<p>My D got an email from the person assigned to review her file inviting her to send a CD with her voice recordings. Because of her accomplishments on the activity sheet, the admission officer felt that she should send a sample of her singing. My D did not think she is so "exceptional" as to send a CD, but now she is going to prepare something for them. She sings classical songs and opera. She has performed in a local university opera productions. I am wondering, is asking for a CD a good sign or is just something they do routinely? Should we try to find a professional studio to record a CD or something "home made" will do? Someone had experience with this? Would camcorder recording be OK or they would not prefer video files? Thanks for any info.</p>
<p>It sounds like Harvard is taking a close look at her file, which is a good sign. They only would request a CD if it appeared that your D had unusual talent.</p>
<p>Check the Musical theater board to find out how best to do a voice CD.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, thanks so much. I sure hope it is a good sign. I am kind of new to CC and was trying to find that Musical theater board you suggested. Is it under Harvard? can you please, give me a hint how to find it. Thank you again.</p>
<p>My cousin was also asked to send supplementary singing/conducting evidence and was ultimately accepted.</p>
<p>Musical Theater is a separate CC forum; it has a lot of information about music, musical theater, etc… Scroll down the list of Cc forums.</p>
<p>Please believe me: Harvard isn’t going to solicit extra materials unless it’s seriously interested in a student. The adcoms spend so much time already reviewing overly thick files that they would not ask for more info unless they really are interested. This doesn’t mean that you’re a shoo-in, but it does indicate your chances of acceptances are better than are most.</p>
<p>Probably the admissions officers will have a music prof review your CD.</p>
<p>Good luck to you! I hope you’ve also applied to other excellent colleges that might appreciate your vocal talents.</p>
<p>I would also look at the music forum here. Look under “college majors” on the main page. Both music and musical theater are listed. There is a lot of info for opera/classical singers on the music forum.</p>
<p>How refreshing that your daughter did not see herself as “exceptional”! If she sang in a university production, she probably has a really nice voice, and I am glad for her that admissions got past her humility to notice what she has been doing.</p>
<p>Are there any DVD’s (or CD’s) of the opera(s) your daughter was in? If it was a good representation of her performing, you could ask if they would like to see that. You can cue the DVD or give them the best 3 minutes to look at, that kind of thing. Sometimes the university or opera organization will have a DVD that you can purchase from them: I think most productions are videotaped or, at least, recorded.</p>
<p>For a CD of her singing, I would try to get the best quality you can. You can do a CD pretty well by using a recorder (we suggest the Zoom H-2, which is excellent and under $90) and having your daughter sing in a place with good acoustics, such as a church. Or, sometimes a local university will help out with free recording in their performance space,especially if she has worked with them already in the opera. Is there someone at that university’s music dept. whom you know and can call?</p>
<p>But I am a little confused: do they want a DVD or CD? You write about a camcorder, which would seem to mean DVD. If you are not sure, then you could call admissions, and ask them if they want a DVD or CD, or both. A DVD of the opera itself would show her performance abilities, and a CD would show her voice, I would think.</p>
<p>Harvard needs a certain number of kids with certain talents each year. They have opera productions, Gilbert and Sullivan, musicals etc. and your daughter would contribute to those productions, so she is valuable to them.</p>
<p>I would add that from what we hear, Drew Faust is trying to increase the arts (and artsiness) on campus, so admissions may even have a mandate to admit more kids with musical, artistic, and theatrical talent.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the valuable inputs. The admissions asked for a CD in their email. In Harvard instructions for sending supplemental materials there is a line that says ‘Do not send video recordings of musical performances or recitals’, so I am assuming that a CD will be more appropriate, although a video recording with a camcorder seems easier to do. We are going to talk to my D’s voice teacher and find a piano accompanist to record with. We are thinking of her singing 3 songs in 3 languages (English, Italian and Latin), no more than 10 min. Any other suggestions will be highly appreciated.</p>
<p>My son’s musical interests are similar to your daughters. He sent in a CD with three of his best classical pieces (about 10 minutes total). Because he needed it for other reasons, he went to a professional studio and his music teacher provided the accompaniment. I think the cost was about $200 (and he actually recorded about six songs). If you can afford it, that is the way to go. The funny thing is that he didn’t listen to the recording for about a year and was surprised at how good it sounded. He was used to hearing recordings from concerts and shows. Do NOT allow the recording studio to edit the songs (that is take the best beginning, the best middle and the best ending from three takes of the same song). One nice thing about the professional recording was that it made for great presents for relatives (Greatest Hits of ***, Volume One!).</p>