Music Audition

So a few weeks ago, I had an audition as a violin performance major. Now that I think about it, I think I may have announced that I would play Bach Partita No. 1 when I meant Bach Sonata No. 1. How will this affect my audition? Is it like an immediate disqualifier?

Also, this school had us give a repertoire list and on it, I said that my audition repertoire was Bach Sonata No. 1, but when they verbally asked, I accidentally said Bach Partita No. 1.

Some schools are very chill about rep changes. At least that’s what we’ve learned (my kid is a vocalist). Others are not. Especially when there is a pianist involved who needs to learn the accompanying music. Personally, I would just write the department admissions person (or whomever you have as a contact) a charming email and let them know your mistake (it won’t make you look bad!) and ask your question. That’s what they are there for!

MedKey - There is NOTHING to worry about. Do NOT write an email to the admissions department. Every audition judge in the room that happened to be paying extremely close attention to your every move will know what happened - you slipped and said the wrong word. They will have known immediately what you were playing without even glancing at your listed auditioned rep. My guess is that many didn’t even notice you said “partita” when you meant “sonata”. (They will, on the other hand, be judging the quality of the sonata you performed!)

@Momofsingers - the Bach violin partitas and sonatas are unaccompanied, absolutely standard and frequently required audition repertoire. This was not a repertoire change on the OP’s part - he simply slipped and said the wrong word in the heat of the audition moment when announcing his next work. NOT a problem.

Agreed. It was a simple slip. An audition panel is for you…not against you. They were all young once and made small errors too. It is highly unlikely it would matter. Let it go.

As @Musicaspirant said, it was a trivial slip and I believe that the panel will not care about it - they’ve probably forgotten about it by the end of the 10 or so minutes you were on stage. What matters to them is what followed those words, and as long as you did well there you will be fine.

If they actually disqualify you for that slip, I would be pissed and think twice about attending the school.

Alright thank you so much. I thought they would think like “wow this guy doesn’t even know what he is playing”.

It’s more likely (if they even caught it) that one panel member thought: “lol I do that exact same thing when I’m teaching Bach.” Really…no one’s perfect.

String parent here - definitely would not spend another minute worrying about it. If they liked your playing and feel you are a good fit for the school, that won’t matter one bit. Besides, if I understand correctly, you played exactly what was on your audition rep list! Bringing further attention to it would make you look silly.

Thank you all.