<p>I have been taking choir at my school for three years, have done the District Choir, acapella, private concerts, that kind of stuff. I performed in Carnegie Hall in 8th grade along with my state choir in an actual symphonic performance, not a competition. </p>
<p>I am a Tenor 1, my range goes up to a B-B# right under the Tenor C. I am also a counter tenor, and my falsetto is very strong, big, and focused. The timbre of my falsetto is that of a soprano. My range on that goes up to a D above the Soprano C.</p>
<p>I am very involved in schools with extra-curriculars and whatnot, and I will be a senior next year. How much should I train my countertenor, and how much will this help me? Keep in mind, I have no intention of being a music major/minor, but will most likely be in the chorus and an acapella group.</p>
<p>If you are not going to be a music major at a school with an active early music program, I do not think it will give you any advantage at all in terms of admissions. Once admitted to a college, you should have no problem finding a male acappella group that will be glad to have you as long as you can sing in tune and with some control up there.</p>
<p>If he has power and accuracy, wouldn’t opera programs also be interested in him for trouser roles that are normally given to tall mezzos?</p>
<p>Possibly, but even if the music department has some pull with admissions, how much are they going to be willing to use it for a highly specialized singer who is not even going to be a music major? While the music department may or may not take the time to listen to a supplemental CD, they most likely are not going to schedule a pre-admission audition for a non-major. I think that this is another case where the OP might find interest at casting time if non-majors are allowed to audition, but I doubt that there will be any influence exerted on his behalf to get into the school in the first place.</p>
<p>Don, stop, don’t give those roles away! There are so few really good roles for mezzos that the mere thought of one going to a male who isn’t even going to major in music raises hackles in our home. And that goes for the Alto solo in The Messiah too! And, having seen Frederica von Stade, Ann Sophie von Otter and Susan Graham as Octavian and Cherubino, my vote goes to the 5’5" Flicka over the 6’ ladies!)
In all reality, a counter tenor is not going to be of use in a general choral group- a tenor, yes, counter tenor, no. All of that goes out the window if you manage to find a group which specializes in early music, since women were not permitted to sing in churches when the pieces were written- so if the OP is really interested in making use of counter-tenor abilities, I would advise scoping out the city near the college he has chosen to see if there is an active early music choral group in which he could participate.</p>
<p>It’s not necessarily that I’m “highly specialized,” as I am a true and blue first tenor with the unmistakable vocal timbre of a tenor 1. It’s just that along with that, I also have a thick countertenor, and can sing past the soprano C. I just want to know if this countertenor will give me an extra bonus along with my first tenor.</p>
<p>There are two questions to address here:</p>
<p>1) Will your particular voice get you any sort of preferred treatment for admissions? As I have already said, probably not. In order for your voice to function as a hook, you need to have someone on the other end pulling for you. It is not likely to be anyone in the music department if you are not going to be a music major, unless you can demonstrate to them that you are so extraordinarily talented that you are worth having around as a soloist for highly specialized roles even though you are not a major. When they already have more female voice majors than roles to put them in, asking them to give a non-major male one of those few roles that can swing either way is not likely to generate a lot of enthusiasm. The schools that are most interested in historical performance practices are the very ones that attract countertenors who want to be music majors.</p>
<p>Consider the reaction of the general public the first time they hear a countertenor or male soprano. Unless you happen to connect with an admissions officer who is an early music or acappella fan, you probably should not expect a lot of support from that quarter. Who else is going to stand up for you when admissions decisions are being made?</p>
<p>2) Will your voice attract interest from ensembles that hold open auditions once you are on campus? Most definitely. Good first tenors can always find a group to sing with. The added bit at the top of your range will give you an added bonus, but most likely only in rather specialized ensembles like early music groups and all-male acappella groups. It will not be of much importance to a chorus that performs mostly mainstream classical music. Still, the latter would probably be happy to have a good first tenor regardless of whether or not he can also cover alto and most soprano parts.</p>
<p>But I can still be in the university chorus even though I’m not a music major, correct? So couldn’t I get support from the faculty if I send in tapes and delineate my intent of joining the chorus?</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some have a chorus that is either all or mostly all voice majors. Those schools generally have a second chorus that is open to anyone. Other schools have groups that are open to everyone. </p>
<p>You may get some support based on a tape, but not as much as the intended voice majors who are doing live auditions. The music department is going to take care of its own students before using what limited pull it may have with admissions for a non-major unless you are spectacularly good.</p>
<p>From what I have seen this past year, choruses that are open to the “public” (not music majors) hold auditions, or just ask you to show up, after classes are up and running. If the university has an active orientation period before the first day of classes, they may have a table or booth at the general activities gathering. You should try to find out when/where and make contact with the group at that time. If you are not going to major in music, sending in recordings etc. will get you nowhere as far as admission, since it is considered an extra-curricular activity and those are not handled by admissions officers. I
It would be the same as if you wanted to join the campus newspaper staff- trying to get in touch with the staff in advance of being admitted and actually being on campus wouldn’t gain anything. If this is very important to you, as it sounds, take a close look at the schools’ web sites and ask questions when you do your campus visits. Almost all colleges have a chorus, maybe multiples as BassDad has told you, so it would not be out of line for you to make inquiries during the admissions process.
Just as an example, CIM, as a conservatory, does not have a choral requirement, and thus doesn’t even have a group within the music school itself, but Case Western does have an active chorus which is open to all students, music majors from CIM and all on the Case side of the school. Eastman has 4 ensembles under the umbrella of the music school, but only the Women’s Chorus is open to non-music majors, while the Repertory Singers are restricted to only certain majors within the conservatory.The students attending the University of Rochester have several other vocal music ensembles available to them, and those even spill over to create special interest floors in the dorms! I posted this so you, cherrypicker, can see that even though you don’t want to major in music, schools can give you widely varying amounts of involvement, so you’re going to have to do some research to find the place that suits you best.</p>