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SOLOS AND SMALL ENSEMBLES

Solos

Every effort will be made to enable those members who wish to play a solo piece to do so. If solo slots have to be limited, and as stated on the original Leeds thread, priority will be given to those performers who have already expressed an interest either on the original Leeds thread or by already sending me PM. Obviously an application form and payment will also need to have been received before the deadline, irrespective of whether a prior interest has been expressed.

The time limit for solos is around 3 minutes of actual playing time. There is a little leeway up to 3.5 minutes but please bear in mind that if everyone were to try to "push their luck", it could add another 10 or 20 minutes to the concert which would be seriously disruptive and therefore has to be prevented. Anyone playing longer than 3.5 minutes therefore runs the risk of "time" being called and being stopped in the middle of the performance.

Duets/trios/small ensembles

As with the solos, every effort will be made to accommodate smaller ensembles. Please note, however, that smaller ensembles will not be considered for a slot unless an application form AND payment has been received from ALL THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS of the ensemble before the deadline.

If ensemble slots have to be limited, slots will be allocated on a first come, first served basis to those ensembles where ALL the members have returned their forms and payment.

The time limit for duets, trios and small ensembles is the same as for solo slots.





Piano accompaniment
- all performers please read

Some forum members have kindly offered to act as accompanists to solo performers. If you would like to have an accompanist, you will need to send your music to the accompanist at least two weeks prior to the concert. It is in the interests of solo performers to select music which is reasonably straightforward, and to agree in advance with the accompanist as to tempo and dynamics, so that there are fewer aspects to address during the rehearsal on the day of the concert.

The College has a number of rooms which can be used for rehearsals, each containing a piano, and it is anticipated that each room will be used by no more than 4 sets of performers on a rotating basis, enabling each "act" to have at least half-an-hour's rehearsal time in total. Please bear in mind, however, that if you are also performing in the large ensembles, your individual rehearsal time may be significantly curtailed; and also bear in mind that your accompanist may need to rehearse with other performers.

Please note that whilst every effort will be made to find an accompanist for solo performers, you should be prepared to play your piece unaccompanied in case it is not possible to allocate you an accompanist.

Percussion

The College has offered to make available its percussion instruments to forum members for use at the concert. These include rack tom-tom, snare drum, pedal bass drum, cymbals and hi-hat cymbals. The drums are acoustic.

If you would like to play percussion in the jazz band and/or the grand finale, please state this on your application form. Since obviously only one person can play the percussion instruments at a time, but bearing in mind that different individuals can be allocated to the jazz band and grand finale orchestra, the opportunity will be given to the first two members to return the application form and fee.

Percussionists are welcome to also apply for a solo slot or to take part in small ensembles.