<p>Well GetrudeMcFuzz (love that name), my daughter had the same symptoms at her CCM audition and she got waitlisted. We were surprised by the waitlist because of the sickness but I think that they can actually hear through the sickness. I actually read that in an old post when I went searching for information on sick auditions. I wish I had known to take a cd but hey…Good luck. I think you may be surprised. I hope so!</p>
<p>@mymble, wow, I did not know that any colleges used sight-reading tests!</p>
<p>Thanks @Dradsmom - that is interesting & really, it can’t be that uncommon.</p>
<p>@glassharmonica - my D is very strong in sight-reading, she has worked very hard at it (not sure why, to tell you the truth, but obviously she knows something I don’t), but at 3 out of the 4 auditions where she was asked to sight read, she was accepted on the spot & was accepted to the 4th later. She had 2 auditions that did not involve sight-reading & has been “re-directed” by one (this was Westminster Choir College - she was not accepted to Vocal Performance, but was accepted for B.A. Music), and we will hear from the other (USC) later this week but are not super hopeful.</p>
<p>We had a theory that those schools not interested in sight-reading might be looking for “star quality”, whereas the other schools are looking for strong team members. My D is definitely in the second category & would not put herself in the first at all. Just a theory - we could be way off base on this. Would love to hear anyone else’s input.</p>
<p>Interesting-- my daughter has never been asked to sight-read in an audition! (And has never been accepted to anything on the spot, either.)</p>
<p>Several of the schools my S auditioned at had possible sight-reading listed as audition requirements, but nowhere was he actually asked to do so. On the other hand, there was a sight-reading requirement at a professional symphony audition he did, and they did actually include it in the semi-final round if my recollection is correct.</p>
<p>D had to sight read at FSU and Oberlin for Voice. Can’t remember which one, but they asked her to read the soprano line while they played it. She is a mezzo and sings alto in choir, so she naturally started harmonizing. The faculty stopped her and asked why, she laughed and said “oops, habit” and they cracked up and were impressed with her harmony. After that she sang the right part. </p>
<p>Perhaps this is a more of a voice thing - interesting. At D’s final audition, there were 6 choices for the sight-reading, in order from easiest to very difficult. They asked each auditioner to choose the most difficult one they thought they could do & perform it. D picked #6 & did pretty well, but tripped up on the last section & was silent for a few beats until hitting the final “Doe” with authority. This also cracked up the faculty.</p>
<p>I’ve heard from several violin performance applicants that Oberlin asks for sightreading, but I have no idea if that’s just a sometime thing. </p>
<p>Sight reading for VP applicants is not common but it will be required if the school has a choral requirement when it comes time for placement in an ensemble. It’s a skill that really comes in handy later on for church gigs or if one has to fill in on a different line when in rehearsal in an opera chorus. Undergrad programs are certainly not looking for “star quality” and unless the graduated program is very large, they are usually more concerned with forming a group that can fill the roles in an proposed opera. </p>
<p>It used to be possible to cut an ill VP student some slack in an audition, that is not the case anymore, at least not in top programs. It’s not because they don’t want to give the benefit of the doubt, but rather it’s a simple numbers game. Your kid is sick on audition day, but there are a hundred others who are not- they go with the known entity. Things were different even a few years ago but the applicant pool is so much larger now that things have shifted. Blame “Glee” and the various “_______'s Got Talent” shows and the Broadway shows aimed at young girls (Yes, I am looking at YOU, “Wicked”…).</p>
<p>@glassharmonica I’m fairly certain all the schools we auditioned at said it might be a possibility…and at #4 a friend of my D’s auditioning right before her was asked to and she was not ???- go figure, #5 was the only one where she actually was asked to and wouldn’t you know it was a weird one. Sight reading has never really been a problem…I don’t think she’d say she’s an expert by any means but she’s fine at read throughs etc…so as I say this was definitely a fluke- if it translates into a fluke that keeps her out…so be it…perhaps they feel they need something to differentiate between several players vying for one opening in a studio- who knows???</p>
<p>Oh and re the acceptance at audition- interesting thing is that while I was waiting for my D at that audition, the cello teacher came out and said the same thing to the young man who had just finished his audition ( and he did not do so for the other applicants going in and out) - it wasn’t a few minutes more and my D poked her head out and said she would be a few minutes more because the professor was coming out of the audition hall to talk to her - needless to say my D was floored…and I think we floated back to the hotel:) Of course you do wait on the university acceptance, so we had to come down to earth :)…and getting the acceptance the other day still felt as wonderful as if we hadn’t been given the heads up!</p>
<p>My D sight-read a piece at her Oberlin piano audition last year. It sounds like it is an Oberlin thing!</p>
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<p>My daughter always gets nervous about sightreading, but she’s actually quite good at it. We sing together in church choir and we sightread everything at rehearsal. </p>
<p>With instrumental music (violin), my son never had to sight read, of all the music schools he looked at or actually auditioned at, none did. It could be it is more common with voice, but I think that sigh reading is kind of like scales and etudes, they say you should be ready to play them, but rarely are asked for. Maybe they will use it when they want to see more from the student, but I don’t think it is all that common.</p>
<p>To add further to what BCviolin wrote, when my S auditioned at Colburn there was talk about that students who were getting in would get called back, and it wasn’t the information session, apparently (at least on violin) they would call people back to talk to them. My son wasn’t called back, yet he got in, and he spoke to friends of his who were going there, and they said none of them had been called back. From what we found out that day and later, that supposedly is used for the kids who are borderline. </p>
<p>The other thing about Colburn is while they don’t admit more than they have slots (again, I am talking violin, can’t talk about anything else), they do build a waitlist and from what we saw the year my S auditioned, they often do end up taking from that, at least for the teacher my S would have been studying with, I am such that varies year to year, so like everything else, it could fluctuate. </p>
<p>Berklee College of Music Audition - London - February 2014</p>
<p>My son applied to Berklee in mid-October for regular decision. Since Berklee was not coming to Rome (like they had in previous years) The closest audition place that worked around his IB schedule requirements was in London. We found an apartment with a piano via AirB&B so that we would not have to hunt for practice rooms (there are many in London) and he could practice as much as he wanted before the audition. He auditioned on piano with an original arrangement of a Jimmy Hendrix piece. </p>
<p>The audition took place at a recording studio near Kings Cross. The audition team was running late, so they suggested that my son and another boy go jam in a studio while the audition team grabbed some lunch. This was a terrific suggestion and certainly helped ease some nerves. </p>
<p>Everything we had read, every single person he spoke to, I spoke to, emphasized what a chill - even fun - thing the Berklee audition is. This was not my son’s experience. He found the audition to be quite intense and with almost no interaction or feedback. He played his piece and then when he was finished the audition-er immediately started playing his bass guitar for the improv part of the audition. Then there were some sight reading and call and response exercises. The interview part was much more relaxed. The entire process took about 2 hours. </p>
<p>Despite his worry that it was a tough audition, my son just received word early this morning that he has been offered a place at Berklee. </p>
Bumping this thread for those planning their auditions this season. Good luck to everyone!
Bumping this thread again for folks to read about last year’s auditions. A new thread has been started for 2015.
Can you give us an update? Was she accepted at Colburn?