Texas State Solo-Ensemble Contest

Dates

Due to 2019 UT commencement exercises being held on Memorial Day Weekend the 2019 state solo & ensemble contest will be held on June 1, June 2, and June 3.

The 2019 1A/2A/3A/4A Texas State Solo & Ensemble Contest (all events) will be held on Saturday, June 1 (Day 1), *Sunday, June 2 (Day 2), and Monday, June 3 (Day 3) at a site to be determined in the greater Austin area.

The 2019 5A/6A Contest (all events except percussion and twirling) will be held on Saturday, June 1 (Day 1), *Sunday, June 2 (Day 2), and Monday, June 3 (Day 3) at UT Austin.

The 2019 5A/6A Percussion Contest will be held on Saturday, June 1 (Day 1), *Sunday, June 2 (Day 2), and Monday, June 3 (Day 3) at a site to be determined in the greater Austin area.

The 2019 5A/6A Twirling Contest will be held on Saturday, June 1 (Day 1), *Sunday, June 2 (Day 2), and Monday, June 3 (Day 3) at a site to be determined in the greater Austin area.

*A limited number of performance times will be available on Sunday afternoon (Day 2) on a first come-first served basis.  Be advised if you choose Sunday your woodwind, brass, and string soloists will be less likely to perform for a specialist on their instrument than they would by choosing Saturday or Monday.

Registration & Entry

NEW! Entry System: will be open for your entries from March 1 to April 1 at: http://www.texasmusicforms.com.  Sign on using your director login, then click on “TSSEC Enter Students” on the lower left side of the page and follow the instructions.  The entry system will be set according to the days below.  Be sure to choose the day that you intend, as this is the day your students will be scheduled, provided the day is still available when you complete your entries.  

Day 1 Morning = Saturday, June 1, 2019 (8:30 AM 12:00 Noon)
Day 1 Afternoon = Saturday, June 1, 2019 (1:00 PM to 5:30 PM*)
Day 2 Afternoon = Sunday, June 2, 2019 (1:30 PM to 5:30 PM*)
Day 3 Morning = Monday, June 3, 2019 (8:30 AM to 12:00 Noon)
Day 3 Afternoon = Monday, June 3, 2019 (1:00 PM to 5:30 PM*)

*Be advised that occasionally a day may be extended to as late as 8:30 PM to accommodate all performers within a division (band, choir, orchestra) from the same school that requested the same day and who met the April 1 deadline while a given day was still available.

WARNING!  Be advised that a given day(s) will be closed when capacity for that day is reached for a division (band, choir, or orchestra).  Due to the size and scope of this event and the resources required it is necessary to balance Saturday and Monday with regards to length of day and number of judges.  Therefore, if having your students perform on a specific day is important you should complete your entries as early as possible in March in order to get the day you prefer.  Day closures can happen in EARLY MARCH!  One of the more common reasons given for delaying entry until later in March is the possibility that students may want to change selections. Please go ahead and submit your entries. You can always change the title of selections (through May 20) after completing your entries.

Choir, Band, and Orchestra Day Coordination:  If having students from your school in two or more divisions (band, choir, orchestra) perform on the same day is important to you please coordinate on your campus and plan to complete all entries in each division early in March.  Otherwise, one division's daily capacity could be reached and therefore closed, prohibiting your requested coordination of these events.

Accompanists: Please know that the more students you assign to a given accompanist, the more difficult that it will be to schedule those students without causing logistical problems for your students.  This can be especially problematic if an accompanist is playing for any combination of band, choir, and orchestra students at UT OR if an accompanist is used by multiple schools.  Careful planning in this area aids in keeping the contest running on schedule.

Keyboard Percussion Entries:  If more than one keyboard soloist will be sharing an instrument please place an instrument designation in the accompanist box to help avoid schedule conflicts.  For example, "marimba A", "marimba B", etc.

IMPORTANT:  Once you begin the entry process plan to finish it ASAP.  If we close the day before you return to complete your entries you will find you do not have the option of adding more events on that day.  Directors will be able to return to the system and print your invoice at any time due to the new system that will be used at all sites in 2018.

Fees & Deadlines

Fees:  $20 per solo and $10 per ensemble member.  Instructions on how to pay fees will be covered at the end of the entry process.  In addition, all school music programs will be required to pay a $25 license fee prior to registering students for TSSEC.  This license fee goes directly to Dorian Business Systems for the creation and maintenance of the new online entry and scheduling system.  For example, a school's band, choir, and orchestra program will each pay the license fee. 

Entry Deadline:  April 1.  Directors will still be able to access the system between April 2 and May 1 to submit LATE entries; however, note that late fees will apply, performances will be assigned to what day(s) is available, AND there will be no guarantee that any entry made after April 1 will be scheduled.

Late and Add-on Entry Deadline: May 1.  Entries made by a school's music program - band, choir, or orchestra - that did not make any entries prior to April 1 are defined as late. Late entry fee: $20 per Event, which is in a addition to the on-time entry fees of $20 per solo and $10 per ensemble member.  Entries made by a school's music program - band, choir, or orchestra - that did make some entries prior to April 1 are defined as add-ons. Add-on entry fee: $10 per event, which is in a addition to the on-time entry fees of $20 per solo and $10 per ensemble member. “Add-ons” should constitute no more than ten percent of the total number of entries for a band, choir, or orchestra program. Due to the planning necessary for an event with approximately 25,000 participants there is no guarantee that late entries or add-ons will be scheduled.

Cancellations (DNA’s), Ensemble Member Updates and Title Changes:  At any point after making initial entries, through Thursday, May 20, directors will be able to make these updates in the new system through Thursday, May 20 by simply logging in to your account.

Schedule

Master Schedule:  Released by May 1.

Schedule Change Requests:  Granted on an as-available basis and accepted from the date of the release of the master schedule through Thursday, May 20 by emailing music@uiltexas.org. 

TSSEC FAQ:
TSSEC Director Frequently Asked Questions

For contest rules please visit the C&CR:
TSSEC Constitution & Contest Rules.