Master Classes to Help With Auditions
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Barrick Stees article available on his blog regarding auditions and information about how to prepare for auditions is perhaps one the best I have seen. It is AUDITION AUDITION AUDITION season and it is incredibly important to prepare to the best of your ability.
Take the time to read through the article carefully. Even if you are not a musicians and just working toward a job interview - the information translates well. Thank you Mr. Stees for sharing your wisdom.
Preparing for College Auditions: Advice for students, teachers and parents
“How were your auditions this morning?”
“Great! We heard an oboist play the whole first movement of
the Strauss Concerto from memory! She was terrific. How about you?”
“Not as good as the last audition day. You should have seen the clarinetist with the weird tattoo!”
Those of us who teach music at the college level may recognize
this kind of conversation as that which often takes place during the
lunch break on a college audition day. The professors get together to
eat and discuss the talent they’ve just heard.
As a teacher at the Cleveland Institute and formerly a faculty
member at Michigan State University and the Interlochen Arts Academy
and as well as a private teacher of high school bassoonists, I’ve had a
good opportunity to observe students when they undergo the process of
auditioning for music schools. Along with providing topics for
lunchtime conversations like the one above, the range in quality of
the auditions I’ve heard has always astounded me.
My observations below are based on many years of experience,
pride and frustration in preparing my high school students for
auditions and listening to high school students audition for the
colleges at which I have taught. I hope that my words will be helpful
to those preparing for auditions this coming year.
Along with advice for students, I’ve included some words for
teachers and parents, who, even with the best of intentions, sometimes
get in the way of their young person’s effort to put the best foot
forward in an audition.
Researching Prospective Music Schools
John Whitwell, the Director of Bands at Michigan State
University, is fond of saying that students put more time into
researching a car purchase than they do researching information about
music schools. Researching information on schools begins with doing a
little research on yourself.
Ask yourself questions like the following:
- What are my goals in pursuing a degree in music?
- What do I wish to do after graduating?
- Is a conservatory education or university education best for me?
- What other interests might I pursue instead of or in addition to music?
Answering these questions and others like them can help you
narrow your focus. There is a wide spectrum of viable programs
available for the young musician depending upon the answers to these
questions. Many music schools are part of a university that offers a
broad education with a focus on music. Conservatories usually
specialize in a more narrow focus with little or no non-music
academics. Some music schools fit somewhere in the middle. In
addition, it should be noted that just because the school has the word
“conservatory” attached to it does not insure a high-quality music
education for your instrument. By the same token, some university
music schools turn out graduates that compete favorably with
conservatory-trained musicians in the job market.
It is very important not to stretch yourself too much by
applying to and auditioning for too many schools. Four or five has
always been a good number for my students. Through careful research
and by asking good questions of school representatives it should be
easy to narrow the choices.
Some intelligent ways of gathering information about schools are:
- Visit the school’s website. Much valuable information
regarding curriculum, application procedures, scholarships and
financial aid can be found. In addition, you can learn the names of
important contact people in advance. Use links to the school’s college
and/or university if it is part of a larger institution to find out
information about other sources of financial and scholarship aid.
- Make a campus visit during the summer or fall of the senior
year. Take a lesson with the professor, visit with advisors, go to
ensemble rehearsals/concerts, attend a music class.
- Discuss the reputation of the school with your teacher,
students in your youth orchestra, people you meet at summer camp. The
names of the best ones will keep popping up. Speak to anyone you might
know already enrolled at the school.
The 10 Questions
As you gather information, begin to make a list of questions
you will ask the studio teacher at every school. For example you could
ask questions regarding the:
- Studio size and load
- Number of openings for next fall
- Teacher’s/school’s job placement record
- Ensemble opportunities
- Teacher’s expectations in an ideal lesson
- Teacher’s teaching philosophy
- Scholarship opportunities
Application Procedure
This topic would not seem to need elaboration, but different
schools have different application procedures so it makes sense to pay
attention and spend extra time on this to do it right. Some schools
require separate applications for the music school and the university.
Make sure you obtain and fill out both.
Fill out the application by typing, not writing in the
information. As computer usage is now standard, good handwriting has
become less and less common. Many applications can be filled out
on-line. If an essay or personal statement is required, have it
checked over by your English teacher or guidance counselor. Yes, your
future bassoon teacher is interested in how well you express yourself
in writing!
Please give at least three weeks notice to people writing
letters of recommendation for you. Provide them with a pre-addressed,
stamped envelope for each letter, as the recommendation carries much
more weight if you do not have access to it. Make sure the
recommenders get any forms needed with the letters as well.
Musical Preparation
Start practicing now! When possible I like to begin work on the
college audition during the student’s junior year by stressing
fundamentals during that year. Along with talent, most college music
professors look for someone with good fundamentals. In fact, I would
dare to say that many would prefer a student with solid fundamentals
who is maybe not quite polished as a performer to one who performs
well, but needs some major rebuilding in the approach to the
instrument. Given the choice, I would much rather work on music with a
student than have to fix a bad hand position, for instance. Focusing
on fundamentals can be difficult given the demands placed on seniors,
so I advise students to get as much work in during the junior year and
the summer before the senior year as possible because you won’t have
as much time as a senior to fix a bad embouchure or poor breath
support.
Have the college audition repertoire chosen by the end of the
spring or in early summer prior to the audition year. Try to choose
pieces and etudes that are listed on more than one of your colleges’
repertoire lists so you won’t be overwhelmed by learning too many
pieces. Learn the tempos, notes, rhythms and interpretive markings for
a few weeks and then put the pieces away. While you work on other
things during the summer the pieces often mature on their own and feel
more familiar when gotten out again in the fall months.
Here are some further suggestions:
- Practice your scales!
- Purchase authoritative editions of the music you are playing.
- Study recordings of these pieces that are available.
- Have your instrument serviced prior to the auditions.
- Stock up on reeds or other equipment you may need.
- Spend a few practice sessions recording your audition repertoire and critique the recordings.
- Play a mock audition for your teacher, ensemble director, friends or family.
The Audition Day
Arrive early for all of your appointments. There will be
cancellations and the schedule may change. Dress appropriately. When
in doubt dress as though you are interviewing for a job at a bank or
law firm. Most schools structure audition days to function as an open
house for their programs. Therefore, this is a good time to look
around and take in what is happening during that day if you have time.
Treat the audition like a professional performance, using
proper etiquette (Mr. or Ms. Or Professor, no first names, please!),
and have a sense of stage presence even if the audition is in a small
room. Play each piece from beginning to end without stopping. No
grimaces after mistakes!
When finished, be ready to receive a critique of your
performance and show flexibility when asked to play something in a
different manner. Be appreciative of the time given and the comments
offered you.
If you have some one-on-one time with the studio teacher you
can ask him or her questions from your list (see above). This may not
be possible during the audition. Most teachers can spend a little
extra time with an interested student on the day before, during or
after the audition.
Follow Up
After your auditions are completed, contact the instructors at
schools that interest you, thanking them again for the comments made
and time spent on your behalf.
Now you can fill in the answers to the questions on your list
with a column for each school’s answer to the questions. Maybe some
new questions will have come up. Look over your answers and see how
each school fares on your list of answers.
Next consider the overall impression made upon you by each school. What does your instinct tell you?
By looking at your list of questions in both a quantitative and
qualitative way you should be able to narrow your choices. When
acceptance notices and scholarship offers come, sit down with your
parents and teacher and discuss it all.
Above all, be honest and swift in your communications with
these schools and professors. Be communicative with the professors at
schools that are your top choices. Arm them with knowledge about your
interest so they can help with admission and scholarships. Even if you
are not interested in attending a particular school it is helpful for
you to let the institution know. They may be holding a place for you
that could go to someone else. The way in which you wrap up this
process is very important. You have made some contacts that may be
helpful to you in the future. Always remember that the music world is a
very small place. How you act now will be noticed and remembered for a
long time to come.
For Teachers
I include a section for teachers here because I have learned
that some students come ill-prepared for auditions through no fault of
their own. Teachers of high school students who are interested in a
career in music have a heavy responsibility. Since these students are
interested in entering a job market that is overloaded with supply and
very short on demand (especially in the performing area) the teacher
must be especially good at assessing talent and discipline.
Below are my suggestions for high school music teachers:
- Maintain awareness of the talent pool in the country by attending conferences and master classes with your students.
- Network with other high school teachers of your instrument and with the most prominent college teachers.
- When choosing repertoire, choose music that shows off the
student’s strengths. Do not program your student too aggressively.
Most college teachers would rather hear a less advanced piece
performed with polish and attention to detail than a very difficult
one performed in a sloppy fashion. It is my opinion that most high
school bassoonists cannot do justice to the first movement of the Mozart
Bassoon Concerto or almost all of the Milde Concert Studies. The
bassoon repertoire is not so poor that something else can’t be chosen.
If possible, these pieces should wait until college!
- Urge your students to focus on fundamentals. Long tones,
scales, arpeggios, articulation studies all contribute to your
student’s ability to control the instrument. The junior year is an
especially good time for regaining this focus if it has been lost.
There are often too many distractions and performing obligations
during the senior year.
- Make sure your student has a good basic knowledge of reed
making. Even if the style adopted in college might be very different
from yours, it will be easier for the student to change styles than to
learn from the beginning.
- Encourage participation in summer music festivals and events outside your area.
For Parents
Being the parent of a talented young musician can bring much joy
and pride. Sometimes that pride and joy can blind parents to the
realities of competition in the music world, however. Here are my
suggestions for parents:
- Do not view the bassoon as a “meal ticket” to college. While
this may still be the case at some schools, generally you get what
you pay for in a musical education. You are making an investment in
your child’s future by paying for music school.
- Some musicians graduating from music schools will find
gainful employment in the music business, but many will not. For years
the job market in music performance has been over-loaded with too
many applicants for too few jobs. It takes talent, discipline,
perseverance and luck to make a living as a performing musician.
- Many parents focus on the idea of a double major for their
child in case music doesn’t work out. There are pitfalls to be aware
of in this scenario. In my experience, most double majors (music and
engineering, for instance) are so challenged by both degrees that they
end up being mediocre in both. Usually the student drops out of music
and pursues the other degree. When exploring a double major at a
particular college, make sure there is good cooperation between the
advisors and instructors for both majors. Plan on a five or six year
undergraduate term.
- When researching a particular school, be sure to look for
sources of financial aid in unlikely places. Sometimes another part of
the university will award scholarship or financial aid to a music
major.
- Expose your child to concerts, master classes and conferences
offered outside your area. Don’t let him or her be a “big fish in a
little pond”.
- Schedule informal school visits for lessons with the
instructors in the summer or early fall. Seeing the school on a
non-audition day may be more revealing.
Conclusion
Preparing for college auditions requires good organizational
skills, discipline and perseverance. Students need the support of
teachers, parents and friends to be successful. Skills learned in the
process can be applied to many of life’s other challenges.
I hope that the advice and suggestions offered here will spur
others to take up this subject with their students, add their advice
and help bring a well-prepared, articulate class of prospective
students to the doors of the nation’s music schools.
