All VTNATS teachers whose students are participating in Student Auditions are required to be adjudicators. If for some reason you are unable to do so, you should find a fellow member who can act as a substitute adjudicator.

VTNATS teachers will be adjudicating the preliminary round and semi-finals round. The Finals Round will be adjudicated by guest judges.

We do welcome VTNATS teachers who are not submitting students to adjudicate. Please email with attention to Auditions Coordinator vermontNATS@gmail.com to indicate your interest.

You will receive an email with

1) a link to the Adjudication Form

2) a link to a spreadsheet with your assigned videos

3) the appropriate category rubric. Please follow the directions below.

1. Submit one adjudication form per participant.

2. View participant videos in the order received.

3. Fill out the adjudication form as you are viewing the audition videos, as if you are judging a live audition. You may need to use two devices (or two side-by-side browser windows) to accommodate viewing the submissions and making comments on this form simultaneously.

4. Set a timer for each participant to adhere to the audition time limit.

AUDITION TIME LIMITS

Juniors - 8 minutes

Lower High School - 8 minutes

Upper High School - 8 minutes

Lower College - 10 minutes

Upper College - 12 minutes

Emerging Professional - 15 minutes

Adult Avocational - 10 minutes

5. View the audition video only once per song until reaching the audition time limit, just as you would in a live audition. Do not re-watch submissions.

6. Score each participant against the rubric provided in your instructions email, not against the other participants.

7. Comment and score based only what you have viewed within the audition time limit. Do not score a student lower if their submission exceeds the time limit.

8. Score between 70 - 100, according to the rubric. No decimal point scores.

9. Once submitted, you cannot alter your comments or scores.

10. All completed adjudication forms should be submitted by Thursday, January 13th at 12pm NOON.

Be kind. Be constructive. Be brief. Positivity is key. Comments on physical characteristics are not acceptable. To refresh or bolster your adjudication toolbox, we encourage you to watch our special presentations with Kevin Wilson (2022 Student Auditions) and Dr. Shannon Coates and Noel Smith (2021 Student Auditions), which can be found below.

Please contact Auditions Coordinator at vermontNATS@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

Adjudication Rubrics

COMMERCIAL MUSIC (CM)

NSA Commercial Music Rubric

MUSICAL THEATER

NSA Musical Theatre Rubric

CLASSICAL

NSA Classical Rubric

​Further helpful information from NATS National, including audio examples and sample comments, can be found on the NATS National Student Auditions page.

“How to Adjudicate: Instructions & Etiquette”, 2021, Dr. Shannon Coates and Noel Smith

Link to NATS FAQ