We all know that Ridge High School is extremely successful in the numerous sports we participate in. We’ve seen the blond-haired guys walking around the school, cheering with their friends, and from that, we can deduce that the wrestling team won the State Championships. We also know about the extremely talented forensics team, who won their State Championships and competed in Districts and Nationals. 

However, the majority of the student population remains uninformed about the successful music department. Recently, students in the Ridge Band, Chorus, and Orchestra programs were accepted into the 2024 All-State Music Ensembles. Now, what exactly does this mean? Ridge Music students have been working towards the All-State audition process since the beginning of the school year. In December of every year, a Regional Audition takes place for Band, Orchestra, and Chorus. This audition is for students who want to be accepted into an ensemble with the best musicians in Central Jersey. They are required to prepare solo repertoire, and the same audition process occurs for the All-State Music audition. To ensure they are prepared for the audition, students practice the same music for hours. 

The audition process is as follows: 

1. Students wanting to audition need to get approval from their school music director (in RHS, that would be Ms. Curran (orchestra teacher), Mr. Beyert/Mr. Zugale (band teachers), or Ms. Beadle (choral teacher).
2. When audition day comes, students drive to a local high school 30 minutes before their audition time. They arrive in a “warm up” room, where all other students with the same audition time are warming up simultaneously. Imagine playing a small instrument like the violin and hearing an extremely loud trombone next to you (no shade to trombones, they’re pretty cool). It’s incredibly difficult to hear your own playing!
3. When the time comes, you leave the warm-up room and go to your assigned audition hallway. Depending on the instrument you play, there is either one room to play all of the repertoire, or multiple rooms. 
4. The audition is blind, so the judges are facing away from you. This ensures that there is no bias about who is accepted into the music programs. There is a moderator outside the door who presents the judges with a number to identify you with. You can’t speak to the judges. As you play or sing the material, three judges score you in different categories based on your instrument.
5. For instrumentalists, there is a category in the audition known as sight reading. Instrumentalists see a piece of music for the first time and get 30 seconds to analyze it. Then, they play it for the judges. This is a high-stress situation! 
6. When the audition ends, students feel a variety of emotions, ranging from “I kinda ate that up!” to “I threw so hard. There’s no way I’m getting in.” 
7. The next day is one filled with anticipation, as students eagerly log onto the audition website to see their results. The moment they see their audition number can either be one of the best or worst moments of their lives, similar to how forensics students feel after hearing if they placed or not at a tournament. 

Being a part of the All State music programs is an incredibly rewarding experience. Depending on the ensemble they are accepted to, students get the chance to attend a three-day conference in Atlantic City and spend time with their friends, as well as meet students from schools all over New Jersey.  They also learn many valuable lessons about both music and life in general from extremely talented conductors. Getting into All State is a difficult process, as the program consists of the best high school musicians in New Jersey. Please, congratulate your friends who were accepted! ALSO: If you are passionate about music, I encourage you to audition for the Region and All State music programs next year!