chances at vandy/how good is blair?

macaroni870
Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:27:12 +0000

Hi there. I’m a freshman in Blair this year (although transferring into Peabody – I’ll explain). I’ll let you in on what I have to offer, and I hope it helps!

Firstly, Scottandrus is right. Blair is definitely the most selective of the four schools of the university, but your academics do not have to be as outstanding as they do to get into the other three schools. It comes down to your audition. Blair is a very rigorous program that will teach you more than you ever wanted to know about time management. The curriculum (even though it’s going to change… your class only has to take 1 semester of music history, as far as I know, while my class has to take four!) is intense, and there are a lot of 0-, 1-, and 2-credit courses to take up lots of time without giving you credit hours. That’s a real pain if you want to double major in anything. That said, if you’re planning on actually becoming an opera singer, you’ll never leave Blair anyway! :P

I’m impressed – a high school coloratura! I’m also a soprano (although voice is not my major at Blair), and that’s intensely awesome. My range only goes up to a D6… lucky girl. Your vocal training sounds fantastic, but it really comes down to your audition, and Blair is competitive. Dr. Retzlaff, one of the voice teachers, told my boyfriend (a bass who auditioned in December) that out of about 130-150 applicants, they take 15 or 20. Usually about 10 enroll. The teachers at Blair (you have your choice of Retzlaff, Shay, or Jarman) are very demanding and expect their students to prepare very thoroughly for performance. When you perform in studio class and during student recitals, you will be expected to act, sing, dress up… PERFORM. This is different than a lot of schools, where you could get by just knowing the words and staying in the same key throughout the piece.

The audition process is very smooth – it was easily the most organized of any of the auditions I had. You go into the building and sign in. There will be faculty members and students there with name tags to show you around. Once you sign in, you will have your official audition time (although you’ll likely know beforehand). You will have a practice room assigned to you, and a student will help you find it. Your accompanist will know which room you’re in, and will come in to warm up with you before your audition. It’s very well run. Since you’re a voice major, you’ll likely audition in Dr. Retzlaff’s office. He and Shay and Jarman will be in there to listen to you. Sometime during the day (you will be allowed to choose when), you will take a theory test. It’s pretty basic, so no worries about that.

Performance opportunities are decent, but not fantastic. You will sing in at least one ensemble every semester, but you can definitely do more. Also, there are a few a cappella groups around campus (lots of Blair-ites involved) that you could join. Swingin’ Dores is the primary girls’ group. Every year, Blair puts on a fully staged/costumed opera with the orchestra. This year, we did Marriage of Figaro. The thing is, it’s not totally students – the professors participate as well, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone younger than a junior in the opera (but I could be mistaken). That’s something to ask the professors – I’d shoot Retzlaff an email.

Your academics are a cinch; for Blair, you’re more than set. It really does come down to your audition. If at all possible, setting up a sample lesson before your audition with one of the teachers will help you enormously. It’s very difficult to chance a prospective Blair-ite because the audition is what makes you or breaks you. Practice your @$$ off and really go all out with your performance when you audition, and then relax. Good luck! Hope to see you around next year. :)