Cosmos

perpetualmotion,

dude just go for it. you can do it! confidence is key.

Vieuxtemps5

Perpetual:

Go audition at curtis for sure. It's good experience because the entire department is there and there's more than 1 round. The level is high and you should really go crazy for it.

Just prepare like mad before hand, take the day off before it then go in and forget about everything else. I guarantee the result will be good, even if you don't get in, a solid audition at Curtis should give you a lot of confidence.

the_wallflower

I got an audition at Peabody and will be there on Feb. 22. Too bad I'll have to miss class!

Cosmos

Hey all,
One of my buddies just got past pre-screening for bass at Rice!

stringfollies

I was perusing old threads this morning and came back upon this one. I think our experience argues against prescreening. I quote my own comments from 1-7-08 as follows:

"i agree about the prescreening being too stressful. my son has been to the iu summer string academy for 4 years and is very anxious to audition at iu. otherwise, we wouldn't have bothered with any schools requiring prescreening. he has been told by many professionals that he is very gifted, but a little behind the curve technically for the top music schools, but he has changed teachers and been working very hard to try to get there this year with the thought that he might have to do the whole thing again next year (yech!!!) i must say that his improvement since september is more than dramatic. nevertheless, the need to perfect an imperfectly learned concerto for prescreening which he won't even use for his live auditions was very time-consuming and unfortunate. i hope he gets his iu audition out of it or it will be a complete wash. he has a newly minted and beautiful-sounding concerto now with few of the old problems built in and almost ready for his first audition on January 26th. there is no question that his musical ideas are special and his sound sometimes is exquisite. he did put easier bach movements on the recording and will play one that is more advanced for auditions - bach is never a waste. wish him luck because he really needs it."

The actual results of the prescreening were that he was rejected without a hearing at NEC and squeaked by the prescreening at the very last minute at IU. What's telling, though, is that he has been accepted at IU, Michigan and Oberlin with merit awards. I think NEC would have taken a hard look at him at least had he played live - their loss. But I'm really sorry he had to be put to the incredible hassle of making that tape when he had so many better things to do!

raquelgonzalez90

Yeah, I was accepted at Juilliard, MSM, and Mannes, and made it to the final round at Curtis for Vocal Performance, but chose to submit a recorded audition at Michigan and CIM and was rejected. You just never know; I don't think recordings do your talent justice.

musicianmom

We were told (and seen it anecdotally proven true) that those submitting recordings who were not from overseas or vast distances generally had less of a chance of being accepted than those who appeared in person for auditions. Some of the conservatories (at least several years ago) all but stated that on their websites. Going to the trouble of doing a live audition demonstrates a greater interest in the school than a recording and can be the deciding advantage for some admission decisions.

Now, having said that, each school/conservatory and each instrument/program is different and I wouldn't extrapolate too far from our experience! But, I'm guessing Raquel, that had you done a live audition at CIM and Michigan those schools would have been delighted to offer you admission. Clearly, you've got a lot of ability - Congrats!

My S did one regional taped audition for a school we considered (based on the experiences of older students whose playing we knew) to be a back-up for him. If he attended, there was one teacher in particular that he was interested in. He was admitted and offered 3 choices of studios, but not offered a spot in the one studio he wanted. I suspect if he'd gone for a live audition, he would have had a shot at that studio. I can't fault the institution or teacher, if the student is auditioning for a top school or teacher, I'd also give preference to those that showed up in person.

valentinaforyou

this year, for the piano MM at a "level A" music school , i was told that they accepted less than 1/3 of the prescreening applicants to come for a live audition.