<p>No written test on audition weekends, I don’t think. There is an online theory test they want completed prior to your audition date.</p>
<p>She loved it while there. She graduated last May.</p>
<p>Hopefulobie,
One thing that you might consider is to apply to the summer vocal academy at Oberlin. It is only a week long program in July and you get the opportunity to work with the Oberlin faculty. My S was accept EA this year at Oberlin and participated in this program. S had a great time, met alot of wonderful kids and learned alot about conservatories and what would be required of him. He was given a private singing lesson every day, took acting classes and other master classes, went to the opera in Cleveland… it was a great week for him. At the end the students gave a recital in Kulas Hall. The application is due March 1. Last year it was only a page long. You needed one recommendation from your music teacher and a dvd with two songs on it to apply. Students were housed at the Oberlin Inn and ate on campus. </p>
<p>It also gives the faculty a chance to get to know you and to know whether they would like to work with you. Be aware though, that this is NOT a guarantee of admission. There were several students from last summer who applied EA and were deferred. </p>
<p>[Vocal</a> Academy for High School Students - Oberlin College](<a href=“http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/summer/vocal/]Vocal”>http://new.oberlin.edu/conservatory/summer/vocal/)</p>
<p>As far as the actual audtion, at the summer academy, they did some mock auditions and one thing S said that the faculty stressed the most, as obvious as it sounds, is that you choose songs that you can perform well/near perfectly as opposed to songs that are difficult and that you can not perform very well. They also stressed the importance of introducing yourself, having poise and confidence. </p>
<p>For this year’s Oberlin voice audition experience, see this thread
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/850837-fall-cycle-2010-audition-experiences.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/850837-fall-cycle-2010-audition-experiences.html</a></p>
<p>I was thinking about doing that program for the summer! Thanks for the recomendation.I am getting information about it from my vocal teacher.Do you know what happend in the summer program for your son??</p>
<p>Hey hopeful obie. As was mentioned, my D was accepted EA for VP. She loves Oberlin but we are doing 4 other auditions just to have some options. Good advice to go to the summer program. We went on school visitation/sample lesson trip in junior year. That was a productive venture. Suggest you go on the website and do some research about who you might want to study with. If you go on the thread on the music majors that talks about audition experiences, you can read the details there. I’m glad to answer any questions you might have.</p>
<p>Hopefulobie, </p>
<p>Not sure what you mean by “what happened in the summer program” for my son. Here’s a little more of what I know. They lived in the Oberlin Inn. Two students were RAs and gave them lots of Oberlin info. They had daily private voice lessons and master classes with all of the Oberlin voice instructors that were on campus, so he got to know some of the instructors and who he might like to study with and one of the accompanists. This does make you feel more at ease when you come back to audition in the fall. </p>
<p>Before you go, they ask you to have 8 songs and a monologue prepared. The first night, I think students on campus performed for the high school kids. The next day, the high schoolers did a performance for each other with one of their songs and their monologue. S said there was a huge improvement in every student from beginning of the week to the end of the week. S made lots of friends from all over the country and some were from other countries (about 40 students). Still keeps in touch with some of them and sees them at auditions.</p>
<p>They gave in depth tours of all the facilities and the students got to know about the program and what Oberlin has to offer. The faculty chose a few students to do sample auditions and they critiqued the students’ audition in front of the group so that everyone could have an idea of what the faculty would be looking for and what they would not be impressed by in an audition. S thought this was helpful.</p>
<p>If you mean did the Program help my son get into Oberlin, I have no idea. My son applied EA and did get in. We know at least one student from the summer program who applied and did not pass the prescreening, so it certainly is not a guarantee. I sympathize with you because I know it is hard to know whether or not you are competitive at a particular college. We feel the same way still as S is still doing his last audtions. It really depends upon what the applicant pool looks like that year, what the college’s needs are and how the audition goes that day. But, one thing this summer program does do is that it helps the faculty to know more about you than what they can learn in a 10 minute audition. If you make a good impression, that can’t hurt. </p>
<p>If you need more info, contact me privately, and I can get you in touch with my S on FB. Good Luck!!</p>
<p>If you just want to focus on music, Oberlin may not be the best conservatory for you. The Con and College are thoroughly integrated. You are likely to spend time with non-musicians who won’t share your passion for music. If your goal is total immersion in music, a conservatory without a college may be better for you.</p>
<p>Considering that most of the stand-alone conservatories are located in cities with far more distractions than Oberlin and that few conservatories have the dorm space to house their students for all four years, I think it is likely that anyone attending one of them is going to spend a fair amount of time with non-musicians.</p>
<p>Oberlin is not the right choice for everyone and there are students who would certainly do better at one of the stand-alone conservatories, but I would not rule out Oberlin on the basis of having to take a few classes in the College or having to live in a dorm where there are science majors present. One of the really nice things about the Oberlin Conservatory curriculum is that, other than one writing course which many test out of anyway, it allows students to pick electives from whatever classes in the College that have available seats and for which they have fulfilled the prerequisites, including some that definitely have musical content or a strong relation to music. Many conservatories have a rather limited selection of liberal arts and humanities courses that are intended to get students away from music for a few hours each week. From that standpoint, it is actually possible to be more immersed in music at Oberlin with an appropriate selection of electives.</p>
<p>The reasons that I would suggest someone consider a stand-alone conservatory over Oberlin would be more along the lines of opportunities to study with specific teachers and to be around world-class professional ensembles on a daily basis. Oberlin does a fine job at providing excellent applied music teachers, but no one school has the best teachers in everything. Oberlin also brings in many fine professional musicians to give concerts and masterclasses, but they are not just down the street from a Lincoln Center, a Symphony Hall or a Kimmel Center the way some stand-alone conservatories are.</p>
<p>thank you bassdad! this is one of the reasons why i considered oberlin as a school because it would not only have music students there but also people who have different interest besides me. The reason why i thiknk oberlin is a good chose for me is they have an awesome Vocal program and i believe that they can certainly shape my voice more for the professional world.</p>