<p>I was reading Sguti40's wonderfully detailed description of auditions at Boston Conservatory and it brought up the question of attire. So what is required/expected for audition attire? I imagine it varies by discipline and possibly college/university vs conservatory. DS is a prospective jazz studies type major and I'm just diligently collecting all these good tips for this time next year when I get to be in Sherpa mode. :P </p>
<p>Having a jazz based boy this talk of taffeta dresses and sleeves vs no sleeves threw me for a bit of a loop.</p>
<p>My boy balks at taffeta as well 
Don’t know about jazz but for him it’s always been black pants/black shirt with tie. Never a suit jacket, although some recommend that. </p>
<p>We were at Indiana last week and most boys were in dress pants and dress shirts (with and without tie). Saw some khakis. Didn’t see any suit jackets.</p>
<p>There was a thread started earlier this year entitled, “Voice and Oboe Audition Attire” which covered this topic pretty completely. Jazz can be less structured than those dressing for classical auditions, but guys never go wrong there with dark pants and shirt enlivened with a bright tie, if desired. I’m not a fan of khaki just because it doesn’t look right in winter and wrinkles easily so clothing looks like it was slept in. As for the girls in taffeta and dressy dresses, well, perhaps you’ll get away with it for undergrad, but for grad school and YAP auditions, the panels expect you to look professional and ready for employment. No “prom looks” which mean gowns, shiny fabrics, tuxedos or tail coats.
Girls, remember to draw attention UP toward your face! Great shoes are wonderful (my D has close to 200 pairs, so I’m well acquainted with just about everything out there!! She has a pair that are just like what your D was wearing, Sguti40!). Always have a pair of solid black, conservative pumps girls, because they will get you through anything. It’s cold and you may be tempted to jazz up your solid color dress with bright tights- Don’t. Again, you want the eye going UPWARDS! While sleeveless may have been the norm at BoCo this weekend, I will say again that unless it’s warm outside and you are extremely fit, sleeves are expected and at the higher levels, sleeveless dresses will be frowned upon. </p>
<p>The new format doesn’t make searching as easy as it used to be, so I’ve copied and pasted my post from there.</p>
<p>Rules for auditioning singers- these come directly from a well known teacher and someone who hears MANY kids each season. They also hold for those going for advanced degrees and for performance auditions.</p>
<p>The dress MUST be at least knee length- remember that you may well be on a stage for your audition with the adjudicators sitting in the floor of the house- you don’t want them seeing up your skirt! Pantihose are a must, and if the dress is dark, go with dark pantihose. Tights can be worn only if you have no other option- they don’t look as professional. A bit of cleavage is OK (you don’t need a turtleneck) but stay tasteful- NO plunging necklines and a V-neck is fine. Make it something you’d wear to sing in church or for your grandmother! Go with sleeves- the only exception being if you are a really tiny build and it’s warm outside. A 3/4 length sleeve is always appropriate. As for color: you have options, so pick a solid color, no print, no lace, no huge pieces of hardware. You want attention drawn to your face while you’re singing- pick a flattering color, you don’t have to go with black (you really don’t!) but avoid neon or colors such as greens and yellows that might look bad under lighting etc. Proper undergarments are your friend! Spanx and a slip make dresses hang better and glide over your body- you don’t want straps or hems dangling or lumps and bumps showing.
Girls must wear heels, 3" or lower, depending upon your height and make sure that you know how to walk in them! Black, navy or nude, no white shoes. Even the mezzos wearing pantsuits can have heels, just make sure that the hem breaks properly on your shoe.
Keep your hair off of your face and keep jewelry and makeup tasteful (remember though that makeup enhances your looks and you want to be seen from the audience!). Do bring along a sweater or shawl to toss on while you are waiting since some buildings can be pretty cool, and don’t walk through the snow in your heels- wear boots and change in the building!</p>
<p>Guys- a suit and tie, please, look like you care! Clean,black or brown dress shoes, polished (neutral style, this is NOT the time for your latest purchase from Europe!), and dark dress socks! Do make sure that your suit fits correctly, which means that the pants are long enough and your shirt cuff should show at the bottom of the sleeve. Have your hair cut and keep it out of your face- tossing your head is a negative! If you have an earring or other visible body jewelry, remove it for audition day.</p>
<p>This will make you look professional and neutral. VP majors don’t have the options that MT majors do- let your personality show, but don’t do it through outrageous outfits. Toss a can of Static Guard in your bag to help keep hems and pant legs from creeping up and hair from flying around and a small package of Hollywood Tape is useful for ripped hems or errant buttons (These two tips come from long experience!).</p>
<p>I have a “rogues gallery” of sights that I’ve seen at major auditions and you don’t want to be one of those who sticks out for the wrong reasons! By that I mean the girl who is wearing a shiny, stretch satin mini dress, backless and sleeveless and bare legs paired with white shoes-when it was 5 degrees outside! Or the guy who appears in a polo shirt,wrinkled khakis and boat shoes with no socks… Remember your audience- those hearing you may well be of the older generations, so show respect in how you present yourself. Wishing all of you the very best of luck and looking forward to reading all of the great acceptances as they roll in!</p>
<p>I am wondering if these tips/admonitions hold for non-classical majors as well?</p>
<p>hahahahahaaaa!!! I did a search for old threads and came up with this funny entry (kind of mad libs like as it pertains to dance/MT, but it made me chuckle):</p>
<p>“I’m going down to a college audition tomorrow and the first segment will be the dance audition. I recently bought jazz pants and a dance belt, but I’ve been told by a few people that neither of those are really necessary”</p>
<p>I am laughing about the prospect of applying the attire across artistic disciplines and sending DS with jazz pants and a dance belt. 
</p>
<p>Think I should get my S some jazz pants since he is auditioning for jazz guitar… Ok, maybe not. But I have wondered about dress for him, to a certain point. For MTSU, auditioning for jazz guitar, he wore khakis, a fairly casual dress shirt, and casual dress shoes. Most of the other jazz guys seemed to be about the same. At Berklee, he’ll be auditioning for contemporary, so I’m guessing he could still be a sort of dressy casual??? Maybe??? Or should we snazzy him up? I don’t know if he can comfortably play in a suit or even a jacket. I do want him to be comfortable.</p>
<p>You crack me up! We can wait for answers together and/or you can let me know when you find out through experience ~:> </p>
<p>Maybe he can wear the dance belt under the khakis . . . that would make quite and impression, particularly if they are flat front.</p>
<p>I think that something classy but casual would be fine for Berklee, shellybean, and a jacket wouldn’t be necessary. The best dressed guys I’ve seen at jazz auditions in cold climates were wearing black slacks with black, button down shirts and brightly colored ties. The ones wearing black slacks and jewel toned shirts, without ties, were eye-catching too. Just make sure that they are wearing decent shoes- casual ones are fine but they need to be clean and in good condition. No sneakers, dangling laces, flopping soles.
It may be jazz or contemporary performance but you still want to show the panel that you cared enough to clean up for the audition. </p>
<p>You’re really over thinking this. I saw a kid walk out of his audition last year at Eastman in jeans and converse sneakers. The professor came out to the kids parents and raved about his playing. What he was wearing meant nothing. Not to say you should wear jeans and converse but pants and a dress shirt would be fine anywhere. </p>
<p>Thanks! It was just that after hearing female VP stories I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t under thinking it. I didn’t want to find out after the fact that there was some code that I wasn’t aware of.</p>
<p>My son auditioned at MTSU wearing black dress pants with a black/purple plaid shirt, black vest and bow tie. He has kind of a Johnny Depp look with long bangs (which he does toss out of his face, unless he slicks them back), a goatee and earrings. I was a bit concerned and considered talking him into a regular dress shirt and tie, but I let it go. His audition went very well and I will say that the school and the other students saw the real deal. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, I think these factors are important:</p>
<p>This was a directional uni, not a conservatory
He was auditioning for a music minor
He was auditioning on viola, and violists are considered to be odd anyway! LOL!</p>
<p>I have to agree with bigdjp - it’s probably a good idea to dress as if the student respects the audition - but it didn’t occur to my son. He wore his regular high school clothes for all his interviews - and he was accepted everywhere. It’s the work that counts, and the person in the clothes.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t classify the dresses I saw as prom gowns nor as the mini stretch skirts mentioned above. But they were “fancier” than the pictures Ive seen referenced. The instrumentalist wore those type of dresses, but not the classical singers–graduate or undergraduate. </p>
<p>But I do agree with Bigdjp, we…self included, may be over thinking it and would be completely surprised if a school turned down an amazing student merely because of audition attire, but I guess stranger things have happened. </p>
<p>I don’t think based on my own experiences that with instrumental music what you wear matters that much, but it never hurts to dress up a bit. Not talking suit and tie, I remember when my son had auditions to get into the pre college prep program he was in, these kids wearing tuxedoes and gowns and such…I saw some of that with conservatory auditions, but mostly what kids wear is what they often call concert dress, which can be black pants and a black or white shirt, with or without a tie, for the girls dark pants and a blouse, or skirt and blouse, or a dress, but few if any wear gowns and such. I think you can’t go wrong with what music programs generally call concert dress, and more importantly, if you dress like that, it I can almost guarantee you won’t hurt you, and if that concern is taken away, it is one less pressure:).</p>
<p>I am not negating what Mezzo’s M said, voice is a different world than instrumental, and there from the little if know from friends of my son in VP, they are a lot more formal, even in auditions, so there the tux or gown could very well be important. Classical music has become a little more casual than that, but I don’t recommend jeans and a t shirt either. The other reason not to do that is wearing ‘comfortable clothing’ can put someone into a comfort zone, whereas many people associate ‘dressing up’ meaning ‘important situation’. Put it this way, at work I wear jeans and a dress shirt, but if I wear a suit (which generally is weddings, funerals and job interviews, 2 of three of which are not fun), it automatically in my mind means ‘different than the norm’, which is not a bad thing on an interview or an audition. I wouldn’t sweat it if you wear a tie or not, but concert attire is the way to go IMO.</p>
<p>No No No - No tux or gown for an audition. You will see it but No. It is an interview not a recital. Think business attire. You do not want to distract from your audition. As long as concert attire is not a tux or gown I would agree with musicprnt. Too often however concert attire is more formal. </p>
<p>Concert dress for my son is a tux with tails. He wears it 4 times per semester. No options it is required. </p>
<p>I am thinking jazz, though, and the fanciest that a drummer gets even for a concert is blacks slack and dress shirt (sleeves rollled up) with tie and dress shoes</p>