RECENT AUDITIONS

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Advanced Chamber Orchestra 

Camerata Choir and A Cappella Choir

We are holding auditions for the Advanced Chamber Orchestra for next school year on:
 
Monday, February 27 through Friday, March 3 from 7:30 am to 8:15 am in the BHS Auditorium, 
Wednesday, March 1 between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm in room 322 (across from the Black Box Theatre on the third floor of Brookline High). 

To sign up students must follow this procedure: 

1)    Students must sign into their psbma.org google account as we need your full name. You also need to log out of all other gmail/google accounts (aside from your psbma.org account) before going to this link:

2)    Go to this sign-up link: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UUtsR2dNbFRGZXA5fGRlZmF1bHR8YjY3NTc4ZmIxN2QzMDkyYTVjZmJhOGJhNTU4N2ZjMTE

​3)    Scroll to the date you want - when you click on the link above, it will be easier to see if you move to the “day” view (upper right of screen). 

4)    Click on an open appointment five-minute time slot that you want (if you hover over a audition slot with your mouse it will show the time) and click “save.” If no slots are available, please try a different date. Please sign up for only one time, and keep that time.   

5)    You should show up at least ten minutes before the time you set up to get your instrument ready and to warm up.

Please note that students interested in BHS Orchestra or BHS Concert Band do not need to audition. These auditions are only for students interested in Advanced Chamber Orchestra.

Auditions for Advanced Chamber Orchestra will be five minutes. Students should prepare a short passage (one minute or so) of their choice to perform, they will sight read, and play one major scale and one minor scale (either harmonic or melodic) in student's choice of key with corresponding arpeggios.

If you have any questions please email jorge_soto@psbma.org.

AUDITIONS for Camerata Choir and placement auditions for A Cappella Choir will take place at BHS, in room 324:
Wednesday, March 1, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm 
Friday, March 3, 2:20pm – 6:00pm  

Please email Dr. Driscoll or call 617-713-5322 to set up an audition time.

Students do not need to prepare anything for either the A Cappella Choir placement audition or the Camerata audition. The auditions consist of the following:

• Singing scales to determine vocal range/voice part
• Singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” (or “Happy Birthday”)
• Pitch memory assessment (director plays a series of notes, student sings them back)
• Sight-singing of rhythm patterns
• Sight-singing of a melody
• Written test of music notation/theory

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COMPLETED AUDITIONS

For 2016-17 Shows: All Freshmen are invited to audition for this year's Freshman Play, "The Phantom Tollbooth" directed by Summer Williams. Auditions are Sept. 19 & 20 after school in the Black Box Theater.

For 2016-2017 Performing Arts Classes 
(These auditions are done, but the info here might be useful if you're new to BHS)

Intermediate Dance, Advanced Modern Jazz Dance and Choreography
Tuesday, February 23 or Thursday February 25 Dance Studio One, Tappan Gym, 3:10pm- 5pm
This audition is only for students interested in being in an Intermediate or Advanced level class. All students who wish to take Beginning Dance, Beginning Dance I-A or African, Latin, Hip-Hop Dance do not need to audition. The audition you will be given a center floor warm-up, a few across the floor phrases, and a short routine. Please come dressed in dance clothing, ready to move, and be able to stay the whole time. You only need to attend one of these dates. For more information please contact christien_polos@brookline.k12.ma.us
 
Music Collective/Jazz Band
Please note that we have many music classes open to all students without an audition, including Jazz/Rock Ensemble, Concert Band, Orchestra, Drumming and World Music: Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean for students interested in ensemble focused classes. For students with more experience in music and improvisation, the Music Collective/Jazz Band is our highest-level improvising ensemble playing a wide range of music including jazz, rock and other styles. Members of the group arrange, compose and perform music. Auditions are Feb. 22 or February 23 from 3pm to 4pm in the BHS Band Room, room 120 next to the cafeteria (students choose one day and email carolyn_castellano@brookline.k12.ma.us to confirm). Please see audition information sheet attached here below. Students should know the song Sonny Rollins song Tenor Madness, and there are more details on the audition information form. Interested students should come audition even if they don’t feel 100 percent prepared with all the theory, most of the audition time is spent playing as an ensemble. For more information, contact carolyn_castellano@brookline.k12.ma.us
 
Placement in A Cappella Choir and Camerata 
Please note that rising freshmen interested in Concert Choir do not need to audition, and sophomores through juniors who would like to take A Cappella Choir do not need to audition. Freshmen interested in A Cappella choir and all students interested in Camerata must audition. Students schedule an audition time, which will last 8 minutes on either Tuesday, February 23, between 4pm and 5:30pm, Wednesday & Thursday, February 24 & 25, 3-6pm, or Friday, February 26, 2:30-5:30pm in the BHS Chorus Room (324). Contact BHS Choral Teacher Mike Driscoll to set up an audition time at mike_driscoll@brookline.k12.ma.us or 617-713-5322. Auditions consist of the following:

• Singing scales to determine vocal range/voice part
• Singing “My Country 'Tis of Thee” (or “Happy Birthday”)
• Pitch memory assessment (director plays a series of notes, auditionee sings them back)
• Sight-singing of rhythm patterns
• Sight-singing of a melody
• Written test of music notation/theory

 
BETCo. & Needs Improvment (Drama)
Open to students who will be in 11th and 12th grade next year who have completed at least three semesters of Drama classes (Drama 1 and 2, Drama 1a and 2, Drama 1 and 2a, or students new to BHS who have taken Drama courses at their previous schools). Tuesday, March 1, 3pm to 4:30pm in the Black Box Theater. Students do not need to prepare anything for the audition, but should be prepared to participate and attend the whole time. For more information contact Mark VanDerzee at mark_vanderzee@brookline.k12.ma.us
 
Music Collective/Jazz Band
The BHS Music Collective is an audition only ensemble that is the top ensemble in the instrumental music program at BHS. The group has performed concerts for The Boston Music Society and The Highland Jazz Society. The Collective received awards at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival, and recently the ensemble was mentioned in the June Music Educators Journal in an article that applauded collaborative ensembles in the 21st century public music classroom. Although most members are juniors and seniors, all current members auditioned as incoming freshman; they might not have been accepted as freshman into the music collective but they did take either the jazz-rock ensemble or concert band to develop their skills. All current members then re auditioned and were accepted either as sophomores or juniors.
 
I mentioned the above so that you will not feel intimidated by the audition requirements below and that YOU COME AND AUDITION EVEN IF YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU ARE NOT 100% prepared. We spend most of the audition preforming music and the theory exam is just a small part.
 
The audition is an ensemble audition and students will work together for the hour.
When:

• February 22 or 23 at 3pm in the band room (room 120 past the cafeteria)
• Pick one day to attend and email carolyn_castellano@brookline.k12.ma.us
• Incoming 8th graders should email Carolyn to indicate what day and what instrument they are auditioning on.

What to bring:

• Instrument, if not a drummer or piano player.
• If you are a guitar player then you must bring your own ¼ inch cable.
• If you are a drummer bring your own sticks and brushes.

The actual audition will last from 45-60 minutes and consist of:

• Being asked to play any of the following scales in the following concert keys
  • Major-F-Bb-Eb-Ab-C-G
  • Mixolydian-C-F-Eb-G-D
  • Blues-just concert Bb, F and Eb
  • Dorian-just concert D and E
  • Diminished-whole half starting on concert F
• Drummers need to know the following scales
• Major-F-Bb
• Mixolydian-F-C
• Blues-F

Playing in a variety of musical genres including

• Rock
• Jazz
• Funk
• Bossa Nova

 Sight Reading of a typical jazz/rock chart.
 ALL SHOULD KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE HEAD AND SOLO OVER THE BLUES: Tenor Madness by Sonny Rollins
Theory exam:

• Notate seventh chords-Maj 7, Minor 7, Dominant 7(from the keys you played the scales in)
• Recognize secondary and substitute dominants (if you do not know this it is covered in the jazz rock class)
• Write a guide tone line.

 No need to prepare a selection except the blues above. This audition will be an opportunity to hear how well you work given prompts and direction and your ability improvise and be creative.    

Each year's auditions:

Drama
Freshman Play
Shakespeare production, directed by Mary Mastandrea
Musical production, directed by Christien Polos
Needs Improvment

Dance
Intermediate- and advanced-level Dance

Music
Camerata (Choir), directed by Michael Driscoll
A Cappella, directed by Michael Driscoll
Jazz Band/Music Collective
Perfect Pitch, the BHS all-girls a cappella group (extra-curricular)

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OTHER OPPORTUNITIES:

Emerson College Pre-College Musical Theatre summer program 
for rising high school juniors and seniors. The program, run by the head of Emerson's Musical Theatre department, will give rising seniors a chance to audition for our BFA Musical Theatre program (college) at the end of the 5-week summer program. Students from all over the country come to study and live in the dorms at Emerson College.  More info is here.

Artsbridge: best colleges for the arts

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Highlights of 2013 (and prior)

Last June, FoPA presented
Careers for Performing Artists: Inside and outside of performing arts!
A panel discussion
Moderated by Mark Vanderzee, Sponsored by FoPA
June 5, 2013, 7:00-8:00 PM in the Black Box
Is the path linear or non-linear… or a mixture? Follow the paths that performing artists have taken and discover where their passion has taken them. A panel discussion with audience participation which will cover everything from college programs to jobs both in the performing arts and jobs that use the skill sets developed by participation in the performing arts. Panelists include:

• Paul Daigneault, Founder and Producing Artistic Director for SpeakEasy Stage Company
  
• Steven Lipsitt, Music Director of the Boston Classical Orchestra, formerly lead BHS Orchestra
  
• Jody Leader, licensed clinical psychologist and psychotherapist
  
• Mark Kates, CEO, Fenway Recordings
  
• Michael Nash, Independent College Counselor supporting high school students in performing arts
  
• Jake Brennan, musician (worked with Bodega Girls, solo artist with Confidence Men and Cast Iron Hike
  
• Melanee Alexander, Associate Dean of Students and English Teacher at Brookline High School

Click for Panelist Bios

A Conversation of Freedom, responsibility, and Artistic expression within the BHS Context
Tuesday, December 11, at 7:30 PM in the Black Box Theatre at BHS, Hosted by FoPA
Panelists included representatives from the Performing and Visual Arts and English Departments, the Sagamore, our BHS headmaster, and BHS students. Participation was free and the event was open to the entire community, but with space limited to about 100 people, reservations were recommended.

BHS Musicians Perform at Symphony Hall for All-State

March 3, 2012, seven Brookline High School students had the experience of a lifetime as musicians performing at Symphony Hall in the Massachusetts All-State Concert.  Geoffrey Hodgkins (tenor), Nick Page (tenor), Emma Poole (alto), and Jordan Underwood (alto) sang as members of the All-State Chorus while Nicholas Gallitano (viola) and Jonah Pearl (oboe) performed as members of the All-State Orchestra and Cosette Bardawil (flute) played in the All-State Band.  These talented musicians, who also performed in the Massachusetts Eastern District concert held at Boston Latin School in January, were selected based on auditions at the regional and then state-wide level after being recommended by their respective BHS musical instructor.  It was a first-rate experience for each of these students who spent two-and-a-half intensive days rehearsing with nationally recognized conductors.

BAT BOY in the Tab!

If you missed the interview with Ezra Flam in the Feb. 3 edition of the Brookline TAB, you can check it out online, with some terrific photos included. CLICK HERE.

MMEA Festival/Conference Honors BHS Musicians

Bravo to all the BHS musicians chosen to participate in the Massachusetts Music Educators’ Association 2010 All-State Conference and Festival March 18-20. The MMEA is recognizing students  in the areas of composition, choral singing, orchestra and band. Of the eight students chosen statewide for composition honors, three are from Brookline High School: Paul Talos, Anna Redgrave and Ben Yee-Paulson (left to right), Each of the students will be presented with a certificate from MMEA, and the scores of their works will be displayed at the conference alongside their biographies.

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Eleven Students Chosen for All-State Festival

Thirteen BHS students, all scoring in the top 50% of District Music Festival participants, auditioned for the All-State Music Festival, and 11 out of the 13 students were accepted.  “I think this is probably among highest number of students we've had who were eligible to audition and certainly the highest percentage of students who passed the audition,” says BHS Choral Director Michael Driscoll. Chosen to participate in chorus are Amir Bitran, Thomas Corcoran, Becky Danning, Talia Greenberg, Evan Rizvi, Garrett Van Horne, Matthew Vaughan, and Elan Wong. Violist Charlotte Hough and cellist Minhye Kim were chose to participate in the All-State Orchestra, and Joseph Sax will play with the All-State Band. In addition, the Camerata, BHS’s honors choir, will be one of the festival’s demonstration choirs, and director Driscoll will co-present workshop sessions for teachers on building literacy and musicianship in the choral rehearsal.

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