Pennsylvania Music Educators Association

2026 PMEA ACCOMPANIST AUDITION INSTRUCTIONS  
Time Frame: Monday, January 12, 2026 - Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at NOON
*There is no fee to submit this audition

• Eligibility: BOTH Region State Festival Accompanists are eligible to apply within a given year. In Regions where a student accompanist is not used, the first place District accompanist who has been recommended by the District Host, Guest Conductor, District President and the Chairperson of the accompanist audition committee will participate in Region Chorus. The Committee may also elect to not recommend an accompanist to move on to the Region level even if they are the sole District applicant.
  • Please note that if the student has been selected for the Region Chorus Festival, they must attend in order to apply for an All-State Accompanist position.
•  Students applying for Accompanist may also be selected as an accompanist for the instrumental ensembles based on their score placement and if the instrumental ensemble requires an accompanist for the majority of music selections programmed.  
• If the Accompanist has also advanced vocally to the All-State level, the student will receive an All-State Choral folder and audition with the All-State Chorus students to determine ranking for future Ensembles including NAfME All-East. (This includes Accompanists who are placed in an All-State Instrumental Ensemble.) The next region student in the specific voice section who qualifies for All-State Chorus would still be eligible to also audition since the Accompanist audition would be solely for ranking purposes.  

Audition Pieces:

Accompaniment Only
A Jubilant Song (Dello Joio) - ms. 51-87
O Schone Nacht (Brahms) - ms. 29 - end

Open Score Reading
O Schone Nact - parts pickup to ms. 54 - end
 

Directors who wish to have their students (grades 10-12 only) considered for selection should:

1. Complete the application form online. The Director must be a current PMEA member. All student applicants must upload a headshot photo - (ABOVE the SHOULDERS) labeled LAST NAME, FIRST NAME (i.e. Smith, John)
2. The Audition selections must be submitted online. The audition selections must be recorded from start to finish without cuts and/or splices. Do NOT use a metronome when recording any of the audition selections. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS on how to submit EACH SELECTION are listed BELOW as well as on the Application. ARMS, FINGERS and HEAD must be visible when submitting the application for recording. NO EARBUDS or HEADPHONES are permitted to be used in the recording. The best camera angle would be behind or at a side angle of the applicant with a clear view of the hands and music. To obtain the best audio quality, a good microphone as well as high-end computers or digital recording devices for the recording equipment are suggested. * NEW- A VIDEO outlining “how to make a better recording online for submission” is available on the PMEA website. Please take the time to review the recording instructions.
3. No identifying clothing may be worn (i.e. no school t-shirts, no name identification, no PMEA, NAfME All Eastern or National shirts). Additionally, please do NOT include any identifying information (student name/school name) in the video file name or in the contents of the recording.
4. The “Window of Opportunity” to submit begins Monday, 1/12/2026 and ends at NOON, Tuesday 1/20/26. Once completed, a confirmation email will be sent to the address used to register. Please check your SPAM filters for any communications and also check with your IT Administrator if a school email address is used and no email is received.  *If a harpist submits an upload at the district level, but does not participate in the District Festival because there were no harp parts in the festival program, the same ranking would hold for Region Orchestra. If no harp parts are needed for Regions, the same ranking would hold for the PMEA All-State Orchestra in the event a harpist is needed for the All-State program.  
5. The director is asked to view the file and verify the recorded audition is consistent with the  student’s level of performance.
6. Although PMEA checks to ensure the videos play in the correct format and the file can be opened- PMEA is NOT responsible for the content repertoire of the video.  
7. The results will be shared a tthe Region Chorus Festival.

Please label the audition files as follows:

First excerpt - A Jubilant Song
Second excerpt - O Schone Nact Accompaniment
Third excerpt - O Schone Nacht Open