Registration & Postmark Deadline: January 30, 2026
Refund Deadline: TBD
Sight Reading and Rep Submission Deadline: TBD
Upstate
Date: March 24th & 25th, 2026
Location: Fountain Inn High School
Midlands
Date: March 16th & 17th, 2026
Location: Lexington 2 Performing Arts Center
Lowcountry
Date: March 19th & 20th, 2026
Location: West Ashley High School
Information (updated on 12/12/2025)
Fees
The registration fee is $200.00 per choir. No money will be refunded due to cancellation after January 30, 2026 Any cancellations must be sent in writing/email to the Committee Chair dated no later than January 30, 2026, at 11:59 PM. Checks should be made payable to SCMEA Choral Division. Schools registering two or more choirs may submit 1 check for their school; however, checks (or any registration material) from middle schools will not be accepted by the high school choral festival committee and vice-versa. Note: Late registrations and/or fees will not be accepted.
Repertoire Requirements (including the warmup)
Repertoire must be quality choral literature that is both festival appropriate and appropriate for each individual ensemble (voicing, genre of ensemble, etc.), and all music should be memorized. Directors must cite credible literature sources from which their repertoire was chosen. Acceptable sources may include but are not limited to SC All-State Chorus Concert Repertoire, ACDA repertoire lists, High School Honor Choral Clinic lists, graded literature lists, etc. If your selected repertoire does not appear on the provided lists, please send the titles to the CPA Committee chair and the committee will determine the level of difficulty per the Grade Level Difficulty Rubric. Committee feedback will be given in approximately three business days. Any repertoire information that is not received by the deadline will result in the ensemble’s omission from the program. Judges have the discretion to take choice of repertoire into account for scoring using the performance rubric provided. Judges can take off points for choice of repertoire if they feel that the music chosen does not fit the voices within the ensemble.
Please use the following lists to determine the Grade Level Difficulty of your repertoire.
Texas – UIL Prescribed Music List 2025-26
Virginia – Music Lists
Georgia – Choral LGPE — GMEA
Sight-Reading Rules & Procedures
- Sight Reading will be determined by the grade level difficulty of your repertoire. Choirs that sight read at the same level as their repertoire may earn up to a Superior with Distinction. Please refer to the chart below for clarification on how grade level relates to UIL Sight Reading level.
- Schools may sight read down one level, however, those schools will not be able to earn higher than a Superior rating overall.
- The same students may NOT be used for two different ensembles.
Performance Site
Consequences of Rules Violations Levels of Notification 3. (a.) If the Choral Director continues to commit Rules Violations after #1 and #2 are issued, either the students involved, or the Choral Director and the school choral program will be barred from participation at all SCMEA Choral Division events for up to two consecutive years contingent upon the severity of the violations. (b.) If the evidence of violations is the direct result of the Choral Director’s repeated negligence to review and adhere to the guidelines, the Choral Director (same or different school) and the choral program will be barred from participating in all Choral Division events for a period up to two consecutive years contingent upon the severity of the violations. The letters (a. and b.) will be mailed to the Choral Director, Principal, District Music Consultant, and Choral Division President containing the documented history of rules violations, dates, and quote the most recent standing rule(s) that were violated. Committee members who teach in the same region of South Carolina will continue to serve as a mentor during this period.
Refunds
The following events do not offer refunds after fees are paid: All-State Chorus, Middle School Clinics, Region Choir, Solo & Ensemble Festival. For these events, refunds will not be processed for any reason unless the Choral Division leadership determines it is necessary to cancel an event. The following events do offer refunds for group cancellation by specific deadlines: Middle School Choral Performance Assessment; High School Choral Performance Assessment. For these events, refunds will not be automatically processed. Directors must request a refund by the published deadline. The refund request must be submitted in writing via email to the event chairperson. Please note: online payment processing fees can never be refunded.