<p>Here we go..... D is not planning on majoring in performance, but at several of the schools on her list, she is considering a BA (double major), a music minor, or pursuing a music scholarship -- all of which require auditions. She has her first one this coming weekend. It will be interesting to see how it goes!</p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter, Binx!</p>
<p>Best of luck - -where is she auditioning, in what area? We had our first last month and it ended up being a very positive experience. We won't know anything for months of course but it seems to have put my son in the right frame of mind. However, it also finally started to dawn on him how many drummers are out there. We shall see... Keep us informed of how it goes. Our next one is mid-January and then there are auditions or performances every weekend until mid-March -- at least my son will be busy.</p>
<p>Good luck and have safe travels.</p>
<p>We start the process up next week.</p>
<p>She's auditioning on violin. This month she has two college auditions, and All State audition. Next month, one college. Possibly one in March - invitation only. It is definitely lower stress than with S2 who was auditioning for BM programs. Break a lip/reed/string/stick.... everyone!</p>
<p>Hmm, did anyone here apply to USC Thornton?</p>
<p>We're off to a good start. Her audition today was (her word) "decent." She has only applied to schools she's willing to attend (sounds like common sense, but often isn't), and doesn't have a real favorite. So these scholarship auditions may make or break the deal. But the violin teacher came out afterwards and told us he thought the school was "perfect for her", so I hope that translates into $.</p>
<p>my son applied to Thornton; has an audition scheduled for the end of the month.</p>
<p>That's great; good for your daughter, binx. What school was this for?</p>
<p>mamenyu - Oh, I applied to USC too. What does your son play? And what do you think about Thornton?</p>
<p>piano. I've heard that USC Thornton is a good program and LA would seem a good place for music of all kinds; there is some overlap of teachers with Colburn (John Perry). I have some misgivings about USC as an undergraduate school (he is interested in doing a double degree), and because of its location and the fact that they do not guarantee housing after the first year. He is also applying to UCLA on piano and it looks like the audition dates may conflict...</p>
<p>I play the piano as well, and my audition is on the 28th (eek!). John Perry is a very good teacher, but I heard he only teaches grad. students (although there are always exceptions). UCLA is great, but I did not apply there as a music major and am regretting it. Good luck to your son! Where else is he auditioning?</p>
<p>Good luck to both mamenyu's son and S2530S2! D was invited to piano audition at USC too. Since we live on the east coast, D is not flying out to LA. Instead, she will just take her chances and have them judge her from the prescreening CD.</p>
<p>He sent CDs to McGill and Juilliard (and Columbia); he's most interested at this point in Oberlin but also applied to several non-music colleges. How about you?</p>
<p>I applied to Juilliard as well. But my pre-screening CD was horrible, so I'm not sure if I will even get an audition spot. I have also applied to Peabody/JHU.</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>The head of the piano program at Juilliard said that about 60% of the prescreening applicants are invited to audition -- and added that they don't like to be too restrictive at the screening stage.</p>
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<p>_< That actually makes me more nervous, lol. Thanks. Good luck to your son too. &Let me know when you hear from Juilliard about auditions!</p>
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<p>1 more week before we hear!!! Good luck to all :)</p>
<p>noticing the thread, I've read about 1/2 of it. When my daughter(trumpet) was auditioning my cousin had an interesting practice suggestion. She decided at 18 to not do conservatory but prior to college trained piano with an instructor at Curtis. The teacher had her play each piece "backwards". That is divide the piece into sections and practice perfectly each one starting with the last part of your piece, and learning the beginning of the piece last. Often with kids they start strong and then weaken, having focused on getting things right as they work forward through the piece and so the most time was spent at the beginning. this way you start strong and end up with even more confidence and power as the piece goes on.</p>
<p>some good advice on auditions, I think many posts apply to all instruments, posted on <a href="http://www.Trumpetherald.com%5B/url%5D">www.Trumpetherald.com</a>
there are a number of posts about auditioning written by teens who did the conservatory audition rounds. There are a number of professors from varied colleges and conservatories. If you search out the auditions threads you can gain a wealth of knowledge! Search word - audition and also search word name-of-college will let you read the experiences of auditioners and also teachers who listen to auditions each spring. </p>
<p>from Jeff, now Principal in Seoul
4 years in the Juilliard admissions office tought me a lot about the entire audition process. Granted, Juilliard may be an extreme situation, but I think these general rules about auditions hold true for all situations. </p>
<p>First, the audition panel or single faculty member want you to succeed. They want you to play well, so I very much doubt that they will ask you to do something they themselves would find unreasonable. (i.e. playing through an uncomfortable amount of music straight) They will most likely ask for a representative amount of the solo piece prepaired making sure to cover the important technical and musical components of the work. (for example, if you are playing the Haydn, they will most likely ask from the beginning throught 4 bars after the high Db and MAYBE the cadenza if they're jerks ) </p>
<p>In terms of talking during the audition, as was mentioned before, it really depends on the school and the teacher, but let me bring up one point on this issue. In a school audition, there is no flat out winner like in a professional audition. Not only does the teacher have to decide the level of your trumpet playing, but they also have to decided if they want to see you every week for the next 4 years of their life. So how would a teacher "audition" your personality? Well, let me say that a good first impression goes a long way. If the teacher tries to make a little simple small talk during the middle of your audition, this may be his or her way of finding out if you have simple social or communication skills, so try your best to stay relaxed and answer any questions they may have in a positive and friendly manner. Another important first impression is made with your appearance, so make sure you iron your shirt and comb your hair! </p>
<p>I understand that your first auditions may seem scary, but I promise you'll survive the experience! Just remember that it is in EVERONE'S best interest for you to relax and play well, so don't feel like your being judged as much as given an opportunity to share your talents and hard work with the panel. Remember to enjoy the music and remember why you want to go into the field in the first place.</p>
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[quote]
MAYBE the cadenza if they're jerks
[/quote]
I don't understand this statement, but perhaps it is specific to the piece or instrument. At all my kids' school auditions, they've gotten to choose what pieces to play. It would be pretty silly of them to choose a piece that has a portion they can't play.</p>
<p>My D just auditioned last weekend with a Mozart concerto (violin). They had her play through the exposition, then stopped her and asked her to jump to the cadenza. It is an impressive, showy cadenza, and she would have been disappointed to NOT get to play it. At my S2's Juilliard audition, he also played a Mozart concerto, and wrote the cadenza himself. He played all the way through the piece and cadenza before he was stopped. </p>
<p>He also had to supply a list of excerpts. He suggested one of them, and the teachers said, no, we'd kinda like to hear this other one, and picked the hardest one on his list. Since he had prepared the list himself, it certainly wasn't an unfair request.</p>
<p>I agree with the portion that says teachers want you to do your best. I also think they are very used to kids playing while nervous. They do hope to see some evidence that this is not an insurmountable problem! (And like Old in Jersey says, some evidence that you actually enjoy what you're doing.) From what my S says, it seems the biggest personality trait that can hurt you at an audition is arrogance. (That is different from confidence.) They look for teachability, and therefore, if someone at your audition asks you to play something differently, it doesn't mean they didn't like what you did. It means they want to see if you can adapt or learn. How quickly you can grasp concepts.</p>