AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:
The AGE LIMIT is 18 years, 364 days as of February 1st in the February preceding the festival month, except for vocalists or singers, viola da gambists, harpsichordists, organists, and any accompanists, who may be as old as 20 years, 364 days on that date.
In other words, applicants must normally be younger than exactly 19 years of age, but those belonging to the above instrument categories (voice, viola da gamba, harpsichord, organ) OR accompanists must be younger than exactly 21 years of age.
Additionally, any age is permissible if applying students are still attending high school.
There is no age limit for conductors or page-turners.
MUSIC: The applicant’s music must be identified by the appropriate “BWV” number. BWV stands for the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (“Bach’s Works List”), a catalog of compositions that J.S Bach composed or arranged. This catalog was developed by Wolfgang Schmeider. BWV numbers and S numbers (for Schmeider) are the same. For consistency, the Festival uses BWV numbers.
The original instrumentation for Bach’s works is always acceptable for auditions.
Transcriptions for modern instruments also qualify for auditions.
If the piece is an arrangement and doesn’t have a BWV number, it will not qualify.
Suites and concerti may be submitted by selected movements or as complete works.
It is highly recommended that teachers and applicants study the composer’s autograph manuscript or consult the closest version possible to the original work. Some editions have been highly edited and may even be misleading about the composer’s original musical intentions.
These websites feature digital manuscripts of Bach manuscripts for study free of charge and may even be downloadable when they are in the public domain:
Bach Digital: https://www.bach-digital.de/content/index.xed
The Leipzig Bach Archive at https://digitalesammlungen.bach-leipzig.de/main/thumbnailview
The International Music Score Library Project at https://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Bach,_Johann_Sebastian
Hard copy Urtext editions of Bach’s works are G. Henle Verlag or Bärenreiter Verlag. Questions regarding the eligibility of entries? Please email the Festival’s Music Director, Lisa Grodin at musicdirector@juniorbach.org.
VIRTUAL AUDITIONS: For decades, the Junior Bach Festival organized live auditions for large numbers of students, with panels of three judges who evaluated live performances from behind screens to maintain impartiality and transparency. This year, again, auditions will be virtual, USING ANONYMOUS RECORDINGS without any identifying personal data.
PLAYING TIME in minutes must be stated accurately. Judges reserve the option to select only certain movements for Festival performance. An entry may consist of more than a single short piece (but not more than 5 compatible pieces with different BWV numbers) on the same instrument. Repeats should not be played unless ornamented differently. Da capo repeats are requested and should be factored into duration calculations.
THE AUDITION FEE for the 2024-2025 Festival is $85 for one instrument. A student may now audition on up to three different solo instruments (or for example, 2 different instruments and one vocal performance) for an additional $75 for second instrument and a further $55 for the third instrument. A $5 discount is available for those who submit their videos by Dec. 15th, 2024. Note: Only one video submission will be accepted! Updates are not allowed.
ACCOMPANIMENT: Although the original instrumentation is preferred, solo works (such as arias and concertos) requiring a chamber ensemble may be auditioned with a keyboard reduction instead. If a work includes an accompaniment, the audition must include it. Accompanists may be up to 20 years, 364 days old on February 1 in the February preceding the festival month. The Festival will try to assist applicants if they experience difficulty finding an accompanist of an appropriate age.
JUDGING: The Junior Bach Association will assemble panels of three professional judges to evaluate each audition. The Judges are highly esteemed musicians who both perform and teach locally, nationally, and internationally. Judges will evaluate anonymous audio submissions in their respective audition panels separately and virtually. Judges will have the ability to consult with each other on any audition performance. In the case of multi-movement works, Judges will have the option of selecting only the movement(s) they recommend for a Festival performance. The panel’s composite grade will determine whether a student will be invited to perform in the Festival. The grades will be confidential. Each of the three judges’ comments and suggestions will be sent to the student or ensemble’s teacher or coach, to be reviewed with the student.
MEMORIZATION is NO LONGER required, but is strongly preferred, for both audio audition (on the honor’s system) and in performances for solo instrumentalists and vocalists with accompaniment. Memorization is not required for harpsichordists, gambists, and organists. Members of duos or ensembles may use music. This includes concertos with keyboard accompaniment, although memorization by the solo instrumentalist is encouraged. Music scores may also be used by orchestras and choirs.
CRITERIA: The Junior Bach Festival recognizes that a musical performance evolves through a complex creative process involving many technical and artistic decisions.
In addition to awarding audition grades, Festival Judges may provide technical suggestions or comments about performance practice, style, and interpretation.
In an effort to establish an equitable, consistent, and supportive evaluation process for auditioning students, Festival Judges grade auditions on the following criteria as applicable:
- Accuracy of rhythm and intonation
- Adherence to Bach’s articulation and dynamic indications, if any,
- Observation of appropriate rhythmic emphasis in compositions based on dance forms
- Clarity of voicing in counterpoint
Applicants of similar age will be judged together, and student age will be taken into consideration in the evaluation process.
QUESTIONS? Email manager@juniorbach.org.