JSU Marching Southerners

Ensemble Audition

Information

2025 Spring Concert Band Auditions

The 2025 Spring Concert Band audition videos will be due on November 12th by 11:59pm. Audition information can be found HERE.

2025 Marching Southerners Hornline Auditions

The deadline to register for the 2025 Southerner’s Band camp is June 1st, 2025. The audition for the Southerners horn line is a two-part process. The music portion of the audition consists of a video submission that is due by July 1st, 2025, and the visual portion will take place in-person during band camp. Every section will have its own audition based on a few qualifications:

  1. Playing ability
  2. A willingness to work hard
  3. A great attitude
 

You can find your specific sections’ audition information HERE. Be on the lookout for audition materials to be officially posted at this link and on our social media in the Spring. This page will also contain the video submission form once all of the audition material has been posted. 

The Southerners feel that having these qualifications will move the band forward in our quest for success. Our band camp newsletter will be posted on the Home page of the website sometime towards the beginning of the summer. This newsletter will contain the information necessary for your completion of band camp such as times, dates, places, what to bring, etc. 

For general questions, you can contact the University Bands secretary, Sandy Duval via email at slynch@jsu.edu or call (256) 782-5562.

2025 Southerners Drumline Auditions

The Southerners Drumline, a former PAS winner, is an elite organization that has a national reputation for excellence. Auditions will be held during May before band camp in August. For reference for next year’s audition process, last year’s audition information, is located on our Drumline Auditions Page.  You may contact Mr. Clint Gillespie, the Associate Director of Bands and Percussion Instructor, by email at cgillesp@jsu.edu or phone at (256) 782-5630 for further information about drumline auditions.

In preparation for the May audition, Mr. Gillespie will be offering a Wednesday night drum class in the spring semester which is open to anyone, including high school students, who want to learn some of the technical aspects of playing in the drumline. If you live near enough to Jacksonville to make the weekly drive, this is the single best way to improve your chances of making the drumline because you will learn several exercises and techniques used by the Southerners. In the process of getting to know the current members of the drumline, you won’t feel quite as intimidated when auditions come around in May.

2025 Marching Ballerinas Auditions

Ballerina candidates are made up of high school seniors, JSU students, transferring college students, and returning Marching Ballerinas. All potential Ballerinas must be accepted to or attending JSU by the first day of clinics. The audition season begins with an interest meeting in spring. Potential and returning Ballerinas receive information about the Marching Ballerina organization, the upcoming season, and the audition process. This is a great time to see what being a Ballerina is all about and have any questions answered. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory; however, if you cannot attend, contact us for the audition packet and detailed audition information.

During the clinic weekend in the spring, the Marching Ballerinas’ dance styles are taught and applied to audition routines. At clinics, potential Marching Ballerinas will learn two audition routines, a traditional and modern dance. Our traditional, or kickline, style dates back over 50 years and is modeled after the Radio City Rockettes. The modern dance is a jazz dance ranging in styles depending on the year and the season’s show theme. At the end of the second clinic day, candidates will participate in first cut auditions. The MB leadership decides first cuts and will invite approximately 50 candidates to final auditions the following weekend. With the direction of a panel of highly qualified judges, the Marching Ballerinas will be chosen and posted after final auditions in the “boot” for all to see! Please contact Mrs. Noelle Stovall at nstovall@jsu.edu with any questions! You may also find more information by visiting the Marching Ballerina website HERE.

2025 Southerners Colorguard Auditions

The Southerners Colorguard is composed of young men and women from various parts of the country. They are an elite group of people selected from our spring auditions held in May of each year.

What exactly will take place during the audition camp?
On audition day, you will be evaluated in areas of flag fundamentals/choreography, and rifle fundamentals/choreography (optional). You do not need to have experience on every piece of equipment. However, training on flag will be helpful to you during the audition process. Some of the exercises may not be familiar to you, please refer to the videos posted on our YouTube channel and feel free to contact the 2024 Leadership Team.

The following skills will be evaluated at auditions in May:

I. Flag (Required)

  • Drop Spins (Left and Right side)
  • Peggy Spins (Left and Right side)
  • Thumb Flips (Left and Right side)
  • Pull Hits (Left and Right side)
  • Various tosses (see videos)
  • Flag Routine
 

II. Rifle (Optional)

  • Basic Spins @ 110bpm (Left and Right side)
  • Spins and Stops Exercise @ 110bpm (Left and Right side)
  • Spin Medley (Right side only for auditions)
  • Triples, Quads, Fives, Sixes @ 120bpm
  • Sevens preferred @ 120bpm
 

— Rifle tosses will be evaluated catching flat, port (angle), and true port (straight up and down)
— In the Southerners Colorguard, we spin 37.5′ rifles
— Saber auditions will take place later in the summer

The audition day starts out with a brief stretch and then quickly moves to our body/movement program. The next part of the audition process involves flag fundamentals, where you are taught flag releases, exercises, and then flag passages. The day concludes with those who are interested in auditioning for the Southerners Weapon Line receiving instruction. After each section, auditionees are divided into groups of 5 or 6 and are evaluated on their level of retention, performance, and attitude. You can find complete information on the JSU Color Guard website HERE.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Mr. Rodney Bailey at colorguardjsu@gmail.com or our head captain, Hunter Bishop, at hbishop4@stu.jsu.edu

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