WIND ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS

Thank you for your interest in auditioning for Wind Ensemble.  

The audition criteria is that of the Western Regional Middle School audition process.  The rationale is that any high school player that wants to play in this select group ought to be at least at the level of the best middle school players in the region.  You should thus find the audition criteria to be a manageable task.


Admittance into the group is also contingent upon your professionalism and positive attitude in class, and balanced instrumentation.    


Audition Process 

Please read the following instructions very carefully.  

  1. Sign-up for the wind ensemble audition classroom. The code is yyzitob.

  2. Your video submission for your audition will be due by January 15th, 2024. Please submit your videos to the audition classroom under “wind ensemble audition videos” assignment. 

  3. Review and prepare all of the audition criteria.  Note that there are 2 parts:

    1. 4 memorized scales (3 major, one chromatic)

    2. Etude

Audition Material

  1. Scales- The major scales you are required to play from memory are located here. Please us the rhythm listed on the audition material sheet.

  2. Etude- Locate your instrument and play “Edge of the Precipice.” You can find the material here.

At the end of your audition you should have five videos. Title each of your videos with the following “ First Name, Last Name and the name of the video you are submitting.” There is no editing allowed in videos. It should be one take only. Editing together videos will disqualify you from the audition.

  • Concert C Scale

  • Concert F Scale

  • Concert Bb Scale

  • Memorized Chromatic Scale

  • Edge of the Precipice

If you do not prepare one of the criteria, you will be disqualified...so make sure you prepare it all!  If you have any questions whatsoever, don’t hesitate to ask Mr. Beratis. 

What if I don’t get in to Wind Ensemble? 

It is not uncommon to not get into an elite group such as wind ensemble. Your chances of making Wind Ensemble increase as you get older with the system. You should absolutely not be discouraged given the amount of total kids in our program.  Stay in Concert Band and be a leader in that class, hone your skills, and try again. This is the resilience part of the Ridgefield High School mission statement.

I will be happy to meet with any student that doesn’t get in and discuss what we can do to help your chances next time.  We are all about personal growth in our department.


Students who do not get in are expected to re-enroll in Concert Band.  Taking a gap year because you did not get into Wind Ensemble will disqualify you from auditioning for it again.  That is not what we are about.  We believe in building character through music, and quitting because of not passing an audition does not adhere to our core value of resilience at Ridgefield High School.  As stated above, adherence to the RHS mission statement is a non-musical requirement to get into the top level group.