Auditions

Concert Projects for Young Audiences

Application deadline
October 11th, 2011 (postmark serves as proof)

Jeunesses Musicales of Canada (JMC) invites Canadian musicians, to present interpretive or theatrical concert projects that will engage, inspire, and excite young students and their teachers with the wonder of music.

Details of Concert Projects

The concert must be original, interactive, musically educational, and of the highest quality on every level. It may also include another component (theatrical, dance, visual arts, etc.) to captivate the attention of children and enrich their understanding of the musical material being presented. Concerts are intended for an elementary school (6 to 12 years old), pre-school (3 to 5 years old), or high school (13 to 17 years old) audience. The duration of concerts for elementary and high school age children must be 55 minutes, divided into approximately 35 minutes of music and a 20-minute interpretive segment; concerts for preschoolers must be between 35 and 40 minutes in duration. The concert may be presented in English, French, or a combination of both languages.

Qualifications

Originality, quality, and feasibility of the project (1 to 2 musicians; light staging elements, which can be quickly and easily set up by the touring musicians themselves)
High quality repertoire suitable for the target audience
Strong musical and/or artistic skills
Comfortable speaking in public and communicating with children of 3 to 12 years of age
Autonomous and responsible (able to go on tour alone and to quickly find solutions to issues that may arise)
Valid driver's license
Availability and flexible schedules allowing for day-time work, as well as the ability to tour (for up to two weeks at a time)

Application material

All candidates must submit an application file, which includes the completed application form, an information/press kit for the musician or ensemble, a demo CD and/or DVD, and a proposed concert programme. Details regarding the application are indicated on the application form in section II.

Stages of evaluation

All applications will be reviewed by the selection committee. Candidates who are eliminated will be notified by mail.
Auditions for the selected candidates will take place before an artistic committee. For the audition, the musicians must present a twenty-minute excerpt of their proposed concert.
Following the auditions, the musicians whose concerts best reflect the JMC’s mission will then be invited to join the JMC programme directly in the next season or to rework certain aspects of their concert in order to eventually join the programme. Musicians whose concerts are not accepted may request comments and feedback from the artistic committee. On the basis of those comments, these musicians may submit a new proposal and eventually request a second audition.

Audition Schedule

Montréal: November 21, 2011
Toronto: November 17, 2011
Vancouver: between November 15th 2011 and January 15th 2012.

Application submission

All provinces (except for Ontario)
Jeunesses Musicales of Canada
c/o Judith Pelletier
305 Mount Royal Avenue
Montreal, Quebec, H2T 1P8
Telephone: 514 845-4108, ext. 230
East Toll free: 1 877 377-7951, ext. 230
Email: jpelletier@jmcanada.ca

Musicians from Ontario
Jeunesses Musicales Ontario
c/o Vanessa Goymour
Suite 500, 59 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1K6
Telephone: 416-536-8649
Email: vgoymour@jmcanada.ca