<p>I am a professional pianist and I have always accompanied my sop D at her competitions and recitals. I am wondering if I need to not be the one playing for her during her college auditions....for a number of reasons, including:</p>
<p>1) Many schools prohibit family from being in the room for the audition.</p>
<p>2) It could be an unfair advantage - or the exact opposite. Schools may not like a mother accompanying her daughter.</p>
<p>3) I get more nervous for her than she does..... (sorry to say it, but it's true! Although I cover very well....I think)</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>Schools provide an accompanist (and either a brief rehearsal, 10 minutes or so, or at least a moment to speak with the accompanist) for auditions, so you can relax, your services will not be required.</p>
<p>At good schools, the vocal audition accompanists are very, very good. They invariably have graduate degrees in accompanying/collaborative piano and extensive experience collaborating with and coaching vocalists. </p>
<p>They are not merely professional pianists–they are professional collaborators who have specialized in vocal collaboration. It would be highly unusual for a professional pianist (no matter how gifted, talented, or internationally renowned) to collaborate as well as these people do, even with just 10 minutes of rehearsal. They know the repertoire and they know singers. Unless you have been collaborating for 30 to 40 hours per week with singers for a few years, you just won’t do as good a job as these people do.</p>
<p>At the less good schools, you sometimes get stuck with a graduate student who is merely a good sight reader and who may or may not be specializing in vocal collaboration and things can be touch and go. I have heard horror stories about introductions with terribly inappropriate tempos.</p>
<p>If your daughter is auditioning at places like Juilliard, CIM etc., then I would certainly let the pros do the work. If the school is a couple of tiers down from there, then you might want to call the music department ahead of time to find out who does the collaboration for auditions. If you aren’t certain that the person will do an excellent job, then inquire as to whether they allow a parent to collaborate.</p>
<p>My son isn’t a vocalist, but at his three auditions that required piano collaboration, he went with a provided/recommended pianist and all went very well (and the piano parts for violin works are generally considerably tougher than for vocal works).</p>
<p>The accompanists may very well not be as good as you! My daughter has gone through many horrors with supposedly good accompanists. However, I believe that the colleges would prefer to see how the singer deals with a new accompanist - that’s part of the audition - to plow through no matter what is happening around you. Plus if you get nervous - forget it! It’s not worth the stress to you and her. I stopped accompanying my daughter when she was in high school.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your comments!</p>
<p>My problem is that I really am a professional accompanist who has an advanced degree and works with singers for over 40 hours a week! We have been at master classes and auditions where the paid accompanist has difficulties with circle progressions in her songs and so the tonality is not established, which would throw off many singers. She has been able to handle these situations.</p>
<p>Violin music is usually much harder to sightread, but most art songs are definitely written as a collaboration between the voice and the piano, so the piano part is integral to the feel of the piece.</p>
<p>I think I am more concerned with how it would look to the school if she had her mom playing for her! I would almost rather she didn’t appear to have an unfair advantage in her audition by bringing her own accompanist, regardless of whether it is her mother or a paid accompanist.</p>
<p>Perhaps I am overthinking this??? Can’t wait for the audition process to be over!!</p>
<p>Coming from an instrumentalist, so things may well be different for singers…</p>
<p>I think it is totally up to you and your daughter. I doubt the panel would consider it at all; would they even know you are her mom? My mom accompanied me for my undergrad. audition and I’m sure it didn’t have any effect on the (positive) results. My only concern would be that she might pick up your nervousness.</p>
<p>At regional auditions, an accompanist may not be provided by the school. Why don’t you e-mail or call the school(s)?</p>
<p>My friend’s mom did accompany him for all of his auditions. I have only had one really bad experience with a staff accompanist and that was with rehearsal time before I sang.</p>
<p>What role does your DD want you to play? Does she want you in the room? Or does she seem afraid to say she doesn’t?</p>
<p>During audition season DD had very specific role for me - be there with her for travel, schlep everything she needed before and after an audition, stay out of her routine for warmup and mental prep. Be there afterwards for wind down with burger and chocolate (she couldn’t have those the week before an audition). She did not want me close to the audition. I could “sneak in close” after she was in the room - and she pretty much knew I would- but she did not want me there right before when she was getting herself mentally ready. This lead to some funny times when other Moms wanted to adopt her thinking she had no one there for her. She just politely told them she was fine, I was there, and then ignored them. It was her audition, I let her take the lead on what she wanted. </p>
<p>BTW - she always used the one provided and for the most part was fine. The only time the accompanist was off the panel recognized it and acknowledged her effort to correct. It was a topic her voice teacher had gone over with her and had her practice. It was at one of the conservatories, too.</p>
<p>Also check the schools. Some specifically mention that you can bring your own accompanist, some just say they will provide one, and others have a process to follow if you don’t bring one like sending music ahead.</p>
<p>Just call ahead, since you are a professional I would think that it would be a plus! A mother who understands,appreciates, and performs art song. What a lucky daughter.</p>
<p>You had me smiling, Singersmom07, with your descriptions! I know exactly what you go through! When I play for my D, it also adds another layer to the mom role, and I really would rather step back and just be there to support her and “hold her stuff!” She really wants me to play. We have practiced her pieces every day for 4 years, so we are almost breathing together! I know where she will add rubato, and I know where her breathing happens. These types of things aren’t something even an excellent on-site accompanist could give her. I have checked and only 1 of the colleges she wasnts to audition at require you to use their accompanist. But most say parents can’t attend the audition. Therefore, we would have to talk to the school if I did play for her. </p>
<p>Thanks for all your excellent feedback everyone! This is a great site!</p>
<p>I think primarily it is up to the school (whether they allow outside accompanyists, they could see using a school provided one as fair to all the students, since a student bringing their own could have a lot of rehearsals with them, or as a test to see how the student reacts to working with someone new), but if the school is okay with it, then it is really up to your D. If she feels comfortable working with you (even if I were a pianist, and even a good one, my son would sooner have some lounge piano player then me accompanying me him, I swear:) and in the heat of audition won’t feel the presence of “mom” adding to the pressure, I would assume it would be okay, I am not even sure if the student has to say who her accompanyist is.</p>
<p>One note, if for some reason you can’t do an audition with her, if it is at a high level music school based on what I have seen they usually are using accompanyists who are well trained in collaborative piano, either grad students or staff accompanyists, they don’t in the big schools use UG pianists as part of workstudy or whatever that I have heard mentioned about smaller programs, so if you can’t make one of them, she will probably be fine.</p>
<p>Definitely call the school and ask. Some have a policy that specifically prohibits parents from accompanying, regardless of their experience or skill.</p>
<p>Just a little update. My D and I went to her first college audition recently at her first-choice school, a small liberal arts college within a 4 hour drive of home. We checked beforehand to make sure it was alright for me to play for her. They were fine with it, and my D said she would feel most comfortable if I played for her, so we went ahead and had me play. She did a beautiful job and I immediately scooted out of the audition so they could continue without me there. She has received a merit scholarship of more than half their tuition and is a candidate for their highest talent award, which could be a full ride. Of course, we won’t find out til the spring, so we need to go through the whole audition process at more colleges! The other two colleges we are checking out right now have a policy that you must use their accompanist, so I think my job is done! Thanks for the interest in our situation! Hope for good news in the spring!</p>
<p>Congrats, choralmom! I hope your daughter gets the big scholarship!</p>