vocal performance-how in increase chances of acceptance

College Majors Music Major
1

Hello,

I am new to the forum and I have a daughter who has been playing piano since she was 4 and taking voice since she was 9
She switched from a mostly musical theater emphasis to classical voice last year. She is 15 and a sophomore. She is in the school choir and studying German as her LOTE. She takes an hour of voice and piano each week. .She also still performs in musical theater and is in her school choir. She is also taking honors classes and has gotten straight As since middle school. I am wondering what else she can do to increase her chances of being accepted to a vocal performance program? Is the audition the end all to be all or are other things considered? Also how good is good enough? In other words, they are obviously going to college to learn to improve their skills, but are most of the kids she will be competing against prodigies?. I guess I am just wondering how good is good enough?

2

Relationships are essential. Doing well at her local school and taking lessons will build her skills

To step up to the next level and interact with kids like her it is key to participate in major summer programs if at all possible. Network with the faculty and meet the key players she wants to study with. Experience what it is like to immerse in music for 6 weeks in a row with kids that share her passion and dedication.

Visit schools and have lessons with the faculty as well.

Much better to come into an audition to see a familiar face than being a face in the crowd and just another unknown applicant.

3

Great advise! Thanks. I just starteGreat advice! Thanks. I just started corresponding with some of the teachers from the local vocal performance programs to arrange lessons here and there as we can. Can you recommend some summer programs? Should she start next summer (before her junior year) or wait until the summer before her senior year?

4

In the big world of classical voice, she is still really young. It’s an long haul and the very best thing you can do right now is find a teacher who does not push her too hard and keeps her voice healthy. Take her to concerts, recitals, operas and encourage her to LISTEN. That way by the time she is ready to audition she should be able to converse intelligently about the field she wants to go into.

5

Are these kids prodigies? No, for vocalists. I think there are prodigies in the instrumental area. In voice, you can have talent, technique, a beautiful sound…but a prodigy that can do it all at 18 … I’ve never seen it since the instrument is inside the body and isn’t ready for development until about 14 - 15.

How do you determine good enough? Talk with her teachers. They should help guide you on the best schools for her. If they can’t you will want to look for teachers that can. It sounds like you are doing this…and you have to have faith in their responses and go from there.

As for additional programs, again go to teachers and faculty at local programs for advice.

For what its worth, my D did not do summer programs (I think it’s essential for instrumentalist but vocalists don’t always do it - most are only getting serious about VP in late high school - still most do perform in MT and choir in high school which is a good foundation). However we live in a city so she was able to attend a separate music school on Saturdays that did prep for VP and MT during the year. So she had that experience. She also did a lot of theatre in the summer. She was not sold on VP until after college auditions. So…she did what she loved during the summer, theatre.

She also never met college teachers prior. Maybe a mistake but it didn’t hurt her. She did fine in college auditions.

And yes, the audition is king. She wants to do well in classes so she presents herself well on paper…still at most schools it is the audition that determines entry.

6

Thank you Musica and Bridgenail. I really appreciate any and all advice right now. I am glad to hear that in terms of classical voice, she is still young. I know in terms of opera she is but in terms of getting into a school, this helps me relax a bit. Her teacher is taking slowly with her. She is in choir daily and she practices about 30-45 minutes per day/5 days.
. I helps to know that staying in MT is helpful. She does about 3 per year.

7

VP are late bloomers compared to instrumentalist. 10th grade is a good time to start looking at summer programs as they can be a great way to see how you like being immersed in the world of VP
It is also a way to get some other opinions on how you are doing. Florida St and Oberlin have 1-2 week programs. Interlochen has 6-8 week programs. Do a search for summer programs at the nearest college and you probably will find something. My D went to a camp every summer in high school and she started doing competitions in 10th grade. Her private teacher sent her to the camps and competitions as a way to get feedback and to let my D see (listen) to others and see if it was what she wanted to do. I think in the end, it really helped with college auditions because she was used to singing in front of judges.

8

.Competitions are a great idea. Not only do you get audition practice but you can see where you stand in the talent pool. And many competitions, such as NATS, come with advice and observations from the adjudicators.

9

Local competitions are a good way of getting used to singing in front of a panel of adjudicators, as has already been stated here. In some areas, they are extremely political, so they are always to be taken with a grain of salt but your daughter should be out there doing those several times a year at this point.
Summer programs are completely unnecessary for young singers- it’s very difficult for youngsters to have the courage to say “no” when something is wrong for them- and I’ve seen kids come back with damage from singing too much, too long and improper repertoire. Now a summer intensive language program, that’s a great idea!
Your daughter has time, don’t rush it. Even practicing 45 minutes/day now is pushing it if she is singing in school during the day and rehearsing show too. She can ease off during those times so don’t risk damage now. It’s a much different world for the singers than it is for the instrumentalists, so don’t let her compare herself to their timeline; singers “instruments” are intrinsic, and if damaged are difficult if not impossible to repair, so they must be brought along much more slowly. Your daughter is on the right track now, hang out here and keep asking questions!

10

Right-- do competitions not to win but for an opportunity to perform before adjudicators.

11

Just to clarify on summer programs. For us, we live in a very small town. Private teacher was 45 min away. Nearest college with a VP/opera program is 2 hours away. One small “opera company” 2 hours away. No other kids in town interested in VP. Get the idea? D wanted to know more about VP, be around other VP interested kids, etc. If you can get that in your town, then you may not need a summer camp. She received good feedback from camp faculty. “You have a good teacher. Your are singing the correct rep” etc. This was comforting to know that we were at least on the right track, because we knew absolutely nothing about VP. Until 10th grade music was just a hobby for her.

Piano lessons are also a good idea. VP’s may have piano as a required class in college. My D had 9 years of piano and tested out. Her fellow VP now taking class piano wish they had taken it in high school.

12

It IS A long haul with Vocal Performance. Based on the experiences of my now Senior in college daughter, here is my two cents:

If she isn’t studying with someone that is a more classical concentration, you might want to look. As you get closer to auditions senior year, you are going to want to be working with someone that knows what “they” are looking for at auditions and can help with the right music selection, and solid presentation. Which brings me to my second thought.

Summer Programs - these have been HUGE in so many ways for my daughter. This is where not only do they meet other kids doing the same thing, but also professors, administrators and others in the world of classical voice. It starts the network for them, and it is invaluable later for recommendations and being “known”.

The first one she did in between sophomore and Junior year helped her (and us) see that doing music all day was something that she wanted. That year she did Boston Conservatory Vocal Choral Intensive 2 week program and loved it, met many people and loved being with folks that loved singing. And you can’t beat Boston for an awesome city.

The next year she did Tanglewood, between Junior and Senior year. This was the best experience, she loved every minute of it. They see incredibly talented singers in concert the whole summer, attend classes, work on scenes, have lessons, it was amazing. And, she met professors who wrote her college recommendations and ultimately recommended teachers at the schools she was applying to. With the guidance of one of the teachers/administrators of Tanglewood, my daughter tried and decided to work with someone that has brought her to the best place with her voice. Without that recommendation, she really may not have chosen him. It was also at Tanglewood that she met a teacher that was moving to our area to be the Choral/music director at a nearby performing arts highschool. She changed to this lady for her lessons her senior year. she guided her and helped her prepare for her auditions as she knew exactly what the schools are currently looking for as she had just finished her doctorate. What was really neat was that we saw so many of the kids that she went to Tanglewood with at auditions all Winter. So fun to actually know people and feel more comfortable.

Between Senior year and her freshman year of college we took a break, no program that year.

Between Freshman and Sophomore year, she did Harrower Opera Workshop in Atlanta, where she had a major role in one of the operas they did there. She met quite a few folks that she still keeps in touch with now. That role has helped her and had songs that she is still performing today as needed.

Between Sophomore and Junior college years she attended Opera on the Avalon in Newfoundland, Canada. This was a great experience where she met many people a few years ahead of her in their careers and also made some great professional connections. She got some valuable stories from these graduate students about their experiences, schools etc. These were invaluable for recommendations for the summer program she did this year.

This summer, she did Aspen summer program, where she was a cover for a role. Unfortunately for the person that was originally to be the role, they injured their voice and my daughter found herself performing a role in an opera at Aspen at 20. She made so many contacts this summer. She received incredible advice and feedback all summer long.

At the end of the day, can you do vocal performance without doing summer programs? Yes, but your road will be different and probably harder to get the contacts and exposure you will need. Building your name and hard working reputation is essential even in college, and the summer programs allow you to do that while building your network of contacts.

One thing, Summer programs can be expensive, but they do have need based scholarship and merit scholarship as well. I saw college students doing fundraisers to help pay for their summer programs which is always a great thing.

That is our experience. My daughter is getting ready for graduate school auditions this year, so we’ll see where we go from here!

13

My daughter attended a summer institute at Ithaca prior to junior year and the U Michigan vocal arts institute prior to senior year. In addition to meeting other kids who share her enthusiasm for classical voice (she was so happy for this experience in itself!), she had an opportunity to work with the faculty and have a mini-college experience (theory and conducting classes, master classes, and life in a dorm). This framework has been tremendously helpful in sorting out which schools she will apply to for college. She was taught good technique at both places, and came home with improved technique and self-confidence. Just find a good program (especially recommend Ithaca!).

14

I agree with others suggestions, getting a feel for teachers out there with summer programs, competitions as practice, all make sense. Voice is a long haul process that is different than instruments, if they did with young singers that they do with instrumental students, they would end up with someone with a destroyed voice (Korean and Chinese music programs have tried that with voice, pushing kids early, and they produced …kids with ruined voices, and there are idiots all over who do that, too). I think actually it is great the the vocal facilities develop slowly, I am not a big fan of the way instrumental music works these days, for a number of reasons. One of the dark sides of musical “prodigies”, the really young kids who get pushed out there very young, is that they end up having problems, many of them play by instinct rather than learning, and they often lose their ability when they hit their teen years and later (I personally suspect Sarah Chang the violinist is going through that, big time, after hearing her play a year or so ago). There are young musicians who by the time they are 18 are quite accomplished, but they aren’t prodigies, the ones who make it have been taught properly and learned to play the instrument by learning the basics, going through the progression, not putting a 9 year old out there playing the Beethoven violin concerto on some tv program because the kid had some natural instincts to do it, there really are no prodigies, there are only young musicians who excel at a relatively early age, not a circus act.

15

Reputable Summer programs that foster vocal health, good habits & offer incredible opportunities are out there.
Unnecessary? Maybe in some opinions, but I know my D has made wonderful connections with teachers and peers at Oberlin Summer vocal academy, WNO Opera Institute & Tangelwood. Next Summer before she starts college/conservatory ( TBA!) she’ll be in Nice, France @ academie-Internationale.
My D goes to a performing arts HS and a very reputable precollege here in NYC. She is immersed in classical VP education 6 days a week, but her summer programs are so important to
her.