auditioning for a district festival for the first time; she planned for years to audition for Sr. Districts in high school after she was unable to attend the Jr. District festivals.
Zheng switched to the viola at the end of seventh grade after a few years of experience playing the violin. “It’s very similar to violin, so I just had to get used to the bigger instrument and learn [to read] alto clef,” she explained.
Violists at the 2024 auditions will be playing Handel’s Concerto in B Minor. Zheng mentioned that although the piece switches frequently between the alto and treble clefs, that isn’t the part of the piece that is most difficult for her—she feels comfortable with the treble clef from her years as a violinist. “The tricky part is that the excerpt is fast,” Zheng said. “So I’ve been playing it through trying to pay attention to getting all the right notes and adding dynamics [and] phrasing.”
At her first festival, Zheng hopes to familiarize herself with the audition process. “Primarily, my goal is to pass the auditions,” she said. She also wants to meet other musicians that play the same instrument as her.
Avaneesh Mohan: Clarinetist, Class of 2027
Sophomore Avaneesh Mohan will also audition for Sr. Districts for the first time this year after attending Jr. Districts for the past three years. Mohan first picked up the instrument in fourth grade, when students were introduced to the music program. In seventh grade, he auditioned for the Jr. District festival and won first chair in the concert band; in two other Jr. District festivals, he played second and first chair in the orchestra. “I plan on continuing to play with the band until I graduate,” Mohan stated.
For the auditions, clarinetists must prepare Mozart’s iconic Clarinet Concerto. “I have learned the piece well and am working on details like phrasing and expression,” Mohan said. “I am also working on one or two of the runs that I find difficult, but I am able to play through the pieces confidently.”
Mohan’s goals for the festival include meeting new people who are as passionate about the clarinet as he is, as well as learning more about the instrument. “I would also like to qualify for an All-State audition,” he added.
Aaron Cui: Saxophonist, Class of 2026
Junior Aaron Cui played the saxophone last year in the Sr. SEMSBA jazz band. Cui at first played the clarinet in elementary school, but said that he always wanted to play the saxophone—“it looked cool,” he explained. He started with the alto saxophone in sixth grade and tenor saxophone, now his main instrument, in eighth.
Cui will audition for the jazz band this year with a piece called Miles, which is an étude, or a short composition intended for a single instrument. The étude is based on the chords from the jazz standards “So What” and “Impressions.” Cui said, “The song itself is easy enough. But I have to improvise over this piece as part of the audition… I’m a little nervous about that.”
What goals does Cui have for this year’s auditions? “Obviously my goal is to get in,” Cui answered. “But I also want to use this opportunity to improve my skills in general. Last year the band director had some really good insight, so I hope I can learn more this year. I also want to meet some new people and connect with some other sax players.”
Chloe Chung: Clarinetist, Class of 2025
Senior Chloe Chung has been playing the clarinet since she was in fourth grade. In seventh grade, she was encouraged by her teacher to audition for the Jr. District music festival. The festival was held virtually that year because of the pandemic. “Although I was not able to attend the true festival experience, it inspired me to keep practicing and auditioning,” Chung explained.
In the following years, Chung continued to audition for festivals. She played principal clarinet in the Sr. SEMSBA orchestra her freshman year; for the next two years, she played in the first clarinet section of the Sr. District concert band, earning All-State recommendations both years.
Chung is currently preparing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto for the Sr. District audition, along with Weber’s Clarinet Concerto in Eb Major. “Mozart’s piece is one of my favorite concertos,” she said. “It has a complex structure and melody. There are fast and intense parts mixed in with slow and mysterious scenes.” Chung added that Weber’s music is often more difficult for her because of its challenging technique and articulation.
“I think that… having a strong practice schedule, self-determination, and self-discipline truly help maintain my learning and playing abilities,” Chung said. “They help me get the notes under my fingers quickly so I can focus on interpreting the composer’s message.”
Chung’s goal for this audition is to enjoy her final district festival. “I have been on this audition grind for so long… it is unfamiliar to say that I am not auditioning next year,” she said. Chung does not have a particular chair she hopes to achieve this year. Instead, her main focus is to “cherish the amount of time I dedicate to practicing and the rejuvenating feeling of playing with other honor musicians.”
Charlotte Choi: Flutist, Class of 2025
Impressively, senior Charlotte Choi has played her instrument for ten years. Her previous experience with festivals includes Jr. Districts and Jr. SEMSBA in seventh and eighth grade, as well as Sr. Districts and All-States in her freshman, sophomore, and junior years of high school.
At this year’s auditions, flutists will play the first and fourth movements of Ernest Bloch’s Suite Modale. “I’ve been preparing since the summer and [first] practiced this piece a few years ago,” Choi said. “I feel pretty prepared technically, but I want to work on my phrasing and musicality.”
In her many years of participating in district festivals, Choi has always found the community to be supportive and enthusiastic. “Being able to participate one final time would mean the world to me,” she said.
Choi’s main goal for this year’s festival is to enjoy it: “I hope to befriend the musicians I meet at the festival through our shared passion for music.”
Looking past Sr. Districts, SEMSBA auditions will take place in February; applications have yet to arrive, so interested students should wait to hear from their music teacher. All music students are encouraged to attend the auditions. As Aaron Cui said, attending these events will “prompt you to really try to improve your skills. The people who get into the festivals are some of the best there are around here, so you’ll learn a lot.”