<p>My daughter is a HS violinist (senior) and will be a music performance major. She has completed her college/university auditions and will audition in late March for scholarships from two independent organizations. Her audition pieces lend themselves to a piano accompanist, but an accompanist is not required. My daughter did not use an accompanist for her admission auditions. Do you recommend an accompanist? Would it give her an advantage?</p>
<p>I think it would give her an advantage if playing with piano gets her in the kind of mindset that makes her perform at her best. Out of curiosity, what is she playing that needs piano? Sometimes having another person in the room calms me down, and other times it isn’t enough of a factor for me to pay for/meet with an accompanist.</p>
<p>I would lean towards having an accompanist. At entrance auditions that don’t require an accompanist, most students don’t have an accompanist so the playing field is level. As well, at college auditions, the violin faculty know exactly what they want and can hear it whether or not there is piano.</p>
<p>Without knowing the nature of the independent organizations and who is judging, it is difficult to give accurate advice. Some factors to consider:</p>
<p>Does you daughter feel that she plays better with accompaniment? Most good violinists will render a much more musically convincing performance when accompanied, but some student violinists that are not accustomed to performing with piano may find the accompaniment gets in their way. </p>
<p>Are the judges all violinists? If so, having accompaniment is less important. The violinist judges can discern talent and skill with or without accompaniment. Are there a variety of musicians/instruments/voices auditioning? If there is a variety of performers, then I would lean toward performing accompanied. All of the vocalists would probably have accompanists.</p>
<p>Is the audition local? If so, the logistics of getting your regular accompanist there are hopefully minimal. Are the scholarships substantial? If so, then the cost of the accompanist would be more easily justified.</p>
<p>Having an accompanist does send the scholarship panel the message that you care enough to give the best performance possible. Works written with accompaniment always sound best when they have their accompaniment.</p>
<p>You may want to contact the independent organizations and check on what percentage of auditioners do have accompanists. In some cases (particularly with auditions far from home), accompaniment is allowed, but almost no one brings an accompanist.</p>
<p>one very famous violin teacher told me that it seems that students aren’t serious when they don’t bring a pianist with them when its optional. but i guess it defers from teacher to teacher</p>