<p>My son was soooo glad to be done with the auditions, not because of the competition but because they took so much time away from school (and homework). I think it was five weekends in a row, with one break. My wife took him on the first two auditions (one on a Friday and the other the next day) and he felt really good about both. By the time he got back from the third audition (he went solo because both my wife and I were ill) he had an acceptance from one of the first two. That really took the pressure off. So much so that when he went to his fourth audition with me, he claims that he hit a note that the human ear was never intended to hear (fortunately this was the school that he had the least interest in). For his fifth audition he again was solo, but I took him to his last audition at Peabody. He had a great time and got to see some of his friends from Tanglewood. I got to see some old college buddies, so a good time was had by all.</p>
<p>The admissions director at Peabody had an interesting comment about how the kids perceive their auditions. He said that most with be focused on their mistakes. He then asked a question of the prospective auditioneers "How long do you have to listen to another musician on your instrument before you know if they are equal to, lesser than or greater than your ability?" The only answer that I heard was two minutes, but the director said 15 seconds (which my son later agreed with). So don't sweat the small mistakes.</p>
<p>My Eastman audition was miserable. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I went right after an extremely accomplished friend of mine (just by chance), and I felt like I was completely ignored. I don't think I'm enough of a finished product for them anyway, but the professor that was there just sat there checking his email (!) the entire time while occasionally scribbling something on my sheet or telling me to stop and play something else.</p>
<p>I wasn't expecting rainbows and ponies, I mean it is a top-notch conservatory. It would have been nice to at least feel they listened, though. Even if they knew right away they didn't want me.</p>
<p>I've had some lovely feedback and encouraging vibes at other schools though, so I suppose it all evens out.</p>
<p>You really cannot predict anything based on the auditors' demeanor. If they decide in 15 seconds, they maybe they will take the chance to catch up on email - not saying they should. I think they should feign rapt attention.</p>
<p>There are also some departments that are notorious for attempting to rattle you with odd noises and so forth, to test your concentration, I suppose.</p>
<p>You may not be able to predict the outcome, but you can predict the type of folks you will be encountering at the school. If they are rude to the auditionees, they probably will not treat the students all that well. IMHO</p>
<p>Lostinthemusic, when my S was younger, I would occassionally sit in on his lessons (he studied with a prof at a university). S would be playing along and Teacher would take a quick opportunity to check e-mail. Suddenly, S would be interrupted with questions like "What fingering are you using there?" when nothing was out of tune and it didn't appear to me that Teacher was even looking at him. Despite appearances, S had Teacher's full attention!</p>
<p>I'm with L.Fortissimo, perhaps the auditioning prof felt he knew your playing after the lessons. Best of luck to you!!!</p>
<p>To get back to jazzzzzzzmom's (sp?) question way back there, though, I think the performer has a pretty good idea of how the audition was received. You can usually go by that, but additional clues are helpful. Toe-tapping is not a bad thing, even during a Beethoven sonata.</p>
<p>Upon hearing about my oldest D’s Eastman audition and the…reserved demeanor of the auditioning professor my youngest said she felt that there was nothing offensive about it. She compared him to her ballet teacher, who is notoriously tough and upon evaluating my D for a place at her school looked at me and said point blank “she has no posture” as if it were akin to having a peg leg in the ballet studio. After this eval I said to my youngest in the car, “wow, that was tough. Do you even want to go back?” and my youngest said “of course I am going back, she was right. I do have terrible posture when I dance”. Fast forward 2 years later and my D is a million times the dancer she was then and the teacher thinks the world of her. </p>
<p>Point is, for youngest D this is no biggie. She thrives under that type of teaching, auditioning. Oldest D likes a little more of a laidback friendly teacher and we knew when she applied for Eastman that she is probably not conservatory material but we gave it a whirl anyhow. We look forward to finding out if she actually passed the audition. If she does get accepted we will definitely drive out there for a lesson before making a final decision, it would only be prudent to do so. </p>
<p>It is a crazy crazy time for all of us. I so enjoy all of the stories and impressions that everyone is posting. No 2 are alike just like no 2 of our kids are but we all have this common ground of INSANE, HAIR PULLING, MADDENING, WAITING to see what the future holds!!!</p>
<p>Oh, and I hope I wasn't sounding egotistical about the wonderful auditions D had. We were just shocked and excited as we really D not think D had but a slim chance at even the least prestigious programs so to get such wonderful feedback so quickly was just amazing.</p>
<p>Re: Jazzzmom's original question: IMHO, as a lowly non-musician mother of a musician, I think you can drive yourself crazy trying to analyze auditions. D is a perfectionist and rarely feels great about an audition. And often enough, when she has felt really good about an audition, she hasn't been accepted. Her feelings about an audition tell me nothing really. However, for her school auditions, she was accepted at every school where she received very positive feedback at the audition.</p>
<p>Striving for absolute perfection is a danger for students, in my very humble opinion. On one of my D's school auditions 2 years ago, I sat outside a violin studio while my D auditioned in another part of the school. I heard 6 or 7 violin auditions through the door, and all sounded fine to me. What do I know anyway? Then one student went in and played on a much higher level. I have no idea whether she made any technical mistakes, but she clearly was singing with her violin in a way that the other students had not. It was obvious to me, and sure enough, the teacher and student came out of the room with the teacher gushing with praise to the waiting parent and student. I don't think some technical issues would have changed the result of her audition. IMHO, striving for absolute technical perfection sometimes causes a student to play their instrument too safely and may eliminate that "singing" quality. But then again, what do I know?</p>
<p>My kid is quite good at evaluating his performance and the likely response. He has walked out of auditions saying, "I blew it," "I nailed it!" or "It was okay." The okay usually means he either had some real high highs and some bad spots, or else he didn't make any huge mistakes but didn't feel "on." Those are the hardest to predict.</p>
<p>Someone asked about being perfect. Our motto has always been, "You don't have to be perfect - just better." Judges hear more than just correct notes; they hear rhythm, intonation, "sound", technique, and "potential." I think it was the Curtis application way back when that pointed out that they weren't looking for a finished product -- Finished products don't need more schooling!</p>
<p>"I think you can drive yourself crazy trying to analyze auditions"</p>
<p>I agree! With regard to violin auditions at top level conservatories (for what one individual's experience 2 years ago is worth!), S received nothing but polite "Thank you's" and one "Nice to see you again" (which his private teacher assured him meant NOTHING!). He auditioned at 5 schools and received 5 acceptances with varying levels of merit aid.</p>
<p>I think it's best not to re-run the tape and try to draw conclusions...</p>
<p>I'm in New York right now, finishing up with auditions here, then in two weeks I'm headed to Philadelphia for Curtis. I was more nervous about coming to the city here than I was my actual auditions, but I am actually really liking New York so far. </p>
<p>Most of my auditions have gone really, really well--better than I expected. I've gotten lots of good feedback from the faculty at all the schools so far except Mannes, which had the least responsive panel so far (I've auditioned at U Colorado @ Boulder, U Kansas, Roosevelt U--CCPA, and MSM). I've been fortunate enough that my two best-prepared pieces are the songs the adjudicators have chosen for most of my auditions, which also helped me to have solid auditions. </p>
<p>My MSM audition was actually the same day as scheduled Graduate auditions, which I think actually helped. I thought I would be terrified around all those mature, powerful singers, but it actually helped knowing that I couldn't compare myself to the other singers there (even though I know I should never do that, I won't lie and say I don't). That was probably my best audition so far, and I got really good feedback. </p>
<p>I have my Juilliard audition tonight, then two weeks to prepare for Curtis. For months now, I've been in a constant state of apprehension, wondering where I'll end up and if schools will hate me, but I like what binx said about schools not wanting a finished product; it definitely makes me feel more reassured about what's happening now and what will happen. I have finally been able to accept the philosophy that wherever I end up will be the right place for me; I just have to get there first.</p>
<p>"So what quality is it that overcomes that kind of lapse?"</p>
<p>L. Fortissimo - I really don't know how my son was able to put his memory slips behind him. I think a big part of it comes from having auditioned so much over the years. Several of the teachers he has worked with over the years have taught him to try and focus on the note you are playing RIGHT NOW. Not the one you played a measure ago or the one you are playing next, but the note you are actually playing. Much easier said than done! But by learning to focus on the hear and now it is easier to not think about the stuff you flubbed up 5 minutes ago. I also think that it helped that the one of the judges made the comment telling him not to worry about it. An encouraging comment, even a very simple one, can help you to recenter yourself and focus more on what you are doing at the moment. </p>
<p>I tend to think that most judges WANT you to do well. They WANT to hear beautiful music. They are looking to accept people, not reject them. The problem is that they can only accept a few, but I think most of them have open minds and ears when auditioners walk in the room.</p>
<p>Having listened to and judged voice auditions for universities and opera programs for several decades, I know there are several elements considered for singers: talent, technique, musicality, musicianship, presentation, the "package". THe other element is what kind of training the singer has had, and how hard it will be to fix the resultant technique. If a singer has been singing inappropriate, overly-dramatic repertory, and the vibrato is irregular, the intonation uncentered, etc., or if there is a bleat in the voice from the tension and pressure, most teachers are going to be reluctant to get involved in trying to fix it. Most of us have enough experience to know how hard it is to fix those kind of things. If, OTOH, the singer is a bit inconsistent, the top does not yet bloom, and the languages are unsophisticated, but the other elements of talent are there, depending of the stature of the school and the competition, the singer has a chance for admission. The moral of the story is: there is nothing more important than the voice teacher, at every level, and how healthily and appropriately the singer uses the voice.</p>
<p>wow i just found out my friend was accepted to curtis for violin! </p>
<p>as for me, i just got an email from the chair of piano dept at nec who informed that i will be getting official results in a few weeks, but before the results, he wanted to tell me that the committee was very impressed with my playing. so..good news?!</p>