COLORADO BANDMASTERS ASSOCIATION
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Auditions...

Student and Director/School Registration
(Link will open November 2, 2026)
Links to "Help" videos produced by area colleges/universities:
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Colorado Mesa University produced videos
Coming Soon
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Colorado State University produced videos
Coming Soon
Requirements and Basic Information
  • There are two Colorado All-State Bands. 
    • The Concert Band is open to students in grades 10-12 from CHSAA member Colorado "small" schools (schools with enrollments of 1,100 students or fewer). Enrollment numbers can vary based on where you find them - for this reason, since the All-State Band operates under the umbrella of the Colorado High School Activities Association, we ONLY accept the published enrollment numbers from CHSAA. You can find how CHSAA has your school classified HERE (Coming soon). Band Directors can petition to change their CHSAA enrollment classification.  Directors should contact Casey Cropp (see contact page) for information on petitioning a change.
    • The Symphonic Band is open to students in grades 11-12 from any CHSAA member Colorado high school, regardless of enrollment.
    • All students must be a member of their school band program (piano, harp and string bass students must be a member of their school band OR orchestra program).
    • All directors must be a member of the Colorado Bandmasters Association before students can audition.  CBA information can be found HERE
  • Audition materials and procedures are the same for both the Concert Band and the Symphonic Band.
  • Only students that can participate in the All-State Band Weekend (April 1-3, 2027) should audition.  Attendance at every event in the weekend is required for all members.
  • A $25.00 audition fee will be charged for each auditioning student. Fees should be submited to the students school, and the school band director will submit the required audition fees.
  • The Deadline for audition submission is 7:00pm on November 20, 2026.
  • Students that are proficient on multiple instruments within the same family (flute/piccolo; oboe/English horn; Eb/Bb clarinet, bass/contra clarinet; all the saxophones, trombone/euphonium, etc.) are strongly encouraged to submit an audition on each instrument, using separate audition files. Only one audition fee is required.
  • All percussionists must audition on the three major instruments: snare drum, timpani, and mallets.  Students who fail to submit an audition on one or more of the instruments will not be considered.
  • All-State Band auditions are VIDEO auditions.  Complete instructions (including size, resolution, format) are included in the recording instructions posted below.
  • The decision of the selection committee is final.
  • Every student (regardless of age) will be required to be accompanied to the All-State Band weekend with a school-approved adult chaperone.
  • All students selected for the All-State Bands must be in their school music program at the time of the weekend, and must meet all school directed eligibility requirements.
  • A $55 registration fee will be charged to all players in the bands ($50 if paid by the early-bird registration deadline of January 29, 2027), Late registrations (any registration paid after the due date of March 19) must be paid by Credit/P-Card at the All-State Band Registration on April 1 and is charged at the late fee of $75.
How your audition will be assessed (the Rubric)
Comments from the 2025-2026 Adjudicators

Directors and students are highly encouraged to read over these comments to get an idea of what the adjudicators hear and what will help you with a more successful audition
How to record your audition
Click HERE for complete recording instructions (Woodwinds and Brass)
Click HERE for complete recording instructions (Percussion)

NOTE: Students/Directors who do not follow the instructions may have the audition score lowered.  Please be sure to read and follow these instructions
How to submit your audition
Only band directors who have completed their registration (and CBA membership) can submit the audition.  Auditions fees ($25.00) must be paid before they can be uploaded.  Check with your director on how they want you to get them the payment and video recording so they can get them uploaded.

​Audition Materials
​2026-2027...

Instrument Specific Instructions - Best way for students to know what is required for the auditions:
Flute 1A
Oboe 1A
Bassoon 1A
Bb/Eb Clarinet 1A
Bass Clarinet 1A
Saxophone 1A
NOTE: There is a PUBLISHED mistake in the saxophone 2 excerpt (measure 32 beat 2 should be an F#, not G#). This was a publisher's mistake when adapting the etude from its original form into the Voxman Selected Studies compilation.  Students can play the note as G# (as notated) or F# (as the composer intended) and their score will NOT be impacted regardless of how the pitch is performed.
Trumpet 1A
Horn in F 1A
Trombone/Euphonium 1A
Bass Trombone 1A
Tuba 1A
String Bass 1A
Percussion 1A
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School Directors Instructions - a single document that lists the requirements for ALL instruments - best way for directors to see the information
Directors Poster (Audition Set 1A)

Specialty Instruments:
  • All piccolo students MUST also audition on flute. The flute audition will determine membership in the band and the Piccolo double will be determined by the Piccolo audition.
  • All English horn students MUST audition on Oboe. The oboe audition will determine membership in the band and the English horn double will be determined by the English horn audition.  The Website will post by October 1 if an English horn is needed for the repertoire selected.  If it is, auditions will be accepted - if no English Horn parts are in the repertoire, auditions will not be accepted.
  • All E-Flat clarinet students MUST audition on B-flat Clarinet. The B-flat clarinet audition will determine membership in the band, and the E-flat double will be determined by the E-flat clarinet audition.The Website will post by October 1 if an E-flat Clarinet is needed for the repertoire selected.  If it is, auditions will be accepted - if no E-Flat Clarinet parts are in the repertoire, auditions will not be accepted.
  • Alto Flute, Bass Flute, Contrabassoon, Contralto Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Bass Saxophone and other specialty instruments are included in the band ONLY as parts are needed for the specific repertoire.  If parts for these instruments exist, students who were selected to the band will be contacted in early January with instructions to audition for the parts if they want.
  • String Bass students will be given string bass parts when they exist, but will receive tuba parts if no string bass part exists.  It is the student/director responsibility to make octave changes to the tuba part as needed so it is playable, and to determine the best choices for bowings and/or pizzicato sections.  The All-State Band guest director may ask for changes once they hear what the student/director came up with.
  • Piano and Harp are included in the band ONLY as parts are needed for the specific repertoire.  If parts exist, a piano and/or harp audition will be announced on OCTOBER 1 with specifics on how to audition.  If the student selected to play piano or harp are also selected to the band on another instrument - they will play the piano/harp part on the literature that requires it, and the other instrument on all other pieces.  If the student selected to play piano or harp are not selected on another instrument, they will be added to the band, but will rehearse/perform ONLY the works that require that instrument.
The Colorado All-State Band is a product of the Colorado Bandmasters Association  Click the logo to find out more about the Colorado Bandmasters Association.
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  • Home
  • 2026 All-State Band
  • Directors
  • Audition Information
  • History
  • Contact