The show must go on for live All-State Band auditions

Live auditions will continue for South Dakota students who want to be in All-State Band. However, an online platform for auditions is lurking in the wings.

At its meeting  Wednesday, June 17, the board of directors of the South Dakota High School Activities Association  (SDHSAA) determined that live auditions will continue while the staff researches an online platform that could take over when live auditions aren’t available.

The board was reviewing a policy that started two years ago for the January auditions. The policy called for the auditions to happen over six days. Auditions start in Huron on a Wednesday, followed by three days of auditions in Sioux Falls, a day for travel and a day of auditions in Rapid City.

The policy calls for SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director Brooks Bowman to determine on the Tuesday prior to auditions if bad weather will keep auditions from taking place at any of the audition sites. If it looks like bad weather, Bowman and a committee of band directors are empowered to call off the live auditions and have all the students record their auditions.

Bowman has talked to the board in the past about the inequities he sees in the system. Two years ago, bad weather kept students from attending the live auditions in Rapid City. Those students had the luxury of more practice and choosing the best recording of their audition.

That’s an “inequity which is against our mission statement,” Bowman said.

Bowman doesn’t like being called on to predict the weather, telling the administrators on the board that he would never expect them to call off school a week in advance.

Band directors and school activities directors are in favor of the live auditions. A May survey of 82 band directors found that 78 percent were in favor of live auditions with nine percent preferring recorded and 12 percent with no preference. A survey of 53 activities directors found that 55 percent favored live auditions, 23 percent favored recorded and 17 percent had no preference.

After a discussion about the policy at the board’s April meeting, Bowman was tasked with researching the availability of an online platform that could meet the needs of band directors. Bowman told the board that a site called HeartOut had all the attributes required to offer online band auditions.

Admitting that live auditions were best for students, Bowman told the board that his recommendation would be to use the HeartOut app for All-State Band auditions. “That’s going to eliminate the weather issue,” Bowman said.

At the meeting, the board heard from four high school band directors who offered a united front when it came to favoring live auditions. Wendy Thorson, the band director at Northwestern, pointed out that not all schools have the same recording equipment. She compared her appearance before the board to the live auditions for young musicians. “It shows how they can handle nerves.”

Two years ago, when the Rapid City auditions had to be cancelled because of bad weather, SDHSAA staff heard from angry band directors and parents.

“People say they’re fine with it (the policy) until they’re not fine with it,” said SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos.

Board member Chris Long of Lyman High School said arranging live auditions in South Dakota’s January weather was inviting hard feelings if everyone wasn’t treated the same.

“We’re kind of destined to making somebody feel like they’re getting the raw end of the deal,” Long said. “I feel like it’s eventually going to go online.”

The board voted to continue the policy of live auditions while researching online platforms like HeartOut for use if bad weather causes some or all of the auditions to need to be recorded. The vote was 8-1 with Long dissenting.