68th Annual TMEA Music Education Conference
Spotlight (Chamber) Ensembles Application (2027)
Wednesday, January 13 – Saturday, January 16, 2027
Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Call for Spotlight (Chamber) Ensemble Submissions:
Tennessee Music Education Association members of all teaching levels and areas are encouraged to submit an application for consideration to perform at the 68th Annual TMEA Music Education Conference, January 13-16, 2027, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
TMEA is currently seeking applications for unamplified small ensembles (consisting of less than 16 performers) representing a wide range of genres, ensemble types, and grade levels.
An effort will be made to ensure that invited performing groups will represent a variety of levels, sizes, and genres.
Performance Locations and Allotted Times:
Spotlight (Chamber) ensemble performances will occur in various locations in the conference venue and will not have audience seating (for example, lobbies and hallways). Spotlight (Chamber) ensemble concerts will feature an allotted performance time of up to 15 minutes.
Equipment Provided:
TMEA will provide chairs and stands for Spotlight (Chamber) ensembles. All other equipment must be provided by the ensmble. There is no storage room, dressing room, or warm-up area provided. TMEA does not provide A/V equipment and these performances are not recorded.
Eligibility:
In an effort to involve as many ensembles as possible, a school appearing at a Tennessee Music Education Association Conference is only eligible to perform in that category (Band, Choir, Small Ensemble, etc.) once every four years (i.e. groups that performed at the 2023 TMEA Annual Conference will be eligible to apply to perform at the 2027 TMEA Annual Conference).
No school, organization, or director may have a performance group of any ensemble type appear at consecutive TMEA Music Education Conferences. This applies to all ensembles appearing on any concert at the conference (i.e. a school, organization, or director may not submit an application for a concert choir one year and a chamber choir the next year; likewise, a school, organization, or director may not submit an application for a symphonic band one year and a jazz band or percussion ensemble the next year).
This also applies to directors who may be affiliated with additional ensembles or organizations or for directors who change jobs (i.e. a public school band director who is also the conductor of a local youth orchestra. The director submits an application for the band program who is accepted to perform. The director cannot submit an application for the local youth orchestra until four years have passed since the performance.)
The same intent holds true for directors who may have changed jobs (i.e. a public school choir director submits an application for the choir program who is accepted to perform. The director resigns from the school to teach at another school. The director at the new school cannot submit an application for performance until the four years have passed since the last performance with the ensemble).
Current TMEA teachers/directors/conductors at any Tennessee public or private school, college, university, or community ensemble are eligible to apply.
Teachers/directors/conductors of all performing groups submitting applications must be current members of TMEA (at the time of this application and must be current members of TMEA if selected to perform).
For college/university faculty performing ensembles, the college/university must be a member of the TMEA Higher Education Institutional Membership program when applying and during the following conference year.
Spotlight (Chamber) ensembles selected to perform at the conference must be the same ensemble represented on the audition recording application (i.e. if a school submits a brass quintet that is selected to perform at the conference, the school cannot change the ensemble to a brass septet).
For Spotlight (Chamber) ensembles selected to perform at the conference, students in the performing group must be current members of the ensemble, officially enrolled in the school/institution/organization (i.e. a director cannot bring back students to perform that were in the ensemble in previous years but are no longer members enrolled in the performing ensemble/organization/school/institution).
The teacher/director/conductor of the group submitting this application must remain the director if the group is selected. If there is a change in teacher/director/conductor, the group will not be allowed to perform.
The teacher/director/conductor and school/institution/organization will assume all costs if selected to perform at the TMEA Conference. This includes the cost of conference registration.
Application Fee:
There is an application fee of $50.00 per submission.
Please note that ensembles who apply will not receive any written or numerical adjudication or feedback. A panel of qualified judges will be used to adjudicate and select TMEA Conference Spotlight (Chamber) Ensembles.
Application fee must be submitted by credit/debit card (in addition to processing fees) or by school/institution or booster club check (no personal checks will be accepted).
Payments by card/check must be received by or before Friday,May 1, 2026. Failure to abide by this deadline will make this application incomplete and ineligible for consideration.
If submitting more than one ensemble for consideration, a separate application must be completed, and a separate fee must be paid for each ensemble auditioning under the same teacher/director/conductor. If submitting multiple ensembles for consideration, only one ensemble (if selected) will be invited to perform at the conference.
Audition Criteria:
All performing groups are auditioned on a strictly anonymous and impartial basis by an adjudication panel consisting of qualified music educators. Please ensure your recordings demonstrate high-caliber performance and audio quality.
Audition Procedures:
All audition materials shall be submitted to TMEA through this application and the accompanying SnapAudition Platform during the submission window which begins on Sunday, March 15th, 2026 and closes on Friday, May 1 2026 at 11:59PM CDT.
Submit at least two to four high-quality contrasting selections with a minimum of Five (5) Minutes but not to exceed ten (10) minutes worth of music in .mp3 format. It is suggested that ensemble directors submit their strongest submission first. In the event that the total length of submissions is more than 10 minutes, adjudicators may only listen to the first minute of additional selections that exceed the 10 minute maximum but are not required.
Submitted recordings should be high-quality, unedited live audio recordings with contrasting selections demonstrating wide musical variety.
Individual movements of a piece can be considered as separate pieces.
Submitted recordings can reflect a body of work from both the 2025-2026 academic year and the 2024-2025 academic year.
Submitted recordings must be free of any audible references of the ensemble, school/institution, or director(s) name. Failure to abide by this will nullify and void this application.
Unedited shall mean NO studio enhancements or alterations or splicing of any type. You may edit the beginning or ending of the recording to ensure that no audible references are made that would identify the school/institution, ensemble, or conductor.
Live performance shall mean a complete performance of each selected work (does not have to take place in front of an audience).
Live performances shall also mean that all accompaniments (if applicable) must be live.
The date of each performance recording must be included on the application.
By submitting this application, the applicant confirms they were the teacher/director/conductor who led the ensemble in the ensemble recordings submitted in this application.
Failure to comply with the TMEA Conference Performing Ensemble criteria (described in this application) will nullify and void this performance application. All deadlines and criteria must be met. Application fee is nonrefundable; no refunds of TMEA Performing Ensemble application fees will be made.
Notifications:
Invitations to appear at the 68th Annual TMEA Professional Development Conference will be issued by TMEA by May 30th, 2026. All applicants will receive notification of their official status at this time. All decisions made by the TMEA Executive Committee will be final.