<p>Looking for advice from voice majors that have auditioned before. DD is a mezzo -soprano and first college auditions are coming up. Unfortunately the first cold of the season has also shown up. Although she is recovering, highest notes are iffy and she has a cough. Is it better to go through with audition or try to reschedule? If you are not 100% do they take that into consideration? Thanks we are new to all of this.</p>
<p>They would be sympathetic, but they will judge what they hear. If the high notes are iffy, nervousness about them wil laffect them further. Coughing instinct hinders breath effort. Furthermore, singing when there is any change in timbre will lead the singer to alter production to compensate and techical adjustments can become permanent. Cancel and reschedule. Your daugher should prepare a good audition recording once she is okay, and keep it handy just in case things have to be cancelled because of weather, illness, etc. Some schools have no extra times and/or dates for auditions. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks. Fortunately she already did the NFAA recording so she does have that to fall back on. We saw the posts that suggested audition in person is best so trying to figure out which is better - live not 100% or CD if reschedule does not work out. However, there have to be times when singers have to audition when not 100%. What do they do?</p>
<p>Professionals and singers who understand how important their reputations are cancel if they will not represent themselves well. Working singers do sing/perform when not 100% but they are more advanced singers who know how to protect themselves while they serve the music, and they know when it is a no-go. However, they do not do auditions unless they are good shape. Some wonderful opportunities are lost, but that is the way it is. A physician can tell if damage would be done, but the singer has to know if the voice is functional. Some resort to cortisone shots, but that is a dangerous solution, not recommended to any singer who hopes for longevity. Good luck to your daughter. Where was she planning on auditioning? What else is coming up. PM me if you want not to publicize her list, and if I know anything about the school I can tell you what the options might be.</p>
<p>On good advice, D took a CD with her to all auditions. In one case, she was very sick with a URI -- there were no alternative dates. The head of the vocal program told her to sing through it if she felt she could without straining. She ended up singing and leaving her CD -- she was admitted to the program with a performance scholarship. She was able to sing through and from outside the door, I was amazed at how well she did. As mentioned earlier, the nature of the illness and the singer's sense of potential damage is very important. However, we spoke to many people who indicated that they were sick for at least one of their auditions (given the time of year, it's difficult not to be) and most sang through and were pretty successful overall. Others managed interviews and theory/sight-singing tests but did not sing and left CDs.</p>
<p>That's a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion. We will travel with CD. Her voice teacher cleared her last night to go for it. Since we have the travel plans locked we will go and evaluate there.</p>
<p>This reminds me of a letter by Robert Shaw describing his audition criteria. Here's a bit of it:
"You may wish to know some of the considerations which have guided our evaluations and qualified you for readmission. Believe me it ain't been easy.
Number one: Any good-looking woman was admitted, ipso facto and sans souci. [...]
Number two: Anybody who was really scared made it. I mean REALLY scared. [The accompanist] and I got a big kick out of seeing some of you who really suffer. You know, clammy hands, all chocked up in the voice, stomach muscles shaking like crazy. Stumble up the steps or trip over the electric fan. Start sight-reading from right to left and all that. [...]
Number three: Anybody who had a cold got in. Almost all the great singers we know are hypochondriacs, and we didn't feel we could afford to pass anybody up here. I remember one person who's had throat trouble at every audition since 1956, and that's the kind of sensitive person we like to have around.
Number four: There are always a few special rules for tenors. For instance, their reading test would be a little more accurately described as sight-improvising. I ask them to make up a note and hum it, and if George can find it on the piano they're in."</p>
<p>The excerpt continues, but I think the point is clear. Even though this is obviously tounge-in-cheek, Shaw does illustrate something very true. Trained ears can hear through a cold. As long as you can still sing, go for the auditions. If you have real trouble then try to re-schedule.</p>
<p>I would LOVE to read this entire letter - do you have it? What a hoot!</p>
<p>I found that letter in a Shaw biography by Joseph Mussulman called "Dear People..." It's a pretty good introductory biography for Shaw. There's another book that this might be in, called "A Robert Shaw Reader," which is a collection of Shaw's letters on various topics. I haven't read this book cover to cover, but I've glanced at it and it wouldn't surprise me if this particular letter happens to be in it. If you can find the former, it's in the chapter about his years with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus (this letter is from about 1960).</p>
<p>Thanks! I'll research it!</p>