Juliard Pre-College program! need advice!

College Majors Music Major
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<p>So I was thinking about auditioning for Juliard's pre-college program.
So far my repetoire includes:</p>

<p>Waterfall (a song my piano teacher wrote that's pretty)
Nocturne posthumous by Chopin (Should I play a more substantial work?)
Maybe Sonata K17 ( a number like that) by Mozart
A prelude and fugue by Bach.</p>

<p>I realize that Juliard is really hard to get into and that I would more than likely get rejected in the pre-screening. However, I would still like to try. Any advice at all would be great! </p>

<p>Another question: How long should my audition be?</p>

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<p>It is true the precollege program is competitive but really nowhere near the admissions of the collegiate level of the conservatory. At least three of the precollege programs admitted around 35-40% of applicants last year. Granted that wasn’t for piano but I wouldn’t give yourself such a slim chance from the get go. If you have an etude in your rep you should try to work that into your audition though. That’s my only advice. Good luck!</p>

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<p>“At least three of the precollege programs admitted around 35-40% of applicants last year.”</p>

<p>These numbers seem very high to me. Are you sure you mean Juilliard Precollege, or are you talking about pre-college programs in general?</p>

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<p>I likewise don’t know where the 35-45% number for the three pre college music programs came from (or which ones that covers, there are a lot of pre college programs, there are at least 3 in NYC that I am aware of, and I believe CIM and SF and Rice have pre college programs and I am sure there are more then a few others, and programs are not all equal in terms of level). </p>

<p>The percent getting in varies, as it does for college programs, it depends on how many slots they have open (basically how many kids have graduated generally determines open slots), and the percent admitted depends on how many apply. With Juilliard on Piano, the number I heard a couple of years ago was 140 kids sent in pre screening applications, 40 were chosen to live audition and I believe 15 or so got in that year…and it is similar for violin and cello. I doubt the rate is all that much better for other instruments, though it does vary and if you consder that on wind instruments they may only admit a couple of kids a year or so and they probably get a number applying, it isn’t going to be much better. One year on violin they had over 100 kids applying and took 6 or 7 (was a particularly tight year).</p>

<p>And the level is incredibly high, a lot of the kids coming in are already at a very high level (are they at the level of kids getting to Juilliard the conservatory? For the most part, no…but many of them might already be at the level of entrants to music schools at a lower level). They have kids coming from all over the world, especially from Asia, and they tend to be very, very good. </p>

<p>Best bet for your repertoire is the check the Juilliard pre college web site, the required rep is usually by age level, it will at least give you an idea. </p>

<p>I would agree with musicmom in the sense that it doesn’t hurt to try even if the chances are slim, every thing you do is a learning experience. I am pretty sure that more then a few of the kids in the program had to do more then 1 audition to get in, so it isn’t uncommon to fail 1 or more times. </p>

<p>One thing that seems useful might be, as with college admissions, to contact a teacher on the pre college faculty and ask for an evaluation/lesson, to see where you are. They know what it takes to get past the pre screening and audition in terms of repertoire and level of playing…that also I would guess could lead to studying privately with the teacher, which might help increase chances of getting in there (prob wouldn’t guarantee anything, and kids get in there I hear without studying with a teacher there first, just a thought).</p>

<p>There also are other pre college programs in NYC, Mannes and MSM have programs (I think Queens college does as well), one of those might work if you want the experience of a pre college program)</p>

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<p>I am so sorry! I intended to give those statistics (35-40%) about the pre-screening. Those were statistics from three seperate families we know that had kids audition.</p>

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<p>Musicmom-</p>

<p>That tallies with what I have heard with pre screen at the top pre college programs. I can’t blame them, they used to do auditions over a couple of days and could see more then 100 kids from what I know. I wouldn’t want to be the kid who is one of the last auditionees in that scenario, would suspect the panel would be grumpy:)</p>

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<p>Actually, there was a long, interesting article in the NYT Magazine this summer about the stresses of decision making. One study cited was about parole hearings (I think in Israel). The findings were that petitioners whose reviews were right before a break fared much worse than those who petitioned right after a break. It does not take much of a mental leap from a parole hearing to an entrance audition. I am pretty sure my kid has both suffered and benefited from her randomly drawn placement in these events. I have personally witnessed grouchy, hungry judges who are sick and tired after listening to dozens of kids with no break. My daughter has also suffered from drawing the earliest audition. On more than one occasion she auditioned for something important before the whole panel had even arrived (I watched the latecomers lingering outside so as not to walk in and interrupt the audition they were missing.) You can’t really do anything about these unlucky circumstances; it just is.</p>