Adjudication Resources​

Welcome to your source of Student Auditions adjudication information! Below you will find:
  • General Information
  • Timeline & Instructions for 2022 Student Auditions Adjudicators  
  • Updated Adjudication Rubrics
  • 2022 Workshop Video: "How We Assess Voices" with Kevin Wilson
  • ​2021 Panel Video: "How to Adjudicate: Instructions and Etiquette" with Dr. Shannon Coates and Noel Smith

General Information

All NATS Boston teacher members who are submitting students to the 2022 Student Auditions should be available to participate as an adjudicator. If for some reason they are unable to do so, they should find a fellow member who can act as a substitute for them. 

NATS Boston teachers will be adjudicating the preliminary round and semi-finals round. The Finals Round will be adjudicated by guest judges. 

We do welcome NATS Boston teachers who are not submitting students to adjudicate; please email Auditions Coordinator Liz Eschen @studentauditions@natsboston.org to indicate your interest. 

TIMELINE & INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADJUDICATORS

TIMELINE:
Preliminary Round:
Adjudication Window: Tuesday, January 4th through Thursday, January 13th at 12pm NOON
Semi-Finalists Announcement: Saturday, January 15th

Semi-Finals Round:
Semi-Finalists Submissions due: Saturday, January 22nd by 11:59pm
Adjudication Window: Sunday, January 23rd through Thursday, January 27th at 12pm NOON
Finalists Announcement: Saturday, January 29th

Finals Round:
Finalists Submissions due: Sunday, February 13th at 11:59pm
Finals Concerts - Saturday, February 19th and Sunday, February 20th times TBD

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADJUDICATORS: 
You will receive an email with 1) a link to the Adjudication Form, 2) a link to a spreadsheet with your assigned videos, and 3) the appropriate category rubric. Please follow the directions below. 

1. Submit one adjudication form per participant. 

2. View participant videos in the order received.  

3. Fill out the adjudication form as you are viewing the audition videos, as if you are judging a live audition. You may need to use two devices (or two side-by-side browser windows) to accommodate viewing the submissions and making comments on this form simultaneously. 

4. Set a timer for each participant to adhere to the audition time limit. 

AUDITION TIME LIMITS
Juniors - 8 minutes
Lower High School - 8 minutes
Upper High School - 8 minutes
Lower College - 10 minutes 
Upper College - 12 minutes 
Emerging Professional - 15 minutes
Adult Avocational - 10 minutes

5. View the audition video only once per song until reaching the audition time limit, just as you would in a live audition. Do not re-watch submissions. 

6. Score each participant against the rubric provided in your instructions email, not against the other participants. 

7. Comment and score based only what you have viewed within the audition time limit. Do not score a student lower if their submission exceeds the time limit. 

8. Score between 70 - 100, according to the rubric. No decimal point scores. 

9. Once submitted, you cannot alter your comments or scores. 

10. All completed adjudication forms should be submitted by Thursday, January 13th at 12pm NOON. 

Be kind. Be constructive. Be brief. Positivity is key. Comments on physical characteristics are not acceptable. To refresh or bolster your adjudication toolbox, we encourage you to watch our special presentations with Kevin Wilson (2022 Student Auditions) and Dr. Shannon Coates and Noel Smith (2021 Student Auditions), which can be found below. 

Please contact Liz Eschen at StudentAuditions@natsboston.org with any questions or concerns. 

Adjudication Rubrics

Commercial Music (CM)
NSA Commercial Music Rubric
File Size: 159 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
MUSICAL THEATER
NSA Musical Theatre Rubric
File Size: 98 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
CLASSICAL
NSA Classical Rubric
File Size: 83 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

​Further helpful information from NATS National, including audio examples and sample comments, can be found here: https://www.nats.org/nsaresources.html#adjudication

2022 Workshop Video: "How We Assess Voices"
with Kevin Wilson

NATS Boston was joined by Kevin Wilson on Sunday, December 19th to discuss "How We Assess Voices" in preparation for the NATS Boston 2022 Student Auditions adjudication process. 

Kevin Wilson
Kevin Wilson is a voice teacher, clinician, and 21st-century vocal pedagogue. His teaching is influenced by over 18+ years of study of anatomy and physiology, historical pedagogies, voice and speech, and acting. He travels the world as a clinician, adjudicator, and lecturer and gives masterclasses and lectures on vocal health and musical theater and classical pedagogies. Kevin joined the Boston Conservatory's voice faculty in 2008 where he is the Director of Vocal Pedagogy and an Associate Professor of Voice. He teaches applied voice for musical theater and vocal performance students, as well as the courses Structure and Function of the Singing Mechanism, Vocal Pedagogy, and Applied Teaching Practicum. He also serves as director of the Conservatory's annual Vocal Pedagogy Professional Workshop and as an instructor in the Musical Theater Dance Intensive and Vocal/Choral Intensives. To read more about Kevin, check out his website here. 

2021 Panel: "How to Adjudicate: Instructions and Etiquette" with Dr. Shannon Coates and Noel Smith
​

To learn more about effective, constructive adjudicating, please watch the panel that NATS Boston hosted in February of 2021.


​Our Panelists:

Noel Smith
Noel Smith is an international recording artist, voice teacher, producer, and pianist. She founded the elite recording choir, Vox Futura, and is a Producer for the largest recording studio in New England. Her current singers can be found working on Broadway: Wicked (Elphaba), Rent (Maureen), Waitress (Jenna), Mrs. Doubtfire (Christopher), Sing Street (Gary), American Idiot (Extraordinary Girl), Jesus Christ Superstar (Mary) and many Broadway tours. Noel prepares singers for entry into the top theater and pop programs in the country, and supports professional artists who maintain 8 shows a week. She is a presenter on vocal health and healthy belting for adolescents, and was a featured presenter for the NATS National Convention and The Voice Foundation.
Dr. Shannon Coates
Happily residing at the intersection of academic voice pedagogy and the practical application of that academic knowledge in the independent voice studio, I hold three degrees from the University of Toronto (woohoo! a matched set! #sofancy), culminating in a DMA in Vocal Performance, Specializing in Voice Pedagogy. I have instructed undergraduate voice pedagogy classes at two Ontario universities since 2013; the same year I was the recipient of the NATS Foundation’s Voice Pedagogy Award and was invited to present my doctoral research at The Voice Foundation’s Annual Symposium. Since then, I have been invited by organizations all over the world to speak about various topics of interest to voice teachers including ‘Teaching Singing to Very Young Children’ (ICVT 2017, Stockholm), and ‘Teaching the High School Belter’ (OMEA Opus 100, Toronto 2019). My studio research focus and (personal passion!) is creating resources and continuing education opportunities for independent studio owners to increase their understanding of the voice and of the art of teaching. To that end, I developed an online course, The Vocal Instrument 101, and several live-learning opportunities, such as POPUP Voice Pedagogy Classes, and The Vocal Instrument 101 LIVE. More information can always be found on my website, by following me on your preferred social media platform: FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Blog, or by signing up for my mailing list.
Kayla Gautereaux
Kayla Gautereaux, Assistant Vocal Pedagogy Director and Vocal Pedagogy Lab Manager at New England Conservatory, lectures on vocal pedagogy and the acoustics of the singing voice and advises students through their voice-related research projects. Additionally, Ms. Gautereaux serves on the faculty of the Acoustic Vocal Pedagogy Workshop at New England Conservatory. Ms. Gautereaux’s recent research interests include exploring the detailed time and pressure domains within a pitch period and low latency online teaching technology. Ms. Gautereaux serves as President of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Boston Chapter.
Liz Eschen
Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Eschen makes her home in Boston, where her work lives at the intersection of choral music and vocal pedagogy. A lifelong choral singer, her credits range from Lorelei Ensemble founding member to Mozart Requiem soloist to the Studio Cast Album of Alan Menken’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with special love for Bach and oratorio. She currently enjoys singing with Handel & Haydn Society, Emmanuel Music, Boston Baroque, Bach Akademie Charlotte, and Oregon Bach Festival, with recent solo engagements including Emmanuel Music, Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, Rhode Island Civic Chorale, Back Bay Chorale, and Music at Marsh Chapel.
 
She is the Director of the Holden Voice Program and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, where she integrates vocal function into the curriculum of the Harvard Choruses. She is honored to serve as the Vice-President of the Boston Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and believes strongly in working for access and equity in the singing field. She is a member of Beyond Artists. www.BeyondArtists.org, www.elizabetheschen.com  
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