So I had another audition today. They let me choose the first piece, went pretty great. Then the second piece, 99% sure they would choose the first movement of my sonata, and on that particular one it would be odd not to. My teacher said they’ll never pick the second mvt cause it’s too long and slow. Well they did. I hadn’t warmed up on that at all today, barely worked on that one all week. Slight memory slip on 2 chords, and then my hand just slid and missed one part of the fast section but not terrible. Then my third piece they picked my etude, not my best but went ok. They didn’t have time for the rest of my pieces.
Anyone have that experience and still get in? I’m worried about it. This is at IU for piano…
iluvpiano, I do feel for you. I heard the reports from my D’s undergrad auditions and it always seemed that the faculties asked for the same sections of the same pieces…and then at a couple of schools there was that one professor that wanted some odd corner of the repertoire, no doubt knowing that would be the piece least likely to be performed in auditions. It’s a test of how well prepared you are with the given repertoire, and the fact that you did it but not to your satisfaction may mean that you want to work on it a little more before your next audition. Sort of like getting an 80% on a test that you wanted to get 100% on. But you know that.
I think that how well you recover from slips makes a difference, and whether a faculty member heard something in your music that they really liked. Remember that you thought the first piece went pretty great! Hold onto that, work on that middle movement (I know, no one may ask for it again! sort of a Murphy’s law of auditions, I guess), and go bravely forward to the next audition! You have people rooting for you!
Well, it was really a particularly odd choice for them on my specific sonata too… I just don’t know how much that’ll affect their decision. I don’t know if they overlook that if the first piece was good or not… I’m normally fine on the 2nd movement- just that I wasn’t warmed up on that one/expecting it today, but I know it well normally…
Does anyone here who’s auditioned at IU in the past and been accepted know if they tend to accept only the number they intend to enroll and have openings for, and then wait list people, OR do they accept more than they intend to enroll (knowing some people accepted say no)???
The bad part is if I don’t get in, this is the one where I had a sample lesson with a teacher I really liked AND he told me in my lesson “if you get into the school, I will take you in my studio,”…so there’s that…which they usually don’t say ahead of time.
I don’t know anything about IU but I do know many people who had memory slips in auditions and were still successful. Good luck to you.
My son had a memory slip on a piece at his first choice conservatory. The professor said “stop, do that again”. Also during his audtion, the professor received a visit from a professor from another college in the city. The visitor said “sorry to interupt your lesson when she left. His professor turned and said Oh this is his audition.” Son is a very happy Sophomore and wasn’t waitlisted and no ill effects came from these occurances.
My guess is that schools the size of Jacobs make more offers than they have spots. They would know from previous years that, on average, X% of students offered a spot actually accept. Some years they will end up with more than expected so they make adjustments the next year (and vice versa).
Thanks for the replies! I hope it’ll be ok. If they don’t let me in, I would think IU wait lists a decent number of people top, since it’s a large school but don’t know either.
Hi! I auditioned at IU for piano performance in Januarary and still haven’t heard back. They had me play my second movement too. I was surprised cuz it was just so long and slow, but they cut me off on every piece. How long did your audition last? Mine was only 10 minutes. Also would you please leave a note when you hear your results so I would know when to expect mine? Wish you the best of luck!
Did you audition for undergrad, MM or DM? That’s weird. I thought they said 2-3 weeks so you should’ve heard by now. Mine lasted I think 14 minutes, maybe 15 like it was supposed to but not sure.
I auditioned for undergrad. I did send an email to the admissions office, and they said the faculty want all auditions to be complete before making their decisions. I signed up for the earliest audition hoping I would hear back sooner, not sure why this is the case.
Really? I thought I had heard from them that it would be 2-3 weeks when I was there but don’t know for sure. They have rolling admissions and I know some other instruments have heard back. Ughh. Now I don’t know. Maybe it’s different for undergrad?
I applied for MM
I don’t really know. I thought all BM MM DM applicants audition together
They do, but how or when they notify us might vary, who knows.
A memory slip may not be fatal in an audition, they take into consideration that this is a pressure filled situation, that it may not reflect your ability, etc, from what I can tell (take it for what its worth, just my observation) that they look more at the totality of your playing in there, a memory slip will probably count less than playing something dead wrong compared to the way it is written and so forth.
My daughter is a senior VP at IU. All current undergrads VPs auditioning for grad spots auditioned this weekend (2/14). They do not audition with the other candidates. In my experience IU rolls their acceptances for undergrads. But that could depend on how many spots are available for an instrument. They have in the past rolled for voice undergrad. If they know that they want you, they have accepted in about 3 weeks. Others may need to wait. That isn’t always a reflection on your talent but on the pool of candidates and needs that year. For grad, I don’t know if they roll as they have to consider their current students as well (who appear to audition last). A friend last year applied to IU VP grad in early Feb and got his acceptance end of Feb.
As for an audition slips, it may not be fatal if they can see your talent. No one is perfect at everything. They are looking for talent not perfection - imho - particularly at this age.
Also IU makes more offers as they know not everyone will accept. A rumor that I remember from almost 4 years ago was 40 offers for a class of 25. I don’t know about waitlist. That is only a rumor but I’m sure they offer more than accept.
Thanks bridgenail- are you saying that if they have a good number of spots then the might roll admissions and if they have fewer spots that year then they might wait til after all audition? I had called to ask admissions and the lady told me that they will usually accept the number they need and not much more, and that she didn’t think they were wait listing for piano, but I guess it’s hard to know if admissions representatives even know all the details either.