<p>I'm going to audition for CWU in January, and I don't want to mess anything up cause I want to get in with some scholarships. I have to sing 2 classical songs.</p>
<p>Things I don't know::: How long is each song supposed to last? I want to do Ave Maria (Schubert) but its like 6 minutes. So idk.</p>
<p>If that's too long I was thinking instead of doing Ave Maria by Caccini. It's soo pretty. But I'm not sure if it would make me look very good, because it's really easy, except for all the parts that need a lot of breath support.</p>
<p>Should I expect the accompanist to be really good at playing, should I use songs that look easier for the pianist to play?</p>
<p>Oh, and for my second song, I think I'm doing Panis Angelicus :)</p>
Don’t worry about the length of a song. While vocalists will more often get to perform entire songs, it is common in music auditions to only perform an excerpt or excerpts of a movement with the auditioning panel telling you when to stop or start; in fact, for pianists and violinists at better schools rarely is a full movement performed.</p>
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<li><p>Most accompanists that schools provide for auditions are excellent (but there are exceptions; usually the exceptions are the ones that don’t get an appropriate tempo–if that happens, just politely stop the accompanist during the introduction and give them an indication of the appropriate tempo–that is not a big deal, and as long as you do it with tact, grace, poise, and confidence, it will only reflect positively on you; but again, that is rare, so I wouldn’t worry about it). The vocal repertoire’s piano accompaniments (especially the kind of songs you have mentioned) is very easy for any decent pianist to sight-read. Instrumentalists playing obscure atonal multi-metre 20th century works are advised to check out their accompanist in advance, but with your type of repertoire, most accompanists could play it in their sleep with at least one hand tied behind their back.</p></li>
<li><p>Most schools want contrasting songs. Your Schubert and Franck are not very contrasting: a) both are in Latin (why not choose one song in German, Italian, French, or even English); b) both are sacred and very serious (choose something secular and possibly lighter for your second song–perhaps a lied, an early Italian song, or a 20th century song by an American or British composer); c) both are quite slow; d) both are from the Romantic period (although the Schubert is early Romantic and the Franck late Romantic, so it could be worse). </p></li>
<li><p>I am left wondering if you are taking private lessons from a knowledgeable voice teacher or if your teacher has had any input into your audition selections. If you don’t have a good teacher that regularly prepares students for college auditions, then you should get one. If you do have a good teacher, then they will be in the best position to advise you on your repertoire. Ultimately the repertoire needs to be appropriate for your particular voice and needs to make your strengths obvious. </p></li>
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<p>Best of luck with your preparation and your audition!</p>
<p>What about your high school choral teacher? Perhaps that person could give you some suggestions. I’m surprised there are NO voice teachers anywhere near where you live.</p>
<p>Even if you can schedule a few lessons between now and January with a good teacher in a nearby city that could be extremely helpful. If there are many scholarship dollars at risk, then it would be a worthwhile investment of time and money.</p>
<p>If you are really even considering a vocal performance major, get yourself a TEACHER, even if you have to drive some distance and can only get there every two weeks or so. The voice is a “living” instrument, and is easy to damage and you may be singing things that are not proper for your voice type. Not having a teacher also puts you at a huge disadvantage when it comes to auditioning, because you are not familiar with the required repertoire, including selection, languages, diction, etc.
Your choir teacher at school should at least be able to point you towards someone to help you prepare for the auditions, or call the nearest college with a music department and see if they can suggest a teacher on faculty who may take “outside” students.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Msalyss - sounds like you’re a soprano. I’d suggest getting “The First Book of Soprano Solos” edited by Boytim. Then, sit down with the book, and You Tube the songs while you’re reading the music. That will give you a feel for a range of different song types, composers, languages, etc. Bring it to your choir director. Also, do you attend a church/temple/house of worship? The choir directors there are usually willing to work with students. When my D was in middle school, I gave her music that I thought was appropriate because we didn’t think there were any instructors in the area. She sang classic songs, decently. BUT - we got serious her freshman year and found her a good teacher who’d been around all along. The difference in her voice just that first year was incredible. Later we found out that almost all the teachers at the local schools moonlighted giving private vocal instruction. They weren’t allowed to advertise at the school - you had to ask THEM. So - go order, go ask, and good luck!</p>
<p>From the CWU Website – For Voice Students Pursuing a Performance Degree
If you would like to audition for admission to the BM in Performance, we recommend preparing and performing pieces that best demonstrate your current skills. We suggest only that you choose carefully so as to present what you do well, not what you have yet to learn. If you have any questions about audition repertoire, please email Dr. Gayla Blaisdell or phone 509-963-1216. [Central</a> Washington University - Music: Audition Information](<a href=“http://www.cwu.edu/~music/voice/voiceauditions.html]Central”>http://www.cwu.edu/~music/voice/voiceauditions.html)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I’ve decided I’m going to do Schwesterlein and Panis Angelicus.</p>
<p>I just thought of one more thing, that has nothing to do with repretoire, but my mom has to drive me (I don’t have a car yet) so what is going to happen when we get there? Are they going to let her in or do you think she’ll have to wait in the car?</p>
<p>There will be plenty of parents there. Parents aren’t usually invited into the audition itself, but most likely there will be a waiting room or lobby or hallway with chairs that your mom can wait in.</p>
<p>There will probably also be an information session that the parents will be invited to sit in on, possibly coffee and snacks, etc. Neither you nor your mom should feel at all uncomfortable that she’s there.</p>
<p>Almost all high school auditioners have a parent or other person with them. I believe that it is relatively rare for a high school student to do an out-of-town audition on their own. The parent can provide moral support, help with directions, and let you focus on doing your best at your audition. They take care of your belongings (i.e. backpack/bag lunch/laptop/change of clothes etc.) that you don’t take into the audition room.</p>
<p>Be certain to take a change of clothes. I assume that you are driving a long distance, so you will want to wear some comfortable clothes in the car and then change into something somewhat dressier for the audition. Vocalists tend to dress up more for their auditions than instrumentalists. While I suspect that CWU audition dress may be somewhat less formal than some other schools, you still need to think of the audition as a performance.</p>