Welcome to the home of the BOC All-State Festival. On this page, you will find links to all the information needed for the BOC Festival including location, audition, and participation information. Please check back regularly for new information and we can add in additional information here to fill out this page a bit more along with any other relevant information and I will keep this nice long run-on sentence running for as long as possible because it would be nice to see a lot of information all in one easy to find location.
Clarification of Student Eligibility for 2020-21
All-State Auditions and Festivals
In-Person/Hybrid/Remote Students
Students who are enrolled in your school district and are taking school classes in whatever format/plan/color your school is in.
These students are eligible to audition and participate in All State provided they are enrolled in their school’s appropriate ensemble. Normally students must be enrolled for a full year. However for this year, 20-21, the board has adjusted that requirement because we received feedback that some schools have gone to a 4×4 block schedule and now their ensembles/classes only meet for 1 semester.
So if your Concert Band is meeting 1st Semester but not 2nd Semester or your Chamber Choir is meeting 2nd Semester instead of 1st Semester your students are still eligible.
However if your district has an enrolled student who is choosing not to participate in your program, those students would not be eligible for auditions or the festival.
Homeschool Students
Students who live in but are not enrolled in your school district. They are not taking school classes and are following an independent homeschool plan.
These students are eligible! As their local school music teacher you are simply asked to serve as conduit of information to the students and their parents/guardians. You would forward any pertinent information about auditions and then information about the festival should the student be accepted. These homeschool students do not need to be enrolled in a school ensemble.
In the past we have generally had a handful of homeschool students participate each year. Some schools require the student to pay all the audition and festival fees while other schools help to cover part of the expenses. We leave that up to the individual schools to decide.
I hope that helps!
If you have any questions about eligibility please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Kristen Thomas
allstate@mainemea.org
Maine All State BOTC Festival Chair