I have been reading here for months, but this is my first post today. Our daughter will be applying to a few dual degree programs in voice, but she is primarily looking at liberal arts schools. We are going through the submission requirements for all of her schools and noticed some of the liberal arts schools seem to want audio only files, rather than video files. This surprised me a bit and I am curious if this is often the case. Sometimes the language is a bit vague, but at least in a couple cases, they seem to clearly ask for audio files.
And Yale writes" Yale College does not conduct musical auditions for applicants. Music faculty members will review selected audio recordings or scores from advanced musicians, whether or not they wish to major in music as undergraduates." https://yalemusic.yale.edu/undergraduate/supplementary-materials-admission
Of course this is not a problem. I have figured out how to separate the audio from a video file, but I guess I am a bit surprised. I thought that everyone submits videos these days. We may reach out to the colleges just to confirm we are submitting the correct format. Slideroom will take either audio or video files, but we don’t want to submit video if they are asking for audio only.
We will read each college’s carefully to make sure we are submitting exactly what they have asked for. Is it common for colleges to not accept or at least discourage submission of video recordings?
Many thanks!
That’s the bottom line. The college wants what it wants, and it is not standard across colleges. If they are unclear, one can certainly contact them to clarify. From my own experience a few years ago, it was across the board - some wanted audio, some wanted video; some wanted a digital file, some wanted a CD/DVD. Give them what they ask for and don’t give them something they state they don’t want.
Audio is blind so they may prefer that. Videos show race and gender, for instance. And audio means focus can be only on the music. For many reasons, I think audio makes sense in this context. But sure, ask if you are not certain.
It’s very common that the colleges ask for audio only, and why not? That’s plenty sufficient without all the distractions. I’ve seen a violinist performing, for instance, and I don’t know whether the violinist was also a ballet dancer or not while playing the violin. An audio file is really blind, and I actually like this method the best. Do as what each college says, and you’ll be fine.
For the OP, even though what everyone above says is true regarding “blind”/audio only instrumental auditions, I agree that this seems a bit strange in voice. Generally, vocal auditions are required to have video, because vocalists are singing actors (and thus must be seen, and cast appropriately); also, much regarding vocal technique can be seen on a video (breathing, posture, etc.). In this way, voice is different from instrumental music. I’m guessing that the music supplements are standardized at most LACs, so that is why you are running into this! Personally, I might email the music department or a member of the vocal faculty (perhaps the vocal department head ) to make sure they would actually prefer an audio only recording. Just my 2 cents!