Music Educators Association of New Jersey

Honors Recital

The fall Honors Recital is a wonderful opportunity for aspiring pianists to perform in person before a live, appreciative audience. The Honors Recital is designed to provide incentives and recognition to talented, motivated students who can prepare for auditions superbly and are confident enough to perform in public in a formal setting. A less rigorous challenge than the spring Piano Competition, the Honors Recital allows students/teachers to choose the repertoire they wish to present.

Dates and venues for the in-person auditions are indicated on the online Honors Recital Application Form, accessible from the Member Homepage. Only MEA teachers in good standing may register their students. Specific instructions will also be emailed to the teachers after they have submitted the Application Form. The MEA Calendar also lists the audition and recital dates for the current year.

Before completing the Application Form, please read and become familiar with the Honors Recital Guidelines below, since there are a number of changes.

• There is no age minimum. The maximum is high school senior (grade 12).
• The student's teacher must be a current, paid member of MEA. Any student who has transferred from one MEA member to another must have studied with the new teacher for a minimum of six months prior to entering the Honors Recital Audition under the new teacher's name, except by mutual agreement of the two teachers. This does not apply to transfer students from outside the MEA.

REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS — NEW OPTIONS FOR 2025!

Students enter in one of the three categories listed below. Age ranges, time limits, and minimum difficulty levels are indicated for each category and are based on the levels of the spring non-competitive MEA Annual Piano Auditions.

    PIANO SOLOS:

• Soloists are to perform two contrasting pieces from ANY musical period. This means the pieces can be from the same musical period as long as they are by two different composers and are distinctly different in style. This is a significant change from previous years. Please email any repertoire questions to Charlene Step at Honorsrecital@mea-nj.org.
• Both pieces must be memorized.
• Original compositions and arrangements by students or teachers are allowed, as long as they are properly notated and correspond to the appropriate level of difficulty.
• A movement of a sonatina, sonata or suite will be considered as one piece. A complete set of variations must be played to qualify as one piece. Both the Prelude and matching Fugue from the WTC must be played to count as one piece.

    PIANO ENSEMBLES:

• Students are required to perform only one piece, with a time limit of 6 minutes for all levels. The piece must be for one piano, for 4 or 6 hands. Memorization is optional for ensembles.

• Students of different ages may audition as an ensemble. The ages of the students will be averaged, if necessary, for placement in the appropriate category. For example, if an ensemble is made up of a 10 and a 12-year-old, the students must play repertoire appropriate to Category II, for ages 11-14.

In general, for both solos and ensembles:

• Repertoire previously presented at the spring Annual Piano Auditions is permitted.

• Repertoire from the upcoming Piano Competition syllabus is not permitted.

• Repeats in the pieces are allowed only if they do not exceed the time limit.

• No repertoire changes will be permitted once the application form is submitted. Any changes will result in disqualification.

HOW TO ENTER:

Honors Recital Application

• To apply and pay online, log in to your Member Homepage. The Honors Recital Application can be found in the right-hand column under interactive Member Documents.

• Applications will not be accepted by regular mail, email or phone.

DRESS FOR AUDITIONS AND RECITAL — CONCERT ATTIRE:

Girls: A dress, formal skirt or long dress pants with blouse, sweater or appropriate top, and dress SHOES. Dresses and skirts should reach or cover the knees when seated. No jangly bracelets or loose-fitting jewelry.

Boys: A suit or dress pants and dress shirt, sweater or sports coat, and dress SHOES. Ties are optional.

T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, flip-flops or other casual attire are NOT permitted.

AUDITION PROCEDURE — IN-PERSON ONLY:

• Students must check in at least 10 minutes before their scheduled audition time. Students may try out the piano before they begin their audition, although no time is allotted for an actual warmup.

• The original score(s) should be presented to the judges at the beginning of the audition. No photocopies are allowed, but printouts of legally downloaded music are accepted.

• Students will perform before two judges and must receive a rating of "Honors or High Honors" from both judges in order to perform in the recital. Only grades of Honors, High Honors or Honorable Mention will be given.

• Judges have the right to stop the audition or cut portions of the pieces to stay on schedule if the performance exceeds the time limit.

• There is no limit to the number of students chosen from each age group. Selection will be made solely on the basis of the quality and merits of the performance.

• The judges will select the one piece each Honors student will perform in the Recital.

• Notification of results: Teachers will be notified of the results by email within two days following the audition date. Please do not contact the judges, committee members or Chair for results. The judges’ decisions are final.

• Awards: All participating students will receive the judges’ evaluations and a lovely certificate. Winners will also receive special trophies after their performance at the recital.

• Students and parents should keep the recital date free of other commitments until they learn of the audition results; winners are expected to perform in the scheduled Honors Recital. Honors winners who have failed to perform in recitals the two previous years are not eligible to compete.

HONORS RECITAL:

Teachers, please make sure your Honors winners and their families are aware of the following:

• All performers should arrive at least 15 minutes before recital time and check in. They will be given instructions on where to sit and the order of performance.

• Performers must dress appropriately in Concert Attire. Please see Dress requirements above.

• Awards: Honors and High Honors winners will be presented special trophies after their performance at the recital. Winners who do not perform will receive only a certificate.

• Students and families/guests are requested to stay for the entire recital to encourage proper courtesy at concerts, to support all the performers — and to enjoy the wonderful music! Please keep in mind that very small children may not be able to be attentive for a complete recital.

Any additional questions? Please email Charlene Step, Honors Recital Chair: HonorsRecital@mea-nj.org

Honors Recital Committee
Ruth Pasquariello, Registrar
Helen Krotoff