Southern California Junior Bach Festival

To cultivate knowledge and understanding of Bach's music.

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String and Wind & Voice Regional Festivals

String Chair
Cheryl Scheidemantle
(626) 585-8894 • Email

Wind & Voice Chair
Emily An
(909) 568-6394 • Email

2023 String and Wind & Voice Festival Information
(rev. 02/15/2023)

April 16, 2023 (SUN)
All-Branch Regional String Festival, time TBA
Steinway Piano Gallery, Pasadena

May 13, 2023 (SAT)
All-Branch Regional Wind & Voice Festival, 2:00 pm
Brea United Methodist Church

Eligibility
The Southern California Junior Bach Festival (SCJBF) is open to students who wish to perform original works by J.S. Bach and study with active, provisional, and student members of participating branches of MTAC.

SCJBF is also open to String, Wind, Voice, and Organ students of teachers who hold membership in the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), National Flute Association (NFA), National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), or American Guild of Organists (AGO). 

  • String, Wind, and Organ students will not have reached their 19th birthday by April 1st of the Festival year
  • Voice students will not have reached their 25th birthday by April 1st of the Festival year

Regional Festivals
The All-Branch String Festival and All-Branch Wind and Voice Festival will also serve as the Regional Festivals.  String, Wind, and Voice students may participate (for comments only) in their home MTAC Branch Bach Festival at their Branch’s discretion.

String Festival

April 16, 2023 (SUN)
All-Branch Regional String Festival, time TBA
Steinway Piano Gallery, Pasadena
Dr. Cheryl Scheidemantle, Chair

The String Festival format for 2023 is as follows:

  1. String students perform in an All-Branch Regional Festival encompassing all of the MTAC branches and outside professional groups
  2. The All-Branch String Regional Festival is made up of two divisions: 
    1. Junior: students who will not have reached their 14th birthday by April 1st of the Festival year
    2. Senior: students who are 14 through 18 years old as of April 1st of the Festival year.
  3. Eligible instruments are violin, viola, violoncello, guitar, and lute
  4. The All-Branch String Regional Festival will be in person this year in a closed audition format (1 student at a time with 3 judges and 1 room monitor, no audience)
    • Registration DEADLINE (teachers): March 26, 2023 (SUN)
    • Payment DEADLINE (parent/student) : March 28, 2023 (TUE)
  1. A panel of three judges will write comments about each performance and will select up to 45% of the students in each division as Regional Medalists
  2. Both Junior and Senior Regional Medalists playing eligible repertoire may advance to the Complete Works Auditions (CWA)
  3. All other Rules and Teacher Guidelines of the SCJBF apply
  4. Fee for a soloist: $45
  5. Fee for an ensemble: $70 (total)

Wind & Voice Festival

May 13, 2023 (SAT)
All-Branch Regional Wind & Voice Festival, 2:00 pm
Brea United Methodist Church
Emily An, Chair

The Wind & Voice Festival format for 2023 is as follows:

  1. Wind and Voice students perform in an All-Branch Regional Festival encompassing all of the MTAC branches and outside professional groups
  2. The All-Branch Wind & Voice Regional Festival is made up of two divisions:
    1. Junior: Wind and Voice students who will not have reached their 15th birthday by April 1st of the Festival year
    2. Senior: Wind students who are 15 through 18 years old as of April 1st of the Festival year; Voice students who are 15 through 25 years old as of April 1st of the Festival year
  1. The All-Branch Wind & Voice Regional Festival will be in person this year in a closed audition format (1 student at a time with 3 judges and 1 room monitor, no audience)
    • Registration DEADLINE (teachers): May 1, 2023 (MON)
    • Payment DEADLINE (parent/student) : May 3, 2023 (WED)
  1. A panel of three judges will write comments about each performance and will select up to 45% of the students in each division as Regional Medalists
  2. A panel of three judges will write comments about each performance and will select up to 45% of the students in each division as Regional Medalists
  3. Both Junior and Senior Regional Medalists playing eligible repertoire may advance to the Complete Works Auditions (CWA)
  4. All other Rules and Teacher Guidelines of the SCJBF apply
  5. Fee for a soloist: $45
  6. Fee for an ensemble: $70 (total)

Complete Works Audition (CWA)
The Complete Works Audition (CWA) is usually held in late September or early October of the Festival year.  To be eligible for the CWA, a student must have been chosen by the judges as a Regional Medalist at the All-Branch Regional Festival.  First place winners at the CWA will be invited to perform on a special SCJBF Memorial Awards Recital in early-to-mid October at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, where all CWA first, second, and third place winners will also be presented with CWA medals.  Please keep in mind that if you wish for your students to compete in the Complete Works Audition, the repertoire performed at the All-Branch Regional Festival must be chosen from the official Complete Works list (available here).