Skyping my way through a choir audition

Comments

1. John Howell says

   June 9, 2011 at 11:45 am

   Philip:  My daughter uses Skype quite a bit, although not for this particular use.  I have yet to figure it out!  But using something that’s probably similar my son-in-law is able to take over my computer from NYC and help me solve problems I’ve gotten into in SW Virginia!!

    

   But to answer your question, I do think it depends entirely on what you are looking for.  You describe what I would call a fairly typical audition for a traditional choral ensemble, and I can see the value for that.  During the years when I was auditioning for a very demanding show ensemble, on the other hand, I was looking for a much wider variety of elements, each of which and all of which would affect a candidate’s success or lack of success in the ensemble, and personality and attitude were two very important factors.  It would seem that the very unusualness of an on-line audition would tend to inhibit some auditioners and prevent them from showing themselves at their best.

    

   I’m kind of surprised that an incoming student would not attend orientation until the day before classes begin.  (And I’m assuming that this is a college or university situation.)  Virginia Tech devotes basically the entire month of July to incoming student orientation, 2 days per family, during which they find their dorms, go through an extensive set of meetings and discussions (with a parallel but different set for their parents), consult with their facutly advisors, sign up for their classes, and purchase their books and other required materials.

    

   But in my show ensemble days I faced a very similar situation.  My auditions started the Sunday afternoon after our big spring show in April or May and ran through the end of Orientation at the end of July.  My acceptance and rejection letters went out about August 1–form letters for those who made the group, personal letters and encouragement for those who did not.  And scheduling dance auditions through the summer was sometimes a challenge for my Dance Captain, since I could not do them myself.

    

   But with all that said, the most important words in your post were these:  “passionate about choral music”!!!!  That would go a LONG way to getting someone a place in one of my enembles!

    

   All the best,

   John

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2. Peggy Dettwiler says

   June 9, 2011 at 6:31 am

   Hi Phil,

    

   I have also done something similar for international conducting students!

   They sent clips of their conducting, singing, and piano playing through

   Youtube for review.  Then I “auditioned” them further via Skype.  We

   successfully accomplished aural and sight-reading tests this way.

    

   Thanks for sharing!

   Peggy Dettwiler

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