The 2023 MTAC Southern CA Regional VOCE competition was held online via video submission on January 12th. ALL students who competed at regionals are to be commended for such hard work and dedication!
Thank you to the ten (10) San Diego Branch teachers who entered students in VOCE 2023: Ruslan Biryukov, Chia-Ling Chien, Hernan Constantino, Michael Dvoskin, Alexander Palamidis, Irena Tseitlin, Pasha Tseitlin, Sophie Catherine Webber, Danette White, and Elena Yarritu.
Congratulations to these fifteen (15) San Diego Branch students who were selected as “finalists” at the 2023 Southern CA Regional VOCE!
Junior Solo Strings
Helen Wang, cello
Intermediate Solo Strings
Brianna Baek, violin
Jasmine Chan, violin
Cynthia Huang, cello
Laiyina Shate, cello
Owen Spithill, cello
Ethan Zhou, violin
Senior Solo Strings
Debora Okhotina, cello
Tyler Xiao, cello
Intermediate Solo Winds
Serena Liu, flute
Senior Solo Winds
Keira Suniga, bassoon
Daniel Tran, bassoon
Intermediate Instrumental Ensemble
“Viva Trio” – Ethan Zhou, violin; Helen Wang, cello; Melinda Wang, piano
Senior Instrumental Ensemble
“BC Duo” – Caleb Liu, bassoon & Bryce Liu, piano
Regional VOCE “finalists” are eligible to move on to the State VOCE competition.
NEW VOCE FORMAT
The MTAC VOCE Competition format changed beginning January 2022, with the first round, formerly a branch competition, now a regional competition, Northern and Southern California. Two (2) changes in the judging format were:
1) At Regional VOCE, numerous “finalists” in each division were selected to move on to State VOCE. All regional contestants became either a finalist or non-finalist. No awards for 1st Place Winner, 1st Alternate, 2nd, 3rd, or Honorable Mention were chosen.
(In 2022 only: all regional “finalists” were labeled “1st Place” in their VOCE portals even though no regional winners were chosen).
2) At Regional VOCE, all contestants were heard by only one (1) judge, with a separate judge assigned to each instrument—not division—but instrument: a different judge for violins than cellos, flutes than reeds, wind ensembles than string ensembles, etc. Each judge selected finalists for their specific instrument, voice, or ensembles.
The State VOCE judging format remained unchanged, with the traditional panel of two (2) judges per division selecting 1st Place Winner, 1st Alternate, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mentions.
Re-using the regional video was prohibited, and a newly recorded video was required for the state competition.
The non-competitive option remained available.
There are 10 VOCE divisions. VOCE stands for Voice, Orchestral Instruments, and Chamber Ensembles.