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Virtual MPA Information

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in partnership with the component organizations, FSMA made modifications to MPA Online, its online MPA entry management system for directors and district chairs, to accommodate remote performance and adjudication for "Virtual" Music Performance Assessment (MPA) events. This page is to assist music teachers, district chairs, and adjudicators with this process. 

As of February 2026, the only Virtual MPA still occurring is the FBA State Solo & Ensemble Virtual option. It is no longer available for Auxiliary, Concert, Jazz, or other MPA Types.  

 

Adjudicator Information:

Scores/Sheet Music:

  • For Solo & Ensemble, directors or students may upload a PDF of the music for the adjudicator to follow along. All pages must be combined into a single PDF file. 
  • Music performed must be from a publisher who has agreed to have their music recorded for the purposes of student adjudication. If the publisher on your sheet music is not listed on that link, do a web search to see if the publisher might have changed since your copy was printed, and check for the new publisher. Directors may also reach out directly to the publishers to obtain permission, citing that link as the criteria for its use. As long as an effort has been made to obtain permission, the student will not be penalized if a publisher does not respond.

Performance Videos:

  • Videos must be recorded and uploaded by the director. It is intended to be a "live-to-tape" experience simulating a live performance in front of a judge at MPA. No editing or modification of the performance recording is allowed.
  • You must show the original sheet music or proof that it was legally purchased at the beginning of your video. (If you already recorded some videos without this, uploading a scan or photo of the original to MPA Online as the judge's score or showing it to the judge in your live web meeting will suffice)
  • In general, video files created with iPhone and Android phones and tablets, the QuickTime app on a Mac, or the Camera app on Windows or Chromebooks will be acceptable in terms of format and file size. 
  • If recording with a phone or tablet, hold it sideways. The video should be recorded in landscape (sideways/horizontal) mode to ensure compatibility with the adjudicator's interface.
  • If your camera, phone, or software offers these options, here's what to choose:
    • Codec: H.264 and AAC
    • Resolution: 1080p, 720p, or smaller
    • Quality "Medium" or between 10 and 20 mbps
    • Compression "Better Quality" (Not "Best")
    • .MOV or .mp4 files are recommended, but AVI, wmv, or  mpeg may also work.
    • If you don't see any of these options, the standard default options for the "Camera" app on your device will be fine.
  • If an entry is performing more than one piece of music:
    • Solo & Ensemble: both pieces should be included in a single video file 
    • Concert and Jazz: Each piece should be a separate video file.
  • The performance video must be recorded and uploaded by the director, not the student.
  • No editing allowed: Other than re-encoding to a smaller size or smaller resolution, no editing or modifications of the performance recording are allowed.  

 

Solo & Ensemble Virtual MPA

This section does not apply to Auxiliaries, Concert, Jazz, or Marching.

District/State Chairs:

  • Make sure the MPA is marked "Virtual" on its "Details" page in MPA Online
  • Hiring judges and scheduling the MPA is the same as with in-person events. Even if you intended it to be "asynchronous," you still need to schedule every entry with a judge.
    • It gives the students/directors the option to request a Zoom meeting with the judge if they want to,
    • The automatic scheduler will schedule the entries with a Zoom meeting request at the beginning of each judging day. That way, the judge can do those meetings first, and it won't matter when they complete the rest of the entries. 
  • You can make schedule changes on-the-fly during the MPA in an emergency. The new performance times will update on the judge schedule pages and student waiting room page as you change them on the Schedule page.
  • Adjudicators should download sheets from their virtual schedule page, so there is no need for you to mail or email the sheets to the judges in advance. 

Directors:

  • Enter student entries into MPA Online like normal, including sending signed entry forms and payment to the appropriate address. 
    • The "Preferred Date" you choose will be the date of your students' scheduled meeting with the judge. You will need to record and upload your students' performance videos at least one or two days before the Preferred Date you choose.  
  • Upon entry, directors will see a "Virtual MPA" button on their entry screen that allows them to manage all aspects of the Virtual S&E MPA.
  • On the "Virtual MPA" page, upload the sheet music for each entry. This page also gives you the option to choose whether or not you would like this entry to meet with the judge virtually to discuss their performance. 
  • Once the MPA has been scheduled by the district/state chair, download the Instructions for each student from the Virtual MPA page and send them to the students.
  • Plan with the student to pre-record their performance as a video at least 1 or 2 days before their scheduled virtual meeting time with the judge. The upload process may take up to 30 minutes or more per video, depending on your computer's processor speed and internet connection, so do not wait until the last minute to upload your videos. Review the Performance Videos information above.
  • An icon appears next to each "upload" link when it has been uploaded. Click that icon to watch their video.
  • Click the "Join Meeting" button to join the same Zoom meeting as the student and judge at the scheduled meeting time. 

 Scheduled Web Meetings with the Adjudicator:

  • All S&E Entries will be scheduled with an adjudicator by your district/state chair, like normal.
  • If you requested to meet with the judge, Students will follow the instructions for logging into the web meeting on the instruction sheet sent to them by their director.
  • At the scheduled web meeting with the adjudicator, the judge will play the pre-recorded video and then discuss their performance with the student
  • The adjudicator may ask the student to perform certain sections of their music live after watching the pre-recorded video and giving feedback to the student. 
  • If a student's director did not submit a pre-recorded performance video in advance, they may perform live for the adjudicator instead. However, it is highly recommended for directors to record the student's performance and upload the video. 
  • Joining the live web meeting with the adjudicator is optional, but the director should indicate on the Sheet Music Upload page whether or not the student plans to do this so the judge knows what to expect. The one-on-one feedback with the adjudicator is an important part of the Solo & Ensemble MPA experience for the judge to model and provide feedback that may not be possible to write on the sheet. However, if a student is unable to join the live meeting with the adjudicator due to technical difficulties or if they indicated they do not want a virtual meeting, the adjudicator will still adjudicate the student's performance based on the pre-recorded video uploaded.

Adjudicators

  • See the Detailed Instructions Here
  • Adjudication Sheets:
    • Adjudicators can download each student's blank sheet from their schedule page. The link will be next to the button to join the meeting. 
    • The sheets are not type-and-print forms, but you may fill the sheet out electronically using the free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (or the full version of Acrobat if you have it).  Other PDF editors, such as Mac Preview, PDF Gear, or Foxit Reader, also have this functionality. 
    • To return sheets to the district chair and directors, they should be uploaded as PDF files to the judging page in MPA Online. If you prefer to print and fill them out by hand, be sure you have a process for scanning each one as a PDF to upload. This can be an actual document scanner or a phone app such as GeniusScan, TurboScan, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc. 
  • Ratings will be entered into MPA Online by the adjudicator, not the district/state chair. 

 

Help

Please send any technical questions or problems to josh@flmusiced.org, and other questions to the district/state chair of the MPA. 

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