Auditions 2023-24

Here is all the information you need to join IGNITE Winter Guard or IGNITE Winter Percussion for the 2024 season.

No experience is necessary to audition for either unit.

Whether you are trying out for the guard or percussion unit, come into auditions with an open mind, ready to try new things. You will meet new people, learn new things, and have some fun!

Guard

Any student in grades 6-12 may join from Morristown, Southwestern, Triton Central, or Waldron High Schools may join. You must be in good academic standing to participate.

You must be available for Tuesday and Thursday night rehearsals and Saturday camps and competitions. Rehearsals are all at MHS.

Important Upcoming Dates

All 6:00-8:00 PM in MHS Cafeteria:

Callout meeting: 10/19
Pre-audition rehearsals: 10/26, 11/2, 11/9
Auditions: 11/14, 11/16

The pre-audition rehearsals are not required but strongly encouraged. The audition dates are mandatory to participate.

Contact Haylee Jeter at hjeter@ses.k12.in.us with questions.

Percussion

Requirements

Any student in grades 7-12 in Shelby County may join.
You must be in good academic standing (passing all classes) to participate.
You must be available for Tuesday and Thursday night rehearsals and Saturday camps and competitions from mid-November to mid-April. Contact dgaking@igniteperformingarts.org for a detailed calendar.

All students who meet the above criteria will be accepted into the percussion unit. Auditions are for instrument placement. Students will have the opportunity to try out many instruments during auditions and to submit their preferences to the staff. The staff will contact students and parents about their individual assignments after auditions.

Auditions are November 14 and 16 from 5:30-9:00, tentatively scheduled to be at TCHS. We will have an information meeting for students and parents at 8:00 on the 16th.

Instrument Placement

Here are the instrument options available and some general expectations you can have about the difficulty level demanded:

Marching Instruments	Stationary Instruments
Beginner-to-Intermediate Cymbals Bass drum	Beginner-to-Intermediate Auxiliary percussion Bells/glockenspiel Xylophone
Intermediate-to-Advanced Snare drum Tenor drums	Intermediate-to-Advanced Vibraphone Marimba Drum set Synthesizer/piano

We sometimes have timpani, bass guitar, or electric/acoustic guitar as well. However, for these instruments, the student must have sufficient experience to handle tuning, technique, and playing in a variety of keys.

Audition Materials and Tips

We recommend that students look at the warm-up packet for the instrument(s) in their ability area before auditions. The packet is in the IGNITE 2024 Students Google Drive folder.
Students interested in marching cymbals should take a look at the SeaVine cymbal education videos and get familiar with how to do position changes and crashes.
You may not be comfortable with all the content in the audition packet–and that’s okay–but at least get familiar with the easier exercises.
Ask your band director, a percussion student or email Mr. Gaking at dgaking@igniteperformingarts.org if you have questions.
There will be a marching/movement component to the audition process. This will help us see if students are ready to do marching and choreography for long periods of time while carrying the instrument.

For questions, contact Mr. Gaking at dgaking@igniteperformingarts.org