WSMA Festival Manager Workshop

Agenda & Topics

​

• Welcome and Introductions
• 2023-2024 Festival Facts & Nuts and Bolts
• WSMA Internal Timeline
• Planning & Considerations
• Festival Manager Timeline
• Adjudicator Training Requirements
• Determining Judge Needs
• What if’s
• Festival Financial
• Software Demo
• Tips and Tricks

2023-2024 Festival Season

• Approximately 1100 WSMA member schools
• Over 80,000 students participated at nearly 250 district music festivals
• Nearly 40,000 district S&E events
• Approx. 8,000 state S&E events at 10 state sites
• Approx. 600 concert events
• Contracted 500 Active Adjudicators
• Wrote 1770 Adjudicator Contracts
• Received over 800 Permission Requests

​

Thank you!!

Festivals - What is our goal?

All WSMA Festivals have five primary goals:

1. Improve students’ music performance
2. Increase students’ understanding of music literature and music concepts
3. Motivate students to continue their study of music
4. Establish standards of excellence in music performance
5. Provide opportunities for students to understand the relationship of music experiences to other life experiences.

​

How can a festival manager’s involvement work to achieve these goals?

Festivals

The nuts and bolts…

WSMA Internal Festival Timeline

• All year: Collect music list submissions from publishers and composers; revise and publish Festival Music List; update Festival Rules and other tools and resources�
• Late Spring - Early November: Collect festival information
• Used for judge availability form and preliminary contracting�

​

​

WSMA Internal Festival Timeline

• Early November: Receive adjudicator availability forms�
• Late November: Assign S&E judges based on registrations from the previous year�
• Mid December - Early January: Send S&E contracts to adjudicators for them to accept or decline. These are the preliminary S&E judges contracted to each festival.

​

​

​

​

WSMA Internal Festival Timeline

• January - May:
• Contract S&E additional judges or make changes to judge assignments
• Secure and contract Concert Festival judges as registrations deadline pass
• Collect, verify and process festival results
• Collect festival financial statements
• Invoice schools for event registrations at registration deadline (4 weeks prior to the festival), record payments from participating schools by festival, send host school subsidy check once all schools have paid

​

​

​

​

Why & What If?

• Registration deadline 4 weeks prior to the festival
• Allows enough time to submit invoice for payment
• Allows WSMA time to secure judges
• Allows Festival Manager time to create schedule�
• Subsidy checks to host school - Host schools are responsible for payment of judges, piano tuning, meals and other expenses
• Sent when all participating schools have paid
• 80% of all registrations for Concert
• 60% of all registrations for S&E

​

​

​

Why and What If?

• Preliminary S&E Contracts Timeline (Assign in early December - accept / decline in early January)
• Securing that number of S&E judges during festival season would be overwhelming.

​

• If a judge declines a preliminary S&E contract, we wait until the registration deadline passes because…
• Festival season is already underway in January
• It is far better to add judges than cancel contracts
• Additional judges can be added to meet specific needs of each festival

​

​

​

Why and What If?

• Concert Festival judges can vary greatly from year-to-year based on registrations. Because each festival requires only three judges, we can search for exactly what is needed.

​

​

​

Festival Host Responsibilities

• Secure performance spaces and all physical equipment
• Recruit volunteers to serve as door monitors, runners, etc…
• Communicate with participating schools and judges
• Create schedule
• Communicate judge needs with WSMA
• 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

​

Festival Planning & Considerations

• 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?

Festival Planning & Considerations

• What kind of experience do you want the students to have?
• Festival Rules only dictate what must be done and what cannot be done.
• The shortest judge contract available is 4 hours. Utilize them through longer performance/clinic times.�
• Be familiar with emergency plans for your school
• What will you do in the case of an emergency?
• How will you communicate with participating school teachers? Judges and volunteers? Spectators?

Festival Myth vs. Fact

• WSMA requires that all vocal rooms have a transposing piano.
• No - up to host school. Nice if communicated in advance.
• WSMA requires that the host school provide teacher lounge with food.
• No - up to participating schools or conference.
• It’s ok to put all of my middle school registrations on my high school account.
• Not really ok - WSMA Accreditation depends on accurate registration records.
• I should include the judge meeting time when figuring contract length.
• Not necessary. Judge contracts should reflect performance schedule.

Resources for Participating School Teachers

Online Calendar and Map

​

Festival Rules

• Available at wsmamusic.org>Festivals>Resources

​

Rule Changes for 2024-2025 School Year

Resources for Participating School Teachers

Permissions / Alternate Editions

• Available at wsmamusic.org>Resources in the top banner

�Festival Registration - NEW! (again)

• Available in the Account Portal>Events
• Resources within registration platform

Festival Manager Timeline

(from Festival Manager Handbook)

Festival Manager Resources

​

November / December

• Complete the Festival Manager Checklist (emailed to you)
• Reserve warm up and performance spaces
• Arrange for piano rental and tuning
• Look for emails regarding Family Memberships (home-schooled students)
• Family Memberships registered through their own account
• Assigned to a festival by WSMA
• Add them to your festival contact list and software

​

Festival Manager Timeline

(from Festival Manager Handbook)

• 8 Weeks Prior
• Download Festival Manager Software
• Communicate
• Volunteers
• School staff and business office
• What is needed for payment to judges?
• WSMA does not collect/distribute W-9s or Social Security Numbers

​

​

• WSMA Background Check and Online Training Requirements
• All judges must complete a full background check through InCheck (insured, licensed, third party company)
• All judges are run through daily CCAP alerts
• All judges must complete youth risk management course (online available through NFHS)

​

If required by your business office, judges can provide a copy of their completed background check and completed coursework certificates.

​

​

Adjudicator Training Requirements

Festival Manager Timeline

(from Festival Manager Handbook)

• 8 Weeks Prior Continued
• Communicate with Participating Schools
• Date, Time, Location
• Deadlines
• Permission requests are due 6 weeks prior to the festival date.
• Registration deadline is 4 weeks prior to the festival.
• Look ahead - does the date fall on a Saturday or holiday? Can be moved on request.

​

​

Festival Manager Timeline

(from Festival Manager Handbook)

• 8 Weeks Prior Continued
• Review required equipment (Festival Manager Handbook)
• Solo & Ensemble
• Piano sites - acoustic piano
• Vocal sites - digital or acoustic piano
• Percussion Sites
• Bass drum on a stand
• One set of four (4) timpani, if required for entries
• Outlet with extension cord for vibraphone entries
• Optional specialty and additional percussion equipment - marimba, sound equipment, etc…
• Communicate everything provided

​

​

Festival Manager Timeline

(from Festival Manager Handbook)

• Review required equipment (Festival Manager Handbook)
• Concert
• Band: Chairs and stands, 4 timpani, marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, bass drum on tilt stand, tam-tam, chimes, music stand, and podium
• Orchestra: Chairs and stands, 4 timpani, bass drum on tilt stand, piano with bench, music stand, and podium
• Choir: Risers, piano with bench, music stand and podium.

Festival Manager Timeline

(from Festival Manager Handbook)

• 4 Weeks + 3 Days Prior
• Receive S&E Preliminary Adjudicator Contract Summary from WSMA
• 4 Weeks
• Import registration data
• Do this the day after registration closes, or Monday if it’s a weekend deadline
• What about late entries?
• Festival Manager will be contacted for permission, teacher enters in registration system, imports into software automatically

​

​

​

​

​

​

Determining S&E Judge Needs

• Goal - Students receive useful feedback from a knowledgeable and qualified adjudicator
• Software tells you the number and types of judges and rooms needed
• Needs human AND music knowledge
• Combinations that work well = Brass/Perc, WW/Perc, General Instrumental, Vocal/Piano
• Avoid = Vocal/Instrumental, Instrumental/Piano, String/Anything
• Can assign an adjudicator events from their secondary area, but not more than a ⅓ - ½ of a day

​

​

​

​

​

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

What to do with these?

First, do the logical math. Then compare to preliminary judge assignments.

Determining S&E Judge Needs

• Can switch assignment within primary area
• Combinations to avoid
• Vocal/Instrumental OR Instrumental/Piano
• String/Anything
• Communicate with WSMA
• For vocal events: MT/Cont A Cap/Jazz Improv need to be mentioned
• “Random” events - contact a master level adjudicator or ask WSMA to contact

Determining S&E Judge Needs

• Email or call with judge needs. Example…
• 2 vocal - Ruppert, need 1 additional
• 1 piano (8am-noon) - Meier
• 1.5 woodwind - Wurgler, need 1 additional 8am-noon
• 1 brass/perc - Petersen�
• CONFIRM JUDGE NEEDS WITH WSMA BEFORE TOO FAR INTO SCHEDULING!

​

Determining Concert Judge Needs

• Review registration to determine if multiple performance sites are needed
• Determine what types of judges are needed for each performance site
• Nearly all combinations of judges are possible for concert festivals
• Band/choir
• Band/orchestra
• If all 3 ensemble types will be performing in one site, all judges assigned will be capable of giving written feedback, one of each type of judge will be assigned for the clinic portion

Determining Concert Judge Needs

• Judge requirements:
• 3 WSMA adjudicators will provide written feedback, provide a rating and rotate clinic sessions OR
• 2 WSMA adjudicators will provide written feedback and provide rating + 1 clinician of festival manager’s choice
• Clinician details are determined by the festival manager (length of clinic time, pay rate, etc…)
• Communicate the following to WSMA:
• Festival start and end time
• Number of judges needed
• Type of judges needed
• Location

Festival Manager Timeline

(From Festival Manager Handbook)

• 3 Weeks Prior
• Send participating schools a draft schedule
• For S&E: Include deadline for changes/swaps
• For S&E: Encourage them to share with students�
• 2 Weeks Prior
• WSMA sends 2 press releases
• Customized press release designed for newspapers
• Sample or template for social media post
• Other distribution options
• School officials
• Internal email to staff/co-workers

Festival Manager Timeline

(from Festival Manager Handbook)

• 10 – 14 days Prior
• Send participating schools more information
• Schedule
• Maps of school (site numbers, concessions, Festival headquarters, etc...)
• Parking information and maps
• Get printed materials ready
• Rubrics
• Signs for building and sites
• Receive final adjudicator contracts
• Timing depends on judge availability and how quickly they respond!

​

Festival Manager Timeline

(From Festival Manager Handbook)

• Day Before
• Set-up
• Adjudicator checks�
• Festival Day
• Run adjudicator meeting
• Available for troubleshooting
• Call WSMA with any questions - 608-850-3566
• Process Rubrics & Post Results
• Have a staff and a plan

​

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.

​

​

Festival Manager Timeline

(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

Festival Manager Timeline

(from Festival Manager Handbook)

• Complete Adjudicator Evaluations
• Link in Account Portal>Events and in registration
• Emailed from WSMA to all participating school teachers�
• Complete Festival Financial
• Built into Festival Manager Software

Festival Financial Statement

• Fill out as soon as possible!
• All bills / invoices should be paid or received
• Subsidy received from WSMA
• ALL participating schools submitted registration and payment is received (PO does not equal payment)
• Subsidy based on a percentage of registration
• Made out to Festival Manager’s school (unless otherwise specified on Festival Information Worksheet)

​

Festival Financial Statement

• Most schools break even or make money
• Options to reduce costs
• Fundraising opportunities�
• Do not send a financial statement without a subsidy amount
• Contact WSMA for the amount if you haven’t received the check and want to complete the financial�
• Why are these important?
• Use the collected data to determine if the subsidy percentage is still sufficient
• Provide guidance for cost-saving measures

​

What did we miss?

Festival Manager Software

• Scheduling software to assist writing a schedule for all events per room
• Prints schedules in various sorted formats
• Prints completed adjudication forms
• Provides easy student look-up for information desk
• Provides screen for rating input, saving and printing
• Provides End of Festival instructions and reports

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Festival Manager Software

​

• FileMaker 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

​

​

​

​

​

​

Show Ready!

​

Erica Ruppert

eruppert@wsmamusic.org�

Direct office # : 608-850-1018

​

Day of Festival # : 608-850-3566

​