My D’s issue is with the accompaniment. One of her songs has a jazzy feel - the accompanist should follow the signer and it doesn’t work well rhythmically. She’s been working with song with a very familiar accompanist and it works quite well. It did NOT work well with an accompanist following the rhythm as written.
@artskids - Do they allow taped accompaniment?
@techmom99 I’ll have her scrub the requirements to see if she is required to use the accompanist or if she can use her recording even when an accompanist is available.
@artskids I would definitely check that carefully. All of the on campus auditions last year used an accompanist, but what really surprised me was the number of Unified auditions that used an accompanist. Many of her Unified auditions at both Chicago and LA had an accompanist on site which was specified in advance so at least we knew but it could prove challenging. In general she had about 15-30 seconds to do a quick review with the accompanist and her mileage definitely varied. Some were spot on but a few didn’t quite play per her specs so she just rolled with it. She definitely preferred using her recorded music but it was clear if there was an accompanist provided you were expected to work with them and not your recorded track.
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I know that BOCO requires that you bring your music pre-recorded, but at all of our auditions, accompanists have been provided. My Son had two different people work with him while rehearsing ahead of time. Maybe that would help.
Yes @sopranomtmom - that was my experience with S when he went through the process. In fact, he had no auditions during his season with pre-recorded music; all accompanied. Some accompanists were better than others with his cuts but he said his cuts were pretty clean. It never occurred to me her cut was difficult to play until her first audition. It surprised us both. The only audition she has with tracks (so far) is Texas State. I think it will be better for her to change her song.
jumping in on this conversation about accompaniment at Unifieds (Chicago) @artskids @sopranomtmom and others headed to Chicago… I hope we are understanding the guidelines for the schools correctly. We were under the impression we need to bring recorded accompaniment for Hartt, Montclair, CCM, Rider, UARTS, & Pace. Not sure about Temple or Otterbein. If any of you have similar schools on the list for Chicago are you under the same impression? THANKS! It is so hard to keep up with it all!
not entirely. Some of the those schools she is doing on campus; some are not on her list. As she hears back from prescreens, she checks the callback requirements. Her first few auditions are on campus where she has accompaniment. So far, her only unified school using tracks is Texas State.
I went back and looked at the audition spreadsheet I put together last year for Unifieds and here is what I found - now keep in mind this could change this year:
Accompanist provided:
Carnegie Mellon
Ithaca
Point Park
Montclair
Ball State
Western Michigan
Emerson
Recorded Music:
Rider
Boston Conservatory
Pace
Hartt
University of Arizona
UArts
Drake
Viterbo
Manhattan School of Music
Now, again - things could be totally different this year. But it just goes to show you have to prepare for both options. Also, looking back at the list now I can’t remember, but there were at least two or three of the schools that said they would have an accompanist that didn’t end up having one after all - so always bring your recorded music and always bring your songbook to every audition. Just in case!!
And we had one or two who said to bring recorded music who ended up having accompanists. So I think the key is to be prepared for either circumstance in all auditions!
And with regard to being prepared, from our experience last year, have a second phone or computer available with the recordings on it (we had a moment of panic when my S’s phone didn’t bring up his music), have a portable charger available, have the pdf of the music to play so that if the binder is lost or left somewhere there’s no need to freak. I also brought a second outfit for my S (against his wishes but it did come in handy), energy bars, waters, and throat lozenges. I had a mini sewing kit that I actually used. I also brought a mini speaker that synced up with his phone, but he never needed it. Always make sure the kids are prepared that they will be asked for something else or be stopped in the middle of a song/monologue to begin again, or whatever. Preparedness is key. We definitely saw kids who didn’t have proper dance clothes, didn’t have an audio recording, didn’t have sheet music, etc. As I recall getting prescreens in and applications in on time was nerve wracking, waiting for audition slots was nerve wracking, getting ready for auditions was nerve wracking. But the worst was waiting after auditions were over. This is a really stressful time in your lives and your kids’ lives. And being prepared for the just in case stuff minimizes the need for worrying.
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@artskids regarding your D and her jazzy audition song with tricky accompaniment; my D also had an audition song with a really hard piano part for her auditions last year! Even the professional vocal coaches who played for her auditions at some big VP programs had a rough time of it, lol! And around the 3rd difficult experience I was wondering if it might cost D some offers. Seriously. At one school we were in a welcome meeting with all the scores of auditioners, and they called D’s name asking if she could spare a little rehearsal time with the accompanist; Hahaha! NOW I can laugh. Anyway, she got yeses everywhere, and LOTS of compliments directly about the super tricky song. This is such a crazy process!!! Trust your D’s teacher or coach to choose good rep for her and cross those fingers!
Dear Evan Hansen is an absolutely amazing show to take in while in the city.
@owensfolks, we are going for year 2 of auditions for MT (no gap year, just not the right fit once she arrived) This year we added Belmont and Wright State…would love to hear your thoughts on those programs, campuses etc. So glad to hear your daughter has had a positive experience with the gap year. Gives us hope for a better outcome 2nd time around!
@evcvmom my daughter is applying to Wright State also! We haven’t had the audition yet- that’s in January. Just wanted to pipe in on the conversation though because we know a student there and she LOVES it! She is BFA acting major/ dance minor but she has gotten major roles in the musicals there the last 2 years- and has grown tremendously! We added the school to our list because of how positive she is about the program, the faculty and her experience. I love following her posts about the shows and other opportunities she has had there. She encouraged us to not rule wright state out even if my daughter was placed in acting instead of MT because she still gets voice and other music classes etc… and has grown tremendously vocally. We visited the campus this summer (it wasn’t a top campus for my daughter compared to other schools she loved the look of… but that’s personal preference) fun fact: there are underground tunnels (they look like normal hallways ) that allow you to get from building to building around campus while staying inside! The tunnels are heated/ AC / well lit etc. pretty cool! The program itself and feedback from the current student we know- made her definitely want to apply! Hope that helps!
Got our 1st MT acceptance… S has been accepted to both the MT and VP programs at BW. Couldn’t be happier!
@mommafaria I, @kategrizz and @IfYouOnlyKnew all have kids at BW (I and @IfYouOnlyKnew have boys) if you have questions. Congratulations.
Congrats @mommafaria!
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Congratulations @mommafaria! My D is waiting to hear for acting. She loved BW. How did they let you know, email, phone, snail mail? Thanks
@TNTTheatreDad it was via email and at 4:45. We love the school and can’t wait to learn more.