State Honors Recital

2023 James R. Anthony Honors Recital Information

Online Registration for 2023 Honors Recital Deadline Extended to April 15
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Please email questions to Yu Wu at wuyupiano@gmail.com or Rong Lucchesi at fan_rong75@yahoo.com. Many questions can be answered by reading the guidelines.
Changes have been made regarding repertoire, deadlines, and other matters. It is your responsibility to read all guidelines thoroughly.
Fill out all information requested on the entry forms, including repertoire and teacher contact details.
ALL QUESTIONS/INQUIRIES SHOULD COME FROM TEACHERS ONLY.

General Honors Recital Information (SUBJECT TO CHANGE FOR 2023)

Committee Co-Chairs: Rong Lucchesi and Yu Wu

The purpose of the Arizona State Music Teachers Association’s James R. Anthony Honors Recital is to promote the development of musicianship, technique, and performance to the highest level possible. A two-tiered auditions process is used to select some of the most outstanding students in the state to perform during the state conference. Final Auditions, and the Honors Recital itself, are open to the public.

Procedural Guidelines (Subject to change for 2023)

Eligibility

The Honors Recital and auditions are open to pre-college instrumentalists, vocalists and chamber music ensembles of six performers or fewer, using no more than one piano. Participants must currently study with an ASMTA member who has renewed their membership dues prior to the Honors Recital application date. Students must have studied with their current teacher for at least 6 consecutive months prior to preliminary auditions. Students must be a resident of Arizona. There is no age restriction or ASMTA membership requirement for accompanists.

Teacher Responsibilities

Teachers must volunteer during the final auditions day. An Honors Recital committee member will contact teachers regarding their volunteer times and duties. If the teacher is unable to fulfill this responsibility, they should find a replacement.
Teachers should take time to review all of the current Guidelines, and go over these Guidelines with the participating students and their parents.
Questions and comments pertaining to any phase of this event must be conducted between teacher and chairperson(s) only. Parents and students are not allowed to discuss any portion of this event with event staff.
We recommend that teachers be present, in case any issues arise.

Competition Procedure

Applications may be submitted online on the ASMTA website beginning Monday, March 20, 2023 and no later than 11:59 pm on Friday, April 15, 2023. The application should include the complete and accurate names of the two works to be performed, including full names of composers, opus numbers and movement designations for each composition, and key signatures.
On the application, list accurate timings of each piece to be performed. Applicants should remain within the maximum total time specified for their division. Applicants who exceed that time limit will be dropped during their performance when they reach the maximum time limit.
All application fees must be paid either online at the ASMTA website or by check, payable to ASMTA, postmarked by Friday, April 15, 2023 and sent to Rong Luccehesi, 3017 W. Trapanotto Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85086. Each teacher should send a single check (or pay online by credit card at the time of application[s]) covering the total application fees for all of their participating students. Payment will not be accepted from students or parents!
All fees are non-refundable.
If the number of applicants requires that preliminary auditions be held, they will be held via video recordings. We recommend that all applicants plan to have video recordings available in advance of preliminary audition notification. Video recordings must be:
- posted to YouTube by 11:59 pm on Friday, April 28, 2023, and
- the link(s) to your video(s) must be emailed to Yu Wu: yuwu11@asu.edu also by Wednesday, May 4, 2023 at 11:59 pm.
- The YouTube videos must be “unlisted”, and must remain posted and available through Friday, May 12, 2023. Audio and picture of videos must be completely unedited. Both pieces may be recorded and uploaded separately.
Results, judge comments, and (if accepted) final audition times and locations will be emailed to participants’ teachers by Friday, May 12, 2023
The final auditions and winners recital will be on Saturday, June 3, 2023 at the following venues and times:
- Lower Level Auditions, 8:30 a.m., Madison Baptist Church – 6202 N. 12th St., Phoenix, AZ.
- Higher Level Auditions, 8:30 a.m., and Winners Recital, 5:00 p.m., Hilton Resort at the Peak, Palacio Building, Veranda Room (3rd Floor), 7677 N. 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ.
Scores for each piece must be presented to the desk monitors for the Final Auditions. Measures must be either numbered at the beginning of each staff or measure by measure, but names of teachers and students must be omitted.
Performers must present proof of their age upon checking in at the final round. Acceptable documents include a birth certificate, passport, or other valid picture ID that show a birth date. A digital photo of an original document is also acceptable. Students who cannot produce a proof of birth date will be allowed to participate for comments only, but will be ineligible for any award. Students’ ages must be within their division specification on the day of the final round.
No exceptions can be made for moving students to a different division, either higher or lower.
The Winners’ Recital will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. at the Hilton Resort at the Peak, Palacio Building, Veranda Room (3rd Floor), 7677 N. 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ. Winners unable to fulfill this performance obligation will not be allowed to enter the following year and will forfeit their award this year.

Division Requirements (subject to change for 2023)

Solo Instruments & Voice

Different instruments and voice will be adjudicated in separate categories. If 5 or more of a category participates in a division, the co-chairs will appoint a specialist to adjudicate the category. In categories other than solo piano, if there are fewer than 5 in each division, this category will be adjudicated as a single division, regardless of age.

The categories are as follows:
Strings – violin, viola, cello, string bass, harp
Winds – flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon
Brass – trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba, euphonium
Voice
Solo Piano
Piano Duet (four hands, one piano). Please note that we cannot guarantee the proper settings (two grand pianos in the room) for piano duos.
Chamber Music Ensembles

Division	Age Range	Performance Time Limit	Entrance Fee Per Person
Elementary 1	8 and under	8 minutes	$25
Elementary 2	9-10	8 minutes	$25
Intermediate 1*	11 -12	10 minutes	$30
Intermediate 2*	13-14	12 minutes	$30
Advanced 1*	15-16	15 minutes	$35
Advanced 2*	17-18	18 minutes	$35

*After the Final Round, four JAMES SAVERIO RUCCOLO PIANO SOLO AWARDS will be awarded to students in these categories: one award for Intermediate 1 division, one award for Intermediate 2 division, 1 award for Advanced 1 division and one award for Advanced 2 division. These awards are offered in memory of Dr. James Saverio Ruccolo, a pianist/composer and a Professor Emeritus of Arizona State University. Dr. Ruccolo was also an active contributor to the Arizona State Music Teachers Association, Piano Division between 1975 and 1985.

Each division that has a piano category will have one (1) winner selected to receive the PEE-YAW WILKES ENDOWMENT AWARD. This award was established in honor of Pee-Yaw Lim Wilkes, a long-time ASMTA member and teacher in the Flagstaff area, who produced some of the highest caliber, competitive pianists during her tenure. It serves to promote support and encouragement to promising, talented young pianists. The amount of the award will vary annually.

First, second and third place for each category and division may also be awarded. The amount of each award will vary annually. Prize monies for these placements are generously provided by the Arizona State Music Teachers Association and Arizona Study Program.

Piano Duets (Four hands, one piano).

Please note that we cannot guarantee the proper settings (two grand pianos in the room) for piano duos.

These will be placed in a separate category from “solo piano,” and therefore also adjudicated separately. At least one student in the ensemble must meet the age specification (13-18), and no members can be older than it. Requirements are as follows:

Division	Ages Range	Performance Time Limit	Entrance Fee Per Person
Mixed	13-18	18 minutes	$30

Chamber Music Ensembles

All mixed chamber ensembles will be placed together in one category separate from Solo Instruments and Piano Duets. At least one student in the ensemble must meet the age specification (13-18), and no members can be older than it. Requirements are as follows:

Division	Ages Range	Performance Time Limit	Entrance Fee Per Person
Mixed	13-18	18 minutes	$30

Repertoire Requirements (subject to change for 2023)

General

All students must perform two pieces of contrasting style.
All pieces will be performed from memory except in the case of chamber music groups.
Both pieces must be performed within the time limit listed above.
All entrants must abide by the federal Copyright Law. Photocopies are not allowed. Entrants using PDFs downloaded from the Internet must complete the MTNA Music Release Form verifying their permission to use this music.
Miniature scores are not acceptable.
Performers who choose to disregard the repertoire requirement guidelines will be disqualified.

Alterations and Exclusions

Repertoire changes: will not be permitted.
Masterclass: Students who participate in the masterclass during the Conference cannot play the same repertoire in the Honors Recital Competition.
Cuts: Any performances containing cuts will be disqualified. Exceptions to this will be in the orchestral reductions to concerto or operatic selections as long as the solo part is complete.
Repeats: If endings of repeats are the same, repeats are optional. If endings of repeats are different, repeats must be taken.

Special Repertoire

Original Compositions: Only original compositions by composers of renown and/or established pedagogical composers are acceptable. (Questions regarding acceptable repertoire should be directed to Yu Wu at wuyupiano@gmail.com or Rong Lucchesi at fan_rong75@yahoo.com as soon as possible.
Concerti: Pianists and ensembles may not perform concerti; other instruments may perform individual movements.
Variations: The entire set of variations will be performed (no cuts)
Sonatas/Sonatinas: One movement will be considered one piece.
Prelude & Fugue: If preludes or fugues are composed as a set, they must be performed as a set; one may not be performed without the other.
Collections i.e. character pieces, works with many different pieces put together as one: Selections from one collection or opus number by one composer i.e. Shostakovich Preludes, Op. 34 or Chopin Mazurkas, Op. 7, may be grouped at will. The total time of this grouping may not exceed the performance time of the other work submitted.

Dress Code (subject to change for 2023)

Girls:

Dresses or skirts of adequate length (at least to the knee when seated). Dress pants are allowed; no jeans or tight pants.
Apparel must be modest and non-revealing; no side slits, spaghetti straps, tank tops, backless or low-cut tops.

Boys:

Dress shirt and slacks.
Ties, vests, bow ties, and/or suits are encouraged but not required.

Both:

Dress shoes only; not sneakers, gym, tennis, boat, platform shoes (soles greater than one inch), or flip-flops.
Hair must be neat and out of the performer’s face.

Etiquette

Inappropriate behavior, at the discretion of the chairperson(s) and ASMTA President, will result in the immediate disqualification of the student and forfeiture of any awards or certificates.
Inappropriate behavior such as disruptive or confrontational outbursts by parents or teachers, or disregarding of the guidelines stated herein will result in the immediate disqualification of the student and forfeiture of any awards or certificates.

General Rules

The decisions made by the jury of the Competition are final and are not subject to query, review or appeal.
Teachers, students and parents must not engage in conversation with or identify themselves to judges at any time. Doing so will result in disqualification.
We encourage students and their teachers to prepare videos in advance of the application deadline in case the number of entries requires holding preliminary auditions.
Any competitor may be disqualified for failure to comply with the rules and procedures pertaining to the Competition.

For More Information

Further questions regarding repertoire and competition procedure, please contact Yu Wu at wuyupiano@gmail.com or Rong Lucchesi at fan_rong75@yahoo.com

A PDF copy of the 2023 information can be downloaded here: Honors Recital Guidelines 2023 (coming soon).

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