Hi,
I am auditioning for jazz at University of Michigan on Feb. 8 and after exchanging emails with the professor on my instrument, I learned he is going to be on tour in the UK during my audition.
Given that there is no other Professor for my instrument, does that mean I will be judged by graduate students? It’s a little frustrating as I am flying all the way to Michigan from California.
Has anyone else encountered a similar situation?
Thanks.
You would have to ask the school whether it is grad students, another professor at the school, or a professor for your instrument who is maybe covering, maybe a P/t one or something. It is also possible that the professor you mention will be reviewing the auditions. I have no idea. I would ask the school or the professor if you can, diplomatically.
@compmom thanks I’ll reach out to them.
Benny Green is not the only member of the UM jazz faculty. He’s not even the only jazz pianist on the faculty. While not as big a name, Ellen Rowe is actually also a fabulous jazz pianist. And amazingly, there are jazz faculty on other instruments who are capable of assessing a high school jazz pianist who is auditioning for the school’s jazz program. It’s been a few years, and UM is not one of the schools where my son applied, but my son’s auditions were generally judged by a panel of jazz faculty that included jazz musicians who played other instruments besides the piano.
If you want to call the school to get more details on their audition process, you should feel free, but I’d suggest that you avoid expressing any kind of attitude about not being auditioned by Benny Green. Remember the concept of humility. And unless the answer to your question has the potential to cause you to withdraw your application to UM, you might consider just preparing for the audition the best you can and playing the best you can in front of whatever panel the school chooses as its audition panel. Trust them to choose the audition panel that they think is right for assessing their applicants. And also understand that when a school has a big name touring musician like Benny Green on its faculty, you have to accept that he’s going to be on tour a fair amount.
When S auditioned at UM, Robert Hurst (bass) was on sabbatical. The substituting professor was there instead, along with Benny Green, and the jazz director (saxophone person). It was a great day. There was some jazz/orchestra combo rehearsal that night that we were invited to attend, and it was great - it featured Gary Burton.
EDIT: Actually, there was more. Not saying it happens every time. But, S felt the audition was going fine, but was not going far enough. So he said to the audition committee, “I can play the melody to Donna Lee at 220.” Instantly, one professor whips out his metronome app, and another whips out his phone to record video. They send the video to professor Hurst on the spot. The jazz guys at UM were just so supportive and ready to get into whatever the student could show. They were great.
jazzpianodad’s advice is wise. There may be a work study student on the phones at admissions who could answer your question without involving anyone else, but it is likely that your call will make no difference other than for your nerves, and you could come off as questioning their process if your call went further.
Your threads have shown a mix of confidence and anxiety. It is normal to be anxious for auditions! You are, I think, doing a little bit of “overthinking things” which is understandable.
As jazzpianodad said, try to relax and trust that the school has a good process in place. They want the best possible musicians in their program.
@jazzpianodad is absolutely correct. Your concern was valid…and luckily you got some good advice. I’m not knowledgeable about jazz nor Michigan but I will make a couple of comments that may be helpful in the future.
My D went to similar big school/big program (IU) Her teacher had back surgery and was gone for a semester and a former professor (recently retired) returned to take over her studio. It caused anxiety for my D but in the end a different perspective by another great teacher turned out to be good. At her school, you HAD to be with a professor (not grad student) with a weekly studio session and one-on-one time scheduled. It was a “requirement”…even if your teacher was gone. My D’s teacher did travel a bit (mainly long weekends) but she HAD to get the time in with each student and did. Also her teacher still had a lot of professional contacts…and some of those have paid off in getting into summer programs etc.
At my D’s grad school however (not a big school/big program), there was one teacher that was gone A LOT performing. She still keeps a busy performance schedule and honestly I don’t know how she runs a studio. I just googled her again and she has a website with 3 opera performances throughout the US from Jan - May! Since it’s not a big name school (and she is known) I think she is given leeway since it brings attn to a school that is trying to get a higher profile. My D inquired about her but was told she was not around much by the teacher she chose. That teacher was right. It would not have been a good fit despite her professional contacts (which she seems a bit too busy to share…my D tried). My D got a lot of attn but that teacher did not have a lot of professional contacts anymore…but her coach at an opera company made up for that (and that contact was another attraction to the school).
So BEFORE you enter a studio WITH a teacher who is still performing, you may want to google them to see their schedule and inquire of the administration what the requirements are for time with your studio professor just to assure yourself that you will get the time you want and need.
And, then be aware that there can be benefits to a teacher who is still performing…and sometimes working with other faculty and coaches can be fine depending on your personality, needs and expectations. So this post is simply food for thought as you continue with auditions, get offers and then decide on the best program and teacher for you.