Hello, friends and colleagues,
Writing about controversial topics or new directions can be difficult, so I appreciate you coming along for the ride on this blog post! I wanted to jump in and speak to you all about the ILMEA Board’s decision to continue with virtual auditions, even as we welcome back other in-person events. I’m looking to help everyone better understand the process behind the decision and to answer some questions that you might have.
The past two years have seen virtual auditions be borne out of necessity, not only for ILMEA but for other performing arts organizations, colleges, universities and competitions. Whether it was because of lockdown, allowance of facilities, limitations on crowd numbers or something different, the fall auditions in 2020 and 2021 had to be virtual. Separately, the ILMEA All-State virtual auditions were considered and created because of the years-long feedback that we have received at the Board level that the Thursday of IMEC was chaotic and that we were missing opportunities to have the ensembles begin on that morning, rather than auditioning in person and beginning in the evening. So, with what we learned through fall auditions and by listening to our members, the ILMEA board voted to implement virtual auditions for the 2022 All-State Student Programs.
We listened to feedback from the last two years and considered where the association might be heading to best support and lead students and members, so we took up the conversation about possibly making auditions virtual moving forward, even if it wasn’t directly out of necessity. This was not an easy decision and certainly not one that was approached lightly by the members of the board. In our discussions, we looked at the benefits of an in-person audition experience and we weighed those against the benefits that virtual auditions offer our students. We sought out input from across the state and of course, we heard many varied opinions on an audition model. Looking at how district totals came out, more voted in favor of virtual auditions than in-person. Even more than that, more individuals were supportive of virtual auditions as well. Even after receiving the survey results, we still wrestled with the ramifications of this change and knowing that there were members out there that would not agree with our decision, no matter which decision was made.
I know that some people may be about switching to a virtual audition, feeling that this somehow waters down the audition process and allows students to “game the system” through cheating or professional-level recording. Having reviewed the virtual audition process in preparation for these discussions, I can tell you that we found some students that performed in Peoria whose audition videos were done on a phone scored higher than those students who recorded professionally. We also identified students who used ProTools or a similar software to “fix” their mistakes in the audition and those students were removed from the adjudication and selection process. And, just as some students may have been left feeling defeated by recording many takes of the same audition material and not having something that they were happy with, in the past there were also students left defeated by working for months on audition material only to arrive at District auditions and struggle because of situations outside of their control. There is absolutely no perfect solution to any of these challenges, but there are solutions that can best serve the greatest number of students from South Beloit to Metropolis, Quincy to Danville and all of the schools in between.
We have listened to director feedback, reviewed student survey responses, listened to those who might have hosted in-person auditions, listened to those who facilitated virtual auditions and we ultimately made the choice to land here. For anyone to say that the Board was not receptive to and considerate of the feedback from members across the state shows a lack of understanding about what it is that the board does and how the board functions. As the President of our association, I have worked to communicate our process to members who might claim that we are out of touch or those that might believe that we are driven by Chicago-area districts and their needs. You should know that our board’s leadership, the Executive Committee and the Finance Committee have more people from outside of those districts than from within those districts. We have sought input through surveys, listening tours, and by being available for our membership. We work diligently and intentionally to stay broadly-focused and are not letting any single geographic area be the driver for this statewide association.
I would never expect any change to be "one size fits all” but I do challenge people struggling with these changes to look at how virtual auditions might positively impact students from all areas of the state, including those in your own music room. As an ILMEA member, director, and board president I see that it is valuable and important to allow students to audition in this format; this virtual format allows more students the ability to submit auditions regardless of distance from an audition site or timing of events in their personal life, and this virtual format is becoming more widely used by collegiate and professional music programs. We know that this change better prepares students for future musical opportunities and allows ILMEA to expand these opportunities to more and more students each year. ILMEA has always been a driver and leader when it comes to putting together a thoughtful audition process, and I feel strongly that this shift will still allow us to lead the way.
As always, thank you for your time, your passion, and your feedback. I wish you all a wonderful end of the year and final concert season! Please know that I am available to answer any questions or speak to you about your ideas and concerns. Wishing you all a wonderful end of the year, and we’ll see you in June at our Summer Listening Tour stops (schedule and info coming soon!).
Yours in service,
Jake Stouffer
ILMEA State President
president@ilmea.org
Dundee-Crown High School