Choral Caffeine: Audition Success

“Those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

It’s broken my heart to observe that axiom play out in far too many vocal auditions. How many talented, well-intentioned high school singers have missed an opportunity to display their skills in the best possible light simply because no one told them what to expect and how to prepare for an audition?

In the article “Preparing High School Singers for College/University Auditions” (Colorado Re-View, Spring 2011), M.B. Kruger provides a concise primer for those who want to earn a music scholarship award. Kruger discusses appropriate repertoire, sight reading, pianists, general preparation, and attitude.

This valuable article also includes a brief discussion of two areas that seem (surprisingly!) to completely mystify most incoming singers. First, Kruger defines the differences between the BM, BME, and BA degrees in a way that anyone who has passed the 6th grade can understand. Then, perhaps even more importantly, the author pulls back the veil of confusion that shrouds the issue of non-major choral ensembles. In the author’s words:

“Share this message with all singers who plan to attend college but who will not be music majors. Most all college music programs in this country have both auditioned and non-auditioned choirs open to any student on campus, not just to music majors. The transformative experience of choral singing does not and should not fade into the past for your college-bound singers.”

(To access the full article, simply click the highlighted title. For additional articles on a dazzling array of choral topics, visit ChorTeach.)

John Howell says

December 7, 2011 at 11:23 am

Scott & colleagues: The article cited is really too general and superficial to be helpful, but it does make a couple of absolutely essential points.

“Many students have not studied voice privately and have little experience choosing repertoire for an audition.” Yes, and that should have been the FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT point mentioned, not just a passing observation. Music, like dance, is NOT a profession which students can START studying at age 18 (something that our Deans of Arts & Sciences had great difficulty understanding!). Preparation and an established track record of accomplishment are absolutely essential. Most instrumentalists realize that, and do prepare by studying privately, but even if they don’t they are almost always presented with the very basics of music theory in their band or orchestra classes. Singers MUCH too often do not and are not. So the choral teacher has not only to help students find good audition songs, but should be encouraging private lessons from the first day of contact for those students who either show the talent or express the desire to enter the music professon.

Second, “Most college music programs suggest that audition repertoire be memorized.” That is a half-truth and half the advice that’s needed. The fact is that most programs these days have web pages, most web pages have audition information on them, and most audition information provides very detailed requirements for what is expected at the audition. Memorization is a minor matter. Knowing exactly what to prepare and what to bring is a MAJOR matter and should never be left to chance. Fortunately most students are way ahead of most professors when it comes to finding this information.

And I’m afraid that the very brief mention of different degree programs is also incomplete. As it happens, our professional music degree is listed as a BA for strictly historical reasons that would be administratively too difficult to change, but in fact it fulfills all the NASM requirements for the BM. So the label on the degree is never a guarantee of what that degree is acutally all about. And an audition committee understands that a student may have questions about that, and will be prepared to answer them.

Now I’ve never served on an Audtion and Scholarship committee, although I’ve sat in on some auditions from time to time, but I spent many years auditioning students for specific ensembles, and I would pass this advice on to high school choral teachers. Auditioning is a skill, and as such it can be taught and it can be learned. And EVERYONE has nerves, so the question we want to know the answer to is how a prospective student deals with those nerves, and ideally that nervous eneregy can be focused into performance energy. An audition is NOT a lesson, it is a performance, full out, pull all the stops, dam the torpedos and full speed ahead!!! We hope to see talent, good preparation, accuracy. But we WANT to see passion, involvement, and an understanding of the story the song is telling. It’s no accident that the winners on all these TV competitions are always the ones who may not have the best technique, but who do have the best passion in their performances.

With my college show ensembles I required everyone to audition for every feature spot, whether it was a big solo or just a one-liner, that fit their voice and gender. Auditoning became simply something we did every time a new number was introduced. And it didn’t take rookies long to see that veterans got the solos because they didn’t let their nerves get in the way, and they DID audition full out. Sometimes it took a semester, sometimes less, but pretty soon the rookies started getting solos of their own. And in the process we were preparing them for the next level, auditioning for entry-level professional jobs without falling apart, and showing themselves off at their best.

Since every choral teacher has in fact been a college student, has auditioned, may have assisted at auditions, and has sung in one or more auditioned ensembles for several years, I really have to wonder how many will really benefit from such a general article.

All the best,

John

Comments

John Howell says

December 7, 2011 at 11:23 am

Scott & colleagues: The article cited is really too general and superficial to be helpful, but it does make a couple of absolutely essential points.

“Many students have not studied voice privately and have little experience choosing repertoire for an audition.” Yes, and that should have been the FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT point mentioned, not just a passing observation. Music, like dance, is NOT a profession which students can START studying at age 18 (something that our Deans of Arts & Sciences had great difficulty understanding!). Preparation and an established track record of accomplishment are absolutely essential. Most instrumentalists realize that, and do prepare by studying privately, but even if they don’t they are almost always presented with the very basics of music theory in their band or orchestra classes. Singers MUCH too often do not and are not. So the choral teacher has not only to help students find good audition songs, but should be encouraging private lessons from the first day of contact for those students who either show the talent or express the desire to enter the music professon.

Second, “Most college music programs suggest that audition repertoire be memorized.” That is a half-truth and half the advice that’s needed. The fact is that most programs these days have web pages, most web pages have audition information on them, and most audition information provides very detailed requirements for what is expected at the audition. Memorization is a minor matter. Knowing exactly what to prepare and what to bring is a MAJOR matter and should never be left to chance. Fortunately most students are way ahead of most professors when it comes to finding this information.

And I’m afraid that the very brief mention of different degree programs is also incomplete. As it happens, our professional music degree is listed as a BA for strictly historical reasons that would be administratively too difficult to change, but in fact it fulfills all the NASM requirements for the BM. So the label on the degree is never a guarantee of what that degree is acutally all about. And an audition committee understands that a student may have questions about that, and will be prepared to answer them.

Now I’ve never served on an Audtion and Scholarship committee, although I’ve sat in on some auditions from time to time, but I spent many years auditioning students for specific ensembles, and I would pass this advice on to high school choral teachers. Auditioning is a skill, and as such it can be taught and it can be learned. And EVERYONE has nerves, so the question we want to know the answer to is how a prospective student deals with those nerves, and ideally that nervous eneregy can be focused into performance energy. An audition is NOT a lesson, it is a performance, full out, pull all the stops, dam the torpedos and full speed ahead!!! We hope to see talent, good preparation, accuracy. But we WANT to see passion, involvement, and an understanding of the story the song is telling. It’s no accident that the winners on all these TV competitions are always the ones who may not have the best technique, but who do have the best passion in their performances.

With my college show ensembles I required everyone to audition for every feature spot, whether it was a big solo or just a one-liner, that fit their voice and gender. Auditoning became simply something we did every time a new number was introduced. And it didn’t take rookies long to see that veterans got the solos because they didn’t let their nerves get in the way, and they DID audition full out. Sometimes it took a semester, sometimes less, but pretty soon the rookies started getting solos of their own. And in the process we were preparing them for the next level, auditioning for entry-level professional jobs without falling apart, and showing themselves off at their best.

Since every choral teacher has in fact been a college student, has auditioned, may have assisted at auditions, and has sung in one or more auditioned ensembles for several years, I really have to wonder how many will really benefit from such a general article.

All the best,

John

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Peter Haley says

December 7, 2011 at 9:30 am

Does that mug have an image of the Pearl Harbor Memorial on it?

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Choral Caffeine: Audition Success

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