<p>Some would say that not only is "Back to Before" on a "hot" list of audition songs, but also that it is important to sing a song which is appropriate and realistic for your age and type. In that respect, many would not think of "Back to Before" for a seventeen year old since it is a song that Mother sings in Ragtime.</p>
<p>onstage... I love the suggestion that you an others have made... students would do well to look for material from "older" shows. There is so much wonderful material from these shows, and most of it is not on "do not use lists". Some schools even require that one selection be from a musical written prior to 1960 or 1965.</p>
<p>What would the thoughts be about singing a song from a show the school is doing...? I had that dilemma at my auditions last year and decided against it.... also "the impossible dream"...too overdone? My up-tempo is really never done and I could barely even find sheet music for it.... would that counter out a standard like impossible dream? I can sing the heck out of it</p>
<p>I've heard a lot of wisdom from people auditioning for companies (rather than schools) who avoid anything from a show that the company has done recently as those involved in that production will have a solid idea of that song in their head, complete with costume, context, etc. that you can't recreate in an audition room. (I was unfortunate enough to be auditioning for a company who I swear had done shows that practically my whole repertoire was from in the previous few years - oh well, shows they had good taste). Note that this isn't necessarily the same for college auditions, just how I've heard it said by pros.</p>
<p>any thoughts on "The Impossible Dream"?</p>
<p>Since you asked I will offer my opinion. However, offering my opinion is like being a doctor and diagnosing something with out seeing the patient.</p>
<p>First it is a very difficult song to sing. It's almost like an aria.
Second...The song demands much more life experience than a high school or college student has.
Third... you will be judged by a very high standard.</p>
<p>If you are a remarkable legit young baritone.. there are better, more age appropriate songs....Just off the top of my head.... C'est Moi from Camelot..... Lancelot is much closer to your age than Don Quixote.</p>
<p>You say the Impossible Dream is overdone. I don't find that to be true....</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>I haven't found it to be overdone and actually DID hear it sung by a remarkable high school senior who is now a freshman at Michigan- so I wouldn't automatically say that it "demands more life experience..."; I actually found tears running down my face when he was finished. But I do agree with TomBFACoach when he says that this song holds you to a very high standard! If you are going for a Vocal Performance major however, this may be a good choice as you would be familiar working with arias and the techinical difficulty shouldn't be as much of an obstacle.
I think VP majors have a bit more freedom in what to sing as they are not likely to walk in and come out with ANYTHING that has played on Broadway within the last 20 years, even though they usually have to have a MT piece prepared! I was shocked when I saw that many MT schools are now suggesting that you also have a Country/Western song as well as a pop song (not from a musical) along with your other pieces. For those of you who have spent years and much time on your passagio, hitting that C&W "break" can be jarring to the voice and the ear!
I know my D has two different portfolios, depending on what she is doing and there are only a very few pieces that can "cross over" and be used for both MT and VP. Most are obscure and from shows that either played very briefly (and had one good number in them!) or actually were never performed outside of a "workshop" or "experimental" setting at all. You can also look at some of the "light opera companies" to see what MT shows they may have(or had) in their repertoire.... She has several arias that she uses for competition and in Europe, you see this done all of the time,.Young singers learn opera roles and then actually perform them when they are ready, down the road a bit. My D will be doing "Susanna" in an abbreviated version of "Figaro", and one of her arias from this has led her to place against much older students in classical competitions. The role demands a very facile voice and luckily, it works for her.
If you are comfortable with "Impossible Dream" and feel that you can hit it right on every time, go for it. I'd rather hear something that a student is comfortable with and that they feel a rapport with, than something they are singing just because they were forced to.
PS- for all of you that are worrying "What shall I sing" and "Oh, they've heard this peice a thousand times", may I sugest that you read Renee Flemming's book, " The Inner Voice"? She tells a story about not understanding WHY she wasn't able to place in competitions or get out of the rut in which she was stuck until she finally went back to one of her very familiar pieces, pulled it out again and used it. It fit like a comfortable shoe and certainly paid off. The moral here is, if it works for you, then it works, and judges will recognize that.
Good luck and let us know how you do with your auditions!</p>
<p>Bruce, I agree with Tom on this. There are many more appropriate songs for someone your age to sing that are suitable for a young baritone. Singing The Impossible Dream is automatically, if unconsciously, going to cause you to be compared to Stokes Mitchell, Raul Julia, and, even, Richard Kiley, by many college auditors. Although, I do agree that in many cases it's not a problem to sing a song that is identifiable with one particular actor, this is one that I don't think is worth the risk.</p>
<p>Lulu'smomma, I hadn't heard that there are now many MT schools requiring a C/W and a pop song for auditions. Which schools are they?</p>
<p>The info about the songs for an MT major's repertoire just came out in the OCU summer newsletter! It sure surprised me and when I was talking to my D's voice teacher, she conformed it as she has 2 students living and working in NYC now and they were given the same advice, one by a teacher and the other at an audition.... If it is spreading like that, it won't take long for it to become a "Requirement" instead of a strong suggestion!
Another idea for a song for a young bari is "There But For You Go I" from "Brigadoon". It does repeat a bit, but you can use that to your advantage both for sutting it or for allowing the song to build with emotion as it flows.
I've actually only heard the one young man use "I The mpossible Dream", but he was absolutely perfection and sounds quite a bit like BSM anyway. It worked for him as he recieved acceptances everywhere he auditioned and is thriving at Michigan.</p>
<p>Lulu'sMomma, there's a difference between having varying types of songs in your repertoire, and your statement "that many MT schools are now suggesting that you also have a Country/Western song as well as a pop song (not from a musical) ". What was being discussed here by Bruce, if I'm not mistaken, and the advice he was seeking, was regarding college admissions auditions. The requirements for those have never, to my knowledge, included such suggestions, at any school. That was why I asked you about what the "many MT schools" were! OCU's suggestion in a summer newsletter is not quite the same thing as MANY, as I'm sure you'll agree, and if it was for repertoire, that's different than the prep that must be done for auditions themselves. It's important for prospective students to get accurate information from each school at which they plan to audition, and also important for us to make sure we're giving accurate information as well.</p>
<p>It sounds as if the OCU newletter is discussing what someone who is auditioning for professional (or even community) productions should have in their audition repertory. Many pop, country, folk shows prefer that people audition with actual pop, country, or folk material.</p>
<p>As far as auditioning to get into a college program, as it has been said by so many others on this board, it is important to follow the exact requirements of each school for which you are auditioning.</p>
<p>You're right, on one level, but as I said, kids are coming home from schools in NYC and saying the same thing, so the trend seems to be spreading; and yes, it is important to get the CURRENT information from the schools one is applying to. Here is the exact quote, so take from it what you will:</p>
<pre><code> The Audition Corner....What To Sing For Auditions
</code></pre>
<p>An audition is like a job interview you need to go in prepared and ready to show your strengths. For musical auditions, that means having repertoire that highlights your unique talents. Students not only have to pick songs that show off their voice, but also songs that show off who they are, says Dr. David Herendeen, Director of OCUs Opera & Musical Theater Program and Director of the OCU Summer High School Musical Theater Program. Too often, young singers will pick a song just to show off their high notes without thinking about the song as a whole. Dont ever sing something that you are physically unable to do. Directors want to see what you can do!</p>
<p>Singers should enter auditions with not only one, but several songs. Directors will often ask for another song. Youd be surprised how many students come unprepared. Dr. Herendeen recommends young singers start putting together their book - a collection of numerous songs in different styles. He recommends students have:</p>
<p> A pre-1970 ballad AND up tempo (think Gershwin, Rogers & Hammerstein)
A post 1970 up tempo AND ballad (Stephen Schwartz, Andrew Lloyd Weber)
A pop song not from a musical
A country and western song
A classical piece (Gilbert & Sullivan, 24 Italian Art Songs)
There are some composers that Dr. Herendeen recommends students not perform at auditions. Many works by Stephen Sondheim and Jason Robert Brown are complicated to sight read even for experienced pianists. Also, many of these songs are so tied to their show that they do not make sense when sung out of context."</p>
<p>OCU is considered one of the best schools for MT as in NYU and they are both telling students the same thing, so perhaps this portends a change that is in the works ( I have shown dogs for many years, and although the comparison seems bizarre, it is not so odd! Breed standards change in one country and then that change moves to other countries and so it goes.
Also, if you are a certified teacher and taken graduate level education courses, it is well known that there is a "shift" in trends and policies every five years or so! It's maddening, but keep you on your toes!)</p>
<p>Lulu'sMomma - the article clearly refers to what to sing for auditions for SHOWS, not for college programs.</p>
<p>You are correct - many schools ARE telling their collegiate students that they need to have country/rock/pop in their rep books. if they are auditioning for shows using one of those genres. That is, however, a far cry from what they expect to hear when the prospectives are auditioning to get into those same schools.</p>
<p>MusicThCC, I was never suggesting that anyone had to have these pieces for college auditions at this point in time, although the specific "type" of audition isn't deliniated- - but since two well respected universities, one in the East and one in the West, are passing this advice on to their students, I think it reasonable to assume that it may "trickle down" to that level. As you may know, there is one young lady whose Mother posts on this Board whose D is doing quite well in the pop world and with the explosion in popularity of Americal Idol and the huge numbers of sales from the C&W side, it might be expected that training in these two areas might one day soon be offered as part of college vocal music programs. Many schools already have MT majors taking at least one course in opera and VP majors doing the reverse and taking an MT elective (or requirement), so what would make these fields that much different? I guess I was saying that the whole vocal field seems to be blurring lines and giving students a broader look at various performance types which should make graduates more marketable and might actually help someone discover a type of music they never thought they'd try!
Again, I never wanted this to turn into an arguement but it seems to be heating up when my intent was to pass along information. That I've done, so my book is begging to be finished so that I can return it Tuesday! Have a good evening.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions for a 16 year old baritone to investigate?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice everyone. I definitely am going to audition for VP also and am looking for a more aria-ish ballad....I'll keep looking but I definitely won't cut out Impossible Dream.....for now at least I'll check out that Brigadoon one but one of the schools I'm auditioning for (and my favorite) is doing Bragadoon....
Thanks again!</p>
<p>Lulu's Momma... I completely agree with having many different styles and choices in your rep binder. At two of my BFA auditions this year, when I had finished my selections, they asked me if I had brought anything else. At Carnegie Mellon, Gary Kline actually flipped through my binder to see what else I had. I definitely wish I would have had more options (mainly because he didn't like everything I had brought and made me sight read).</p>
<p>Props to that.</p>
<p>In regards to different styles...I have this saved on my computer, I pulled it from musicals.net a while ago. I'm using it as my base for building my rep book once I actually get off my butt and do that :) </p>
<p>A classic musical theatre song (R&H/L&L/Etc.)
A good 20's/30's song (Cole Porter/Gershwin/Kern/Etc.)
A good belt song
A contemporary musical theatre song (ALW/Guettel/JRB/Sondheim-but only if Sondheim is called for in the audition because a lot of pianists WON'T play it!/Etc.)
An operetta song
An opera song
A pop song
A country song
A jazz song</p>
<p>I don't quite understand this "Sondheim-phobia" some pianists are reported to have. His music has been in the standard repertoire for decades now.... haven't they played through those scores 100 times by now?... "The Light in the Piazza" is as difficult to play as any Sondheim. </p>
<p>I have never heard of a piano player who has REFUSED to play something at a college audition. Has anyone had that experience? That says more about the school, than it does about the song.</p>
<p>I have said many times on this board.... a school who is going to be taking in a hundred thousand dollars tuition per student should find a piano player that knows the repertoire and can play literally ANYTHING you put in front of them.
These piano players do exist, and at a good music school should not be difficult to to find. If schools now expect you to have an aria in your book, (which is another whole topic that I will attack later).... they shouldn't cry if you bring in a Sondheim piece.</p>
<p>That being said.... I do live in the real world, and I know that some schools won't go to the effort to find a good pianist....I live in NYC and NYU won't go through the trouble of even hiring a live piano player, good or bad....This is a disgrace to me...., but I don't make the rules.....So... to make a long story short....watch what you do bring in... but the automatic reflex that Sondheim is impossible to play is a little overblown.</p>
<p>TomBFACoach<br>
@ the Ithaca audition their accompianst was given a Sondheim piece which was so poorly played....and I quote "it sounded like music from Mars"....that's how bad it was. This was not even "early" Sondheim. Unfortunately, many of the (including top) schools did not have wonderful pianist who could play "anything placed in front of them". :confused:</p>