FAQs

As shown on the Dashboard page, each member of Solo-Ensemble.com only needs to manage a single login identity, yet they can enter contests in specific invited roles. The relationship between these roles within the overall Solo-Ensemble.com environment is shown in the picture below. A tutorial video on our YouTube Channel provides a narrated walk-through of this image.

Solo-Ensemble.com provides Accounts as annual subscriptions. Account Owners are typically someone like a Fine Arts director at a school or a district. Each account allows Solo-Ensemble.com to create one or more Contest Sites. Each of these sites is a fully independent website with its own colors, images, and permissions.

Solo-Ensemble.com members become associated to a Contest Site by obtaining a special 5-digit code and entering that on their Dashboard page. Contest Staff see these codes necessary to give prospective Accompanists, Judges, and new Contest Staff members on their Main Menu page. With these codes Accompanists, Judges, and Contest Staff join a contest directly from their Dashboard.

School Staff member roles may also join from their Dashboard page. However if their School joins a new contest then all members of the School Staff will see the new contest appear on their Dashboard page automatically. School Staff members can view their membership codes (to add more School Staff members) on the My School Account menu of the Dashboard.

The short answer is Yes!

Because all aspects of managing Solo-Ensemble.com software are on the Internet, it is possible to have remote student performances, remote Judges, or even an entire contest performed online instead of in person. This has been accomplished in two ways: Live Streaming and Pre-recorded Performances.

Live Streaming

Obviously a system for video streaming between the performers and the Judges must be established. Applications such as Zoom, Skype or Facebook Messenger are able to use cameras built in to most tablets and laptops to connect users (you will need to give the application permission to access your camera and microphone).

To support a live streamed virtual contest, Solo-Ensemble.com facilitates using services like these by introducing Video Channels as a part of our Session structure for scheduling. Contest Staff first set up their Sessions with specific dates and times, then schedule video links using whatever platform they wish (e.g., Zoom). Then for each scheduled event, Contest Staff create a Video Channel item that includes a title, a URL (web link), and informational text including passwords and usage instructions.

Contest Staff, Accompanists, Judges, and Schools who are assigned to a Session will then see this link; once the link becomes active (at the appropriate date and time) when anyone clicks the same link they will be taken to the same virtual meeting. Keeping these links private (as opposed to posting them on a school web page visible to the public) prevents unwanted guests from joining the video meetings, a phenomenon known as “zoom bombing”.

Pre-recorded Performances

Students record their performances; teachers upload the recordings to an online resource such as YouTube, Microsoft OneDrive, or Google Drive. The sheet music for these performances is also uploaded to a file sharing site. Both the video performances and the sheet music files must have their access levels set to "public" so that when Judges access these links they will be able to view the videos and the files.

Pre-recorded contest events have some advantages over traditional (face-to-face) and Live Streaming events. Judging can take place over several days because the recordings are accessed at the Judge's convenience. Judges could be invited from outside the local area (for example from another city or state) to evaluate and score these performances, which provides access to a greater pool of Judges.

Overview

Solo-Ensemble.com is a web-based service that schools or other organizations use to manage a local Solo and Ensemble music contest (and soon other types of contests). It is not an installed software program; all of its functionality comes from internet web browser programs such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome. The simple and competitive subscription pricing model is based upon the largest anticipated number of participating schools in a contest. Larger subscriptions can operate multiple simultaneous contests.

What We Provide

For every new Solo and Ensemble customer, we use an established process to create the personalized and login-secured website. This setup process involves obtaining the images and color schemes related to the host organization (these can be changed later), and obtaining data from the Contest Director (contact information, initial dates for a contest, and any cut-off dates for applying or submitting school information). As each participating school is added to the contest, they are given their own secured portion of the website where the student performance data may be updated, files and messages from the contest director are shared, and after the contest begins, where school-specific results are provided. Every performance judge also has their own customized login to the contest site where they enter their comments and scores and review earlier scores.

Subscription-Based Pricing

We try to make managing contests with Solo-Ensemble.com very affordable. Each license to use Solo-Ensemble.com is purchased as an annual subscription, priced according to the greatest anticipated number of schools to be hosted at any single contest event throughout the subscription year. Individual schools can purchase an annual Single school subscription for $99 USD. They can hold contests with their own students as often as they wish and can practice using the software to prepare for larger contests.

Subscriptions for schools, school districts, or other organizations that plan to host multi-school contests are priced based upon the expected number of participating schools for any contests during the subscription period and the number of concurrent websites you need. Should you want to upgrade to a larger capacity subscription, you only pay the cost difference to the next level, and your subscription automatically renews to remain valid 1 year from the date of the upgrade. If you do not know how many schools to expect for a contest, start with a low level (even the Single school subscription of $99 USD) to learn the software, then upgrade when your contest date draws near and you know how many schools to expect. These pricing tiers are more fully explained on our Pricing Page, but are listed here for reference:

• Single ($99 USD), 1 School, 1 Website

• Small ($299 USD), 5 Schools, 3 Websites

• Medium ($399 USD), 10 Schools, 5 Websites

• Large ($499 USD), 20 Schools, 8 Websites

• XLarge ($599 USD), Unlimited Schools, 10 Websites

• District ($999 USD), Unlimited Schools, Unlimited Websites

The District subscription is intended for school districts who want their member schools to have individual websites. For a $999 USD annual subscription, the school district and its member schools can have an unlimited number of websites each of which is capable of hosting any contest size (number of schools).

Concurrent Contests

Each Solo-Ensemble.com subscription account is permitted one or more contest websites, which may be re-configured as often as necessary to support multiple contest events throughout the year. Sometimes it will be necessary to operate more than one contest site when multiple events will be occurring, for example a band contest and a choral contest that may only be 1 week apart. Since each contest site is normally used for several weeks before the event, it would be impractical to use the same website for both events. For this reason the larger subscription plans allow you to create and operate multiple contest websites at the same time, and each one may have a completely independent set of people (contest staff, judges, accompanists) and participating schools. See the Pricing Page for the number of contests at each subscription level.

Examples

Example 1: Wilsonville Middle School wants to host a contest and invite 8 other schools to participate. Since the total number of schools is 1 + 8 = 9, the annual subscription fee is $399 USD (Medium). Wilsonville retains this active subscription for a year, and can use the software as often as they wish for contest events up to 10 schools. A Medium subscription also permits them to host 5 contest websites at the same time throughout the subscription period.

Example 2: Turkeytown Junior High School currently has a Single subscription ($99 USD) and decides to host a contest with 4 additional schools (plus their own students). The increased cost for the upgrade to Small would be $200 since the contest contains 5 total schools (including the host school). Turkeytown would then have a Small subscription (up to 5 school) subscription good for 1 year from the date they upgraded.

Example 3: Largeville Independent School District (ISD) hosts two annual Solo and Ensemble contests for their 18 Middle Schools and 6 High Schools each Fall and Spring. Additionally, Each of the 6 High Schools host Band Placement Auditions in May, with each High School hosting 8th grade band students from 2 or 3 Middle Schools. As each contest has fewer than 20 schools Largeville ISD can purchase a Large subscription for $499 USD to accommodate the two Solo and Ensemble contests, and can use the remaining 6 websites to host the Placement Auditions for each High School as a separate website.

In the United States, middle and high school students attend local Solo and Ensemble contests hosted by various schools to prepare their students for regional and state-wide music performance contests. These local contests prepare the students by conducting each contest in the same manner as the regional and statewide events. In Texas, the regional and state-wide contests are administered through the University Interscholastic League (UIL), an office of the University of Texas system. Other countries hold similar contests; for example the KIMEA Solo and Ensemble Festival in Seoul, Korea uses Solo-Ensemble.com software!

Solo events feature a single student singing (for Choral), or playing an instrument on a particular piece of music, before one or more judges (usually just one). Ensemble events feature two or more students singing (for Choral) or playing a piece together (for Band, Orchestra, Mariachi, etc.), again before a judge. Ensemble instruments are usually grouped together by type, such as a Wind Ensemble (e.g., flute, clarinet), a Brass Ensemble (e.g., trumpet, baritone), or a Percussion Ensemble (e.g., drum, xylophone). However, mixed Ensemble groups (such as a Jazz ensemble) are also possible.

Local Solo and Ensemble contests are encouraged by the state music organizations because they give students valuable experience in public performance. Local contests familiarize students with the process, including dress code, the importance of being prepared, time management, and sharing their experiences with first-time students. Respected musicians, music teachers, and other band directors are normally invited to serve as the contest judges. Local contests use extensive volunteer labor (local students and parents), for tasks such as crowd control, parking lot guidance, door monitors, and serving refreshments. However, these contests do incur some real costs, such as providing honorarium payments to the judges, printing costs, janitorial services, providing refreshments and meals to the volunteers and judges, and for the purchase of medals and award certificates for student performers. Therefore local Solo and Ensemble contests usually charge a nominal fee per student to attend and perform ($5 to $10 USD is normal). These costs are generally collected from each student by the participating schools and paid to the contest sponsor at the time of the contest.

Solo and Ensemble contests at the local level may either be “closed” or “open” to other schools. Closed events are those where only students from a particular school or within a specific school district may attend (where fees may or not be assessed per school and per student). Open events are those where multiple schools and/or school districts participate, offering a wider diversity of student and musical types. Many schools will host their own closed contest first, before participating in or hosting a larger Solo and Ensemble contest for their area.

There are many details that go into conducting a successful Solo and Ensemble contest. The best way to get started is to participate in an existing contest in your area, either as a Band Director with students, or perhaps as a performance Judge.

At a minimum, you should consider the size of the contest as appropriate for the number and size of available rooms you have. You should recruit judges from local band directors, music professors, and tutors, remembering that each judge will expect an honorarium payment, normally between $125 and $500 USD, depending upon the number of students you expect them to examine.

The simplest kind of contest is one with only students from your own school (or perhaps within your local school district). That gives you a chance to see how the contest is run, and is lower stress than starting with a larger contest that includes schools outside your local district.

Solo-Ensemble.com is considering hosting an online forum (discussion area) for Band Directors to share best practices and lessons learned from managing existing contests with Solo-Ensemble.com. Stay tuned to Solo-Ensemble.com for details.

We believe that the Solo-Ensemble.com software provides exceptional value for the services it performs. Solo-Ensemble.com web software is available as an annual subscription, as low as $99 USD for a single school. For a subscription that includes hosting one or more small contests, the price is in the same range as the honorarium payment to a single performance judge ($300 – $400 USD). A District-wide annual subscription is only $999, which allows for an unlimited number of contest websites of any size. Please see our Pricing Page and the Pricing Details FAQ question above for more information.