<p>Hello! I had an audition at the Blair School of Music a bit ago, and I had a few questions that I was hoping somebody would be able to answer! For starters, the vocalists were asked to prepare three specific types of pieces. When I went in for my audition, they asked what pieces I was doing so I listed them in order, and then they only had me do my first two (leaving out my last- and therefore assumably and truthfully my best- piece). They then had me sightread piano which went very well, and then asked if I had any questions. We chatted for a little bit, and I think (and hope!) they seemed interested in me as an applicant. The audition itself went very well, but is it a normal thing to cut people off after two pieces? They were even running ahead of schedule by 15 minutes, so I don't think it was a timing thing! I haven't had this happen at any other place I've auditioned at, so I just wanted to be sure it wasn't a big deal or anything.</p>
<p>And also - I heard that Vanderbilt's application is "two-fold" when auditioning for Blair: you get one master decision about getting into Vanderbilt, not one into Blair and one into the main school. Does anyone know how much weight the music admissions/faculty will have in this admissions process, especially considering I will be going in as a music major? I am within the Vanderbilt range for overall stats of accepted students, but I fall a little on the lower end with a 30 ACT and about a 3.65 GPA (around top 10%-15% in my class, my high school doesn't really rank, but that is what my counselor estimated).</p>
<p>So basically I'm asking: is it a good or bad sign that they cut me off, (or does it not matter), and if it turns out I did have a really good audition, will that significantly help me get into the school as a whole? I love Vanderbilt and am really hoping for a happy letter in April!</p>
<p>It can be either good or bad. Basically it means that the panel believes that they have heard enough to form an opinion. Lots of times the panel will ask the applicant to choose the first selection and then they will choose from there. It makes good sense to start with your best piece, both from the standpoint of making the best possible first impression and so that you are sure that you will be able to perform your best piece.</p>
<p>I was interested in Vanderbilt, until I visited of course. Basically when I asked even if you are a prodigy with music but had less than stellar grades you would not be admitted. but your sound like you’re in good shape either way. and cutting you off can mean they heard enough of you to make a decision, or it means nothing.</p>
<p>EmJN15, what you describe is not at all out of the ordinary and not a cause for concern. My daughter, an undergrad voice performance applicant, auditioned at 7 schools and was never asked to sing all of her prepared songs except at the one school that required only 2 songs. At the other schools, if they asked for 3 prepared songs they had her sing 2 of them and if they required 4 songs they had her sing 3 (at one school) or only 2 (at the other 2 schools). This was the case for all of the other voice auditionees that we spoke to at those schools so it was standard procedure. At two of her auditions they had her sing one song all the way through and the second only partially. While she found that disconcerting, she found out from talking to others that they were doing this with all of them. So you definitely have no reason to worry. Usually they let you choose which song to sing first, so you should always pick your best one first. After that, the panel chooses which other song(s) they want you to sing and as noted above you may not get to sing all of your songs, so if there is one that you really want to be sure they hear you should sing that one first when you get to choose. I hope you find this information reassuring. Perhaps others have had different experiences.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone else. Different things happen at different auditions, you really can’t infer anything. At one of my son’s auditions they had him perform his second piece out of order (the last couple of pages first, then the first two pages). </p>
<p>At another audition he played his first piece, then they only asked him to play the last two pages of his second piece. He recieved his acceptance letter a week later, and a scholarship offer the next (actually 4 stipends for playing in 4 different ensembles).</p>
<p>His last audition he was cut off half way through the first piece and played the second piece in it’s entiriety.</p>