Nov. 18-19 Auditions

<p>We were at the Nov. 19 auditions and I went to the morning Q/A session with Dean Belcik. Here is some of what he said. I was not taking notes, so others can chime in if they heard something different.</p>

<p>They will review about 600 applications for both voice and MT - with the vast majority being MT applicants, maybe 450 of these will be on campus auditions, the rest via DVD. They do not go to Unified as coming to the campus is the best way to assess students and introduce them to OCU. My son said 7 people were across the table during his voice audition.</p>

<p>The school has 7 voice teachers and they are at capacity right now, so admission will be granted to 40-45 depending on the number of graduating seniors. They do not have a set number of spaces for MT or Classical applications but grant admission based on talent and how they think the student will fit in at the school based on the application, recommendations. The school believes that “a classical voice” and training in classical is the best route to any career in music and that even MT students are expected to have a classical repertoire and that is why their graduates have so much success…so all the voice teachers have the same approach.</p>

<p>This not a BFA program - it is a different way into a musical theater career with a heavier emphasis learning music, composition, sight reading. A typical BFA in MT might have 24 hours of dance, OCU has 12. A typical BFA might have 2 semesters of music theory; OCU has 4. There are fewer behind the curtain courses as stagecraft, lighting and more liberal arts requirements elsewhere in the university. All the requirements are on the Bass School of Music website.</p>

<p>This was a very well organized and informative campus audition - it was especially nice they offered student-led campus tours and we didn’t have to sign up separately for this. </p>

<p>Based on data from prior years, they do know how many are likely to accept offers and how many of those come from the first weekend, so letters will go out within 4 weeks…even though students have until May 1 to accept
Good luck to all!</p>

<p>Thanks so much for the very helpful post. We were debating about OCU but reading this has helped jog my memory as to why we finally took it off our list. It sounds like an AWESOME program, but the fewer dance hours was a deal-breaker for my D!</p>

<p>Over the last few years their acceptances have come in a VERY thin letter sized envelope. I remember assuming it was a rejection. Just so you know…</p>

<p>Yes, it was a 2-page letter that arrived Friday - he did get admitted to MT with a talent award. So we are gratified that this school is now a real possibility.</p>

<p>Congrats to your son (and you!).</p>

<p>Congrats to your son my DD is graduating this Friday and while Oklahoma has its challenges this really is a superior school.</p>

<p>my D (EAM) also auditioned Nov 19th and was admitted to the MT program. i think our kids know each other from this past summer’s MT Intensive (July) . My D put together their FB community and a hs friend of hers was in June session. so she’s trying to pass along postings from Session I.</p>

<p>D keeps getting endless mailings from Santa Fe Art & Design. what is that school? we’ve never heard it in the MT powerhouse list, but my D loves SF. where else is your S auditioning? know anything re Coastal Carolina??</p>

<p>Don’t mean to hi-jack but i saw your question about Coastal…my D is a sophomore MT and absolutely loves it…she (and we) are very impressed with the training, faculty and opportunities that abound. Currently, composer Mark Hollman (Tony winner for Urinetown) is in residence while a new show of his is being produced by Coastal students…very exciting. It was done as a staged reading at CCU in the Spring and he was so pleased with the outcome, he decided to have them do it as the first fully produced show, before it moves to it’s first regional showing in Alaska in May… there are several posters on this forum that often report on CCU…and they too are from TX… AlexaMT and Austinmtmom…I am sure they would be happy to help also with any specific questions…good luck on this journey!</p>

<p>My turn to hijack a post! I noticed your comment about Mark Hollman bringing a regional show of his to Alaska in May and it caught my attention. I have an MT daughter and we live in Alaska, although she is attending school out of state at this time. However, she will be back in Alaska in May for the summer. Do you know if this show will be done in Anchorage, where we are? And if they need any last minute auditioners, I’m sure my daughter would like to know more about what the show is! She’s at Interlochen, a junior theatre major, 17. If there’s any chance she could find out more or be involved in helping with a show, this might be a great summer opportunity, as she’s planning on studying MT in college. Of course I’m assuming the show would be in our area, but it’s a HUGE state! Feel free to pass along any info you can…BTW, we LOVE Urinetown! D has performed in that show twice now, once as Hope at a high school here her freshman year, and then the following summer as Pennywise in OCU’s summer high school MT program! :)</p>