WSMA FESTIVAL MANAGERS

PLANNING, TIPS AND TRICKS

For A Successful Festival

Updated November 2026

WSMA FESTIVAL MANAGER WORKSHOP

• Welcome and Introductions
• Resources
• 2025-2026 Festival Facts
• WSMA Administrative Work
• Subsidy & Financial Structure
• Festival Manager Timeline
• What if’s
• Festival Financial
• Software Demo
• Tips and Tricks

2025-2026 Festival Season

Why do we do this?

Resources

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WSMA website

• Festival Manager Resources
• Festival Calendars
• Rules & Rule Changes

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Engage

• Everything Else!

WSMA Internal Work

& Timeline

WSMA INTERNAL FESTIVAL TIMELINE

WSMA Board of Directors Meeting occur in June and December

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WSMA Board music approve all changes to rules and event headers

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You can be a part of the selection and review panels!

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WSMA Committee Application

WSMA INTERNAL FESTIVAL TIMELINE

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November - May

• Support festival managers and participating school music teachers

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• Hold adjudicator workshops�
• Process permissions

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• Collect completed coursework and background checks from adjudicators�

ADJUDICATOR TRAINING REQUIREMENTS & PAPERWORK

FINANCIAL INFORMATION - How does this work?

Host schools are responsible for payment of judges, piano tuning, meals and other expenses - WSMA sends a subsidy check to the host school to help offset the costs

• 80% of all registrations for Concert
• 60% of all registrations for S&E
• Sent when all participating schools have paid�

KEEP IN MIND….

Registration deadline 4 weeks prior to the festival

• Schools receive invoice 48 business hours after submission
• Should allow enough time to submit invoice for payment
• Allows WSMA time to secure judges
• Allows Festival Manager time to create schedule

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WSMA INTERNAL FESTIVAL TIMELINE

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November - May

FINANCIAL INFORMATION - Forward thinking

• Items to discuss with participating schools or conference�
• Finances!
• What happens if festival runs negative? Who covers expenses?
• What happens if festival makes a profit? Who gets a share of profits?�
• Are there additional requirements or costs for participating schools at the festival?
• Stipend for writing schedule? Required to provide volunteers?

�WSMA asks that a copy of the financial statement be sent to all participating schools, but has no control over how overages or losses are managed or distributed.

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Tell us why you participate?

FESTIVAL HOST RESPONSIBILITIES

& TIMELINE

FESTIVAL HOST RESPONSIBILITIES

• Secure performance spaces and all physical equipment
• Recruit volunteers to serve as door monitors, runners, etc…
• Communicate judge needs with WSMA
• Communicate with participating schools and judges
• Create schedule
• Print rubrics and make judge packets
• Arrange for catering / meals
• Cover all expenses related hosting the event (judge payment, piano tuning, custodial fees, etc)
• Record ratings and send to WSMA and participating schools

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EQUIPMENT FOR SOLO & ENSEMBLE FESTIVALS

What exactly is required for equipment vs. what’s expected?�

Piano Events / Site

• BEST Acoustic piano and bench
• Extra chair�

Vocal Sites

• Acoustic or digital piano and bench*
• 4-6 music stands (except sites dedicated only to show choir and/or contemporary a cappella)�

EVERY ROOM - TABLE OR DESK AND CHAIR FOR ADJUDICATOR

EQUIPMENT FOR SOLO & ENSEMBLE FESTIVALS

Solo & Ensemble Equipment Continued…�

Brass, Woodwind and String Sites

• Acoustic or digital piano and bench (except sites dedicated only to large wind ensembles)*
• One music stand and chair for each member of the largest group assigned to the site�

Percussion Sites

• Bass drum on a stand
• One set of four (4) timpani, if required for entries
• Outlet with extension cord for vibraphone entries
• One music stand for each member of the largest group assigned to the site
• Piano? Check event registrations.�

EVERY ROOM - TABLE OR DESK AND CHAIR FOR ADJUDICATOR

S&E TIMELINE - FALL

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Included in Festival Manager Handbook

September

• Reserve rooms for festival use.
• Verify WSMA festival information is correct on WSMA website.

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November

• Verify participating schools.
• Complete Festival Manager Checklist and Acknowledgement google form. (Emailed to you from WSMA)
• Verify date, time, location and participating schools
• Verify subsidy payee information
• Request COI if needed
• Other acknowledgements and verifications
• Attend Festival Manager Workshop.

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S&E TIMELINE - FALL

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Included in Festival Manager Handbook

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�December

• Arrange for pianos and piano tuner.

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• Look for emails regarding Family Memberships (home-schooled students)

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• Family Memberships registered through their own account

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• Assigned to a festival by WSMA
• Add them to your festival contact list and software

S&E TIMELINE:�6-8 WEEKS OUT

• Recruit volunteers.
• Alert school staff and business office.
• Determine what business office needs to provide payment to adjudicators.
• Download and install Festival Manager Software.
• Notify participating schools of deadlines.

S&E TIMELINE: �3-4 WEEKS OUT

• Receive preliminary adjudicator contracts from WSMA.
• Import events into Festival Manager Software after registration deadline.
• Figure adjudicator needs via Festival Manager Software.
• Verify adjudicators needed with WSMA.
• Request adjudicator checks from school business office and/or request W9s from adjudicators.
• Make Draft Schedules and share with other participants/schools.

S&E TIMELINE:�2 WEEKS OUT

• Receive press release from WSMA
• Part 1 - Customized information about your festival meant to be shared with local news outlets
• Part 2 - Template for social media post
• Receive finalized judge contract summaries from WSMA

S&E TIMELINE: �7-10 DAYS OUT

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• Send email to adjudicators as soon as draft schedule is complete.
• Send schools: final schedule, room assignments, instructions, school map.
• Alert school staff whose rooms will be used.
• Send job descriptions to volunteers.
• Prepare envelopes for runners and schools.
• Prepare signs for the school.

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S&E TIMELINE: �2-3 DAYS OUT

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• Print rubric forms (Festival Manager Software).
• Prepare adjudicator envelopes.
• As soon as Festival Manager Software is final, load onto festival headquarters computer and information desk computers.

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TIPS & TRICKS FOR A SUCCESFUL FESTIVAL

TIMELINE

We have our Festival on the 3^rd Saturday in February.

• TRANSPOSE my info to YOUR timeline.

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So, for me:

• This year, our Festival is on Saturday, Feb 15
• Registration is due Friday, January 17 at midnight. (4 weeks before + 1 day)
• Some years I do Saturday – it really doesn’t matter…..

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• I go over dates as early as our Fall Conference Meeting (in September)
• I send some quick reminders in December (about 12 weeks out)
• FULL REMINDERS RIGHT AFTER NEW YEAR (7 weeks out)

HOW AM I GOING TO RUN THE SOFTWARE?

• Talk to your I.T. Department.
• You will need a computer that can run the FileMaker software
• It will not run on a Chromebook – must be a Mac or PC
• You will need to be able to download the FileMaker software
• You will get a license from WSMA, but you might need IT’s help to download/install/run/be able to print….
• Festival Day :
• Will your location change?
• Can you print?

COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION

NOTE TO CONFERENCE

NOTE TO TEACHERS

COMMUNICATION – IN-BUILDING

• Talk to your building/district now!
• Rooms
• Custodians / Buildings & Grounds – do a walk through of the building addressing both your and THEIR concerns.
• Secretaries
• I.T. / Tech guys
• AD – tournament schedules??

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COMMUNICATION – IN-BUILDING

• BUSINESS OFFICE
• How are checks cut for judges?
• What information do they need?

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• I used to run mine through my Activity Account – checks get done quicker – but now through the Business Office
• Extra ”hoops”
• Do you need IRS forms from judges??
• When are you going to collect those?
• Do judges need to become “employees??
• Passports/birth certificates/background checks/mandatory reporting videos, ………
• Does your HR department need to see judges in person before the festival to get this info?

EMERGENCIES??

How to contact Custodians?

• Clogged Toilets
• Overflowing trash

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All-School P.A. Announcements?

- How to? and from where?

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Chain-of-Command

• Fire Alarms
• Student injuries

NOTE TO JUDGES

Include:

- Date & Time

- Directions (Clear – including where to park and enter)

- Payment info

- Meals/Food options

- MY contact info

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COMMUNICATION

• JUDGES
• Via e-mail – MAKE SURE THEY RESPOND BACK
• Follow-up with phone calls
• Form letter?
• Send Maps – to school (with directions if tricky) and Floor Plans
• Send Their Schedules
• Ask for Cell Phone / Give your Cell phone – in case of emergency
• Let them know about planned lunch meal (dietary issues)
• Do they have any physical/health issues that might affect something?

COMMUNICATION - DIRECTORS

• TO OTHER SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING
• Schedules (duh), but also…
• Send Floor Plans
• Send Equipment List (pictures??)
• Send Piano/room info – what type (Acoustic/Digital) is in each room
• Send concessions menu and prices
• Directions to school/Where to Park?

PARKING MAPS��

• Where is Bus Parking?
• Where is Car Parking?
• Where is Main Entrance?

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Helps keep buses from parking sideways and taking all your parking spots.

COMMUNICATION - DIRECTORS

• Equipment List

LOGISTICS

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT NOW…

• Floor-plan / layout
• Map of school/directions/room sites
• Grand Piano?  32” timpani? Will it fit?!
• Warm-up room distance to sites
• Keep instrumental and vocal apart
• Sound-proofing between rooms?

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• Organize your help
• Music Boosters?
• Volunteers
• Concessions
• ONLINE SIGN-UP
• GoogleDocs
• Other online options – things like Volunteer Spot, Sign-up Genius, etc.

FLOOR-PLAN

• Example and ideas:
• Keep instrumental and vocal apart for sound reasons
• What are you putting in your big spaces? Figure that out before you start scheduling. EX: Site 6 has to have larger vocal ensembles for us – madrigals, etc.
• Do you need to keep a room buffer between each performance site for sound?
• LABEL EVERYTHING!
• This is what we hand out at the Info Table. We will write time searches on this instead of using full programs.

VOLUNTEERS �& DONATIONS

These are examples from when we did things via GoogleDocs. We now use other free online volunteer services:

SIGN-UP GENIUS

Also:

Volunteer Spot

iVolunteer.com

Many others…

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VOLUNTEERS & DONATIONS

STILL THINKING AHEAD

After you have made your schedule…

• Run through the day as “each person”
• Student/performer
• Parent
• Director
• Judge
• Accompanist

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• What is your plan for set-up night? Morning of?

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PIANOS

• Plan your rental NOW
• Who from – your own? Music store? other schools?
• Delivery – when? Storage?
• Tuning
• Storage

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• Digitals – pros and cons
• PUT SIGNS ON EACH DIGITAL ABOUT HOW TO TRANSPOSE/Un-transpose

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• Tell directors what rooms will have transposing / acoustic
• That could affect who can be in which room

TRANSPOSITING PIANOS

Post instructions on each digital piano about how to transpose - - - and UNTRANSPOSE

SCHEDULING!

SCHEDULING!

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• Accompanist-Based Scheduling vs. what you’re “supposed” to do…
• Blocking
• Room locations

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• INSTRUMENTATION: What –IS- that “miscellaneous ensemble???
• Ask ahead of time if a school is bringing a “large” ensemble
• Ask a week or two before registration deadline: What do your Accompanist #s look like? (anyone doing 40+ entries??)
• NAMES
• List directors as “Accompanists” for conducted groups
• Make sure that Accompanists names are listed the same – especially if 2 districts are sharing the same person.

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FESTIVAL TIME!

FESTIVAL SET-UP

• Let your teachers know a week or two, then a day or two before.
• Take pictures of rooms
• Tape-off rooms

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• Try to do it afternoon before

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• Homerooms
• Is it your gym? Have hoops raised up as far as possible!
• No playing signs

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• DOOR LOCKS – can you unlock/key open your classroom doors?
• Other “Safety” issues in your building??

FESTIVAL SET-UP

• SIGNAGE:
• The more, the better!
• We hang our site number signs from the ceiling by the door – easier for people to find.
• Quiet Signs
• Arrow Signs

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• In Room signs:
• Turn off Noise Makers
• NO RECORDING OF COMMENTS SIGN (from WSMA)

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FESTIVAL SET-UP – JUDGES

• TABLES
• Make sure judges have a large enough surface to
• Write
• Read a score
• Have two envelopes (un/completed cards)
• Coffee/drink/etc
• CHAIRS
• Find the most comfortable chair you can – you don’t want to sit in a folding chair for 8 hours….
• Extra Pencils

FESTIVAL DAY - HEADQUARTERS

MORE SET-UP

MORE SET-UP

We give our students pictures of what each room should look like when it is turned into a performance space.

FESTIVAL DAY

• Volunteers
• Have a separate table for volunteers to check-in
• Have job descriptions available for each person/job
• Name tags – with assigned job?

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• Have descriptions for their jobs available.

FESTIVAL DAY…

• Door Locks (again)

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• Keep a WSMA Handbook handy – You answer rules questions

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• What’s your plan? How can you be reached
• Do you stay in one place all day or are you with your students?
• How do people get a hold of you/Festival Manager?
• Give HQ your cell phone # to text/call.
• What is the plan if you’re conducting an ensemble and an “emergency” happens?

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INFORMATION FOR DOOR MONITORS:

• Post information like this outside each performance site
• Answer common questions for Door Monitors.

FESTIVAL DAY…

• Judge’s Meeting
• Usually takes place at 7:30
• If you are busy, have a Master Judge lead the meeting

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• I ask ”is anyone judging their first festival of the year?”
• If “yes,” then I read the script
• If “no,” then I tell them
• Don’t save cards (unless DNAs - save until the end)
• Where the nearest bathrooms are
• Where Lunch is
• Where to get paycheck/check-out at the end

FESTIVAL DAY SCHEDULING

• After 9:00 a.m., the schedule is a suggestion
• Small time issues will not be a problem (ex: a 2-min. overlap)

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• It is okay to take entries out of order
• Just make sure that you are aware of angry parents…

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• Keep judges on time!
• Tell room monitors to keep judges aware of times
• You talk to judges

IS THE SITE ON TIME?

SCORES

• Where do you post?
• All in one location?
• By Room?
• By School?

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• Put Schools in different locations?

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• Put near concession stand???

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SCORES

• Print on paper or just online?

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• I used a Google Site
• AND post results on a GOOGLE SHEET

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• DePere HTML Script – for TVs in school.

OTHER THINGS…

• Score Card Math issues
• Address with judge right away, not after they have heard 15 more entries.

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• No video taping of judges verbal comments. Have room monitors remind.

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• Have a great FESTITUDE
• Try to offer 5-Star service

HOSPITALITY ROOM

• Treat your judges well!
• Bring them food and drink

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• Hospitality Room
• Food options
• Breakfast / Lunch / Snacks
• Catering Food? - VERY EXPENSIVE
• F.A.C.E. Program help – can they “cater” for you?

FESTIVAL DAY

• Instrument Repair?
• Sometimes your Music Store will send a repair tech to your festival
• Extra Instruments?
• Instead of a repair tech, ask your Music Store for a spare set of instruments (from their rental pool) to use if something breaks.

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• Copy Machine?

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CONCESSIONS

• Never too early to have food for sale!
• Have a variety
• Can you use things for multiple foods choices?
• Fruit
• Free stuff from your fundraiser people?
• Cookie Dough
• Pizza?
• Again, send this out to the other schools so their kids know what will be available.

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FESTIVAL DAY

• Homerooms
• Where can you put groups?
• Different Classroom for each school?
• Everyone in gym?
• Label sections of Bleacher for each school
• Raise your basketball hoops/remove any toys!
• What can you do to make the day a little more entertaining for kids stuck at your school all day?
• We adjust our Public WiFi settings to allow for things like Netflix – keeps those kids “occupied” instead of wondering…..

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Label sections of your bleachers for each school

WHAT IF….

What if there’s a snow storm on the day of our festival?

• Follow the steps outlined in the Weather Emergency Procedures.
• Decisions are made at the school level.
• Delayed start
• If the majority of schools are able to travel safely, it’s ok to continue with the festival.
• Cancel and Reschedule
• Notify all teachers and judges.
• Notify WSMA.
• WSMA will work with Festival Manager and/or individual schools to reschedule.
• Don’t panic.

WHAT IF….

What if a judge notifies me that they are sick and can’t attend?

• Remind the judge that they should notify WSMA.
• WSMA will secure a new judge. Depending on how many festivals there are scheduled for that day, we may ask for your suggestions.
• If the newly-assigned judge will be late to the festival, teachers could rotate as a judge in the room, taking care that they don’t evaluate their own students.
• Don’t panic.

WHAT IF….

What if I can’t provide payment on the day of the festival?

• Inform the judges how and when they will receive payment BEFORE the festival.
• Many judges have teaching experience and will understand.
• Don’t panic.

WHAT IF….

What if an error is found on a rubric after the festival is over?

• Contact WSMA. We will reach out to the judge for clarification.
• Avoids negative interaction with adjudicator.
• Allows WSMA to review correct procedures with the adjudicator.
• Don’t panic.

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END-OF-DAY

• Make sure paychecks are in HQ
• Have judges just bring their final cards to HQ for check-out procedure

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• CLEAN-UP
• Post pictures of room inside room
• Have clean-up crew start working as soon as room is done
• Don’t wait for 4:00 if room is done at 3:30

END-OF-DAY

Take photos of rooms to help return them to how you found them.

END-OF-DAY

Take photos of rooms to help return them to how you found them.

AFTER THE FESTIVAL FINISHES

(FROM FESTIVAL MANAGER HANDBOOK)

• Immediately following festival
• Allow schools to pick up completed rubrics at the end of the day? OR scan and email rubrics? Either is acceptable.
• Email results to WSMA and participating schools

• Within 7 days following festival
• Pay additional invoices, bills
• Finalize additional income

AFTER THE FESTIVAL FINISHES

• Complete Adjudicator Evaluations
• Link in ENGAGE > Resources
• Also emailed from WSMA to all participating school teachers�
• Complete Festival Financial
• Built into Festival Manager Software

FESTIVAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT

NOW…. ���HOW TO SCHEDULE….

DETERMINING S&E JUDGE NEEDS

DETERMINING S&E JUDGE NEEDS

Number of judges needed based on festival length and number of minutes assigned to each event

EXAMPLE ADJUDICATOR SUMMARY PAGE 1

EXAMPLE ADJUDICATOR SUMMARY PAGE 2

DETERMINING S&E JUDGE NEEDS

DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH THESE?

FIRST, DO THE LOGICAL MATH. THEN COMPARE TO PRELIMINARY JUDGE ASSIGNMENTS.

DETERMINING S&E JUDGE NEEDS:

BREAKS AND LUNCHES

8 Hour Festival

4.5 - 7 Hours

30-45 Minute Lunch

> 4 Hours

No Lunch

DETERMINING S&E JUDGE NEEDS

• CONFIRM JUDGE NEEDS WITH WSMA BEFORE TOO FAR INTO SCHEDULING!

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SCHEDULING

• Schedule your VOCAL rooms first, then Instrumental.
• Time requests
• Tell directors to ONLY use for EMERGENCY
• Not that they only have 8 entries and they want to be home by noon…

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• TWO SOLOS IN SAME ROOM – try to avoid - for kid’s sake
• Classical and Broadway in same room

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• Equipment
• Does your 1 drum set need to be in jazz room, percussion room, and a brass ensemble room?
• Where do you need choir risers?

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FILE MAKER BASICS

FILE MAKER BASICS

• Everything saves automatically (like Google docs)
• Familiar keyboard commands
• Control / Command + Z = UNDO
• Control / Command + F = FIND
• Bar at top – useful for noticing # of records
• + or – sign in lower left corner to help adjust font size

SCHEDULING - BLOCKING

Do this on the computer or just a pad of paper. Helps you “see” what’s happening in each room.

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This is looking at things based on Rooms.

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Different colors represent different Accompanists

SCHEDULING – ACCOMPANIST-BASED

Do this on a computer on just on paper.

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This helps you keep track of when each accomp. Is busy/free.

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Helps a lot when trying to make schedules when one person plays for more than 15 events.

OR, DO IT WITH PENCIL AND PAPER…

SCHEDULING

END TIMES AND STAGGERED LUNCHES

ENDING & LUNCH

SCHEDULING…

• SITE SCHEDULING SEQUENCE – SUGGESTIONS
• This list is a suggestion for the order that you should schedule your sites. This will vary depending on the number of events and sites your festival has.�
• Site with Show choir/vocal jazz (think about where Instrumental Jazz might go, too – if sharing an auditorium, schedule them now; if now, think about what time of day (maybe opposite show choirs) that you want to schedule them at.)
• Site(s) with Madrigals/large vocal ensemble
• All remaining Vocal sites
• Sites with Jazz Ensembles
• Site(s) with very large instrumental Ensembles.
• All other brass/woodwind site(s)
• Percussion site(s)
• Site(s) with large string ensembles
• All other string sites
• Piano site(s)

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SCHEDULING…

• ADJUST TIMES OF SINGLE ENTRIES

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• THINK OF THE DAY AS IF YOU WERE A JUDGE
• Happy Judges make Happy Ratings
• ADD BREAKS
• DNAs will be breaks, too
• Don’t put in all class As --- or Class Cs!
• CAN THEY JUDGE THAT?? – BROADWAY solos

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• DRAFT SCHEDULE
• Send out as PDF – send by time, then site & accompanist by time, then site.
• Send out draft to directors to catch conflicts of double-booked students
• Give them a few days to find errors (tell them when deadline is!)
• Trade with their own entries within a site – tell you the swaps

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SCHEDULING

LATE ENTRIES

• So, someone forgets something – what do you do:
• Send them to WSMA
• Or don’t…

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• Regardless, have them send me the event info
• (**adding late entries into the website**)

SCHEDULING – OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT…

• Extra BREAKS for moving to new site (Show Choir / Jazz in another room)

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• How to deal with the same room being used for two different things?
• The gym/auditorium is hosting show choir things with the judge from room 3 and Jazz Band things with the judge from room 12. What do you do?

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• Judging “odd” things
• Who should do it? Strings if you don’t have stings?
• Look at class – anyone *should* be able to judge class C
• Suggest they transfer to another festival.

ADVANCED DNA EVENTS

• Have directors tell you ahead of time about DNAs
• Deadline for printing rubrics?

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• These can become open slots to move schedule conflicts

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• Also helps day go smoother with opening
• No confusion over “where is that entry??”

PRINTING

• Print to your copy machine
• Have students collate by room and index #
• This helps find any missing entry forms

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• Print extra blank forms for judges envelopes

– both rated and C.O.

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Use WSMA suggested colors, or…

• Different color for every room
• Different color for every school/district

ADVOCACY

• How can this help your program and your community?
• Press releases – before and after

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HOSTING EVERY YEAR

• No, I’m not crazy!!

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• Gets Easier and Easier each year
• Parents know what to do
• -Your- kids benefit the most
• I can schedule them when they need to go
• It takes up less of their time
• Process gets streamlines and efficient
• Boosters run all volunteers, food, etc – I get to focus on my kids
• You Make $$$

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OTHER TIPS AND TRICKS

• This is what works at **MY** Festival

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• What has worked well at yours?

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• Ryan Petersen – petersEnr@deerfield.k12.wi.us