Question for previous years’ parents, about your vocalist daughters and what they wore to their auditions: For auditions in cold Midwestern and Northeastern cities, how warmly did your D need to dress? I’m just curious about any wardrobe advice you have!
(We’re from the South, so navigating what to wear if it’s in the single digits or worse is a challenge already, but all the more so when wearing a dress might mean only tights on your legs and dress shoes that may not be the best ones for snow or ice…)
Normal audition attire where we are would be a cocktail dress that is modestly cut or a “church dress” (like something that you might wear as a guest at a daytime wedding). But many of those options might be scoop neck or even sleeveless, and I’m just not sure if that would look ridiculous in the winter, even if you had a heavy coat and other gear over it. Maybe people wear anything and everything and the best advice is to be comfortable in whatever makes you feel confident, but if it’s really more like “sweater dress and boots or you’ll be miserable” please let me know!
So my D vocalist is current in the process of applying. We are also from the south. Back in August our local fine arts conservatory had a seminar for fine arts applicants. It was mostly geared towards MT majors but there were a few vocalists and instrumentalists present. The woman leading the talk advised to pick a color, or an outfit for prescreens and stick with it also for Auditions. So, I went to Express (and also their website) and purchased 4 different blouses of the same blue color. It is a flattering color on D. She is pairing it with nice black pants and a pair of not to high- heeled ankle boots.
It makes life easy and we have extras in case something happens to some of the others. Also, it’s a very comfortable, simple but really nice looking outfit.
@khill87 - I’m from MN with a D who has performed in MN a lot…in cocktail dresses, nylons and heels in the dead of winter. Rooms are heated! You can wear short sleeves INSIDE! So no sweater dress and boots. Keep to the uniform…a nice dress (usually black but my D did ivory and stylish for UG as she likes fashion and is comfort with that), nylons and closed toe heels but NOT too high. Be sure all fits nicely.
The difference in the north is in “the bundling up” while outside. If it is cold and snowy…have boots or some sort of athletic shoe to try to keep her feet warm AND dry…and carry your shoes in a bag. My D didn’t walk through a snow storm in NYC to an audition in her high heels! Like a sensible Minnesotan, she had on boots, smart wool socks and leggings and simply changed when she got to the audition site. AND of course she had a black sweater that looked nice with her dress…just in case the rooms were cold. She would remove the sweater just before entering the room…unless she was too cold which I don’t recall as an issue.
And a big fat scarf can be nice too. It can cover hair outside without crushing it. And be used inside for additional warmth if you get stuck by a draft.
@Musicmom2two - and pants are fine too. I saw your comment after I posted. As a mezzo, my D also wears pants to audition on occasion. I think the most important thing is too look neat and professional…in a dress or pants.
D always wears modest dressy dresses. Jewel tones red, blue. Never wore black because she looks washed out. At knee. Stockings. Mid heel shoes. This rarely changes with season or climate for as @bridgenail says, places are heated indoors. If the dress has short sleeves or is sleeveless and it is cold, she would pair with a cardigan. She had a three quarter length sleeve dress for winter that served her well during high school auditions. Only thing I would comment is to avoid large print, extreme bold colors like hot pink, big earrings, or anything that will be distracting ( no low cut, form hugging, strapless etc) Once she wore a lovely tailored navy sweater dress with cowl neck to an audition with black tights and ballet flats as it was actively snowing ( this was as a junior for a competition in classical voice). The comment sheets made note that her dress was not appropriate and was too casual for opera! From then on, her motto is better to be overdressed than underdressed!
My D does have a dressier dress she has worn for performances. For auditions I know she will feel more comfortable in the pants and blue top outfit. It is really sharp looking and well put together. It travels well too.
My older D, a composition major who is also also studying Piano went to a music festival last summer and just did away with her performance gown. The gown was not appropriate for wearing in Italian churches. We got her a really nice black jumpsuit from the formal gown section of Nordstrom. It was very packable, comfortable and very appropriate. She was able to fit it into her tiny carryon suitcase. More importantly her piano teacher, who has a definite opinion on what she should or should not wear approved wholeheartedly. Which was a relief. That being said- I don’t think younger D would wear it. Ever.
My D does stray a bit from “convention”…or the uniform. I only suggest that when the student feels confident and good about it…and it’s not distracting. At her first audition, the teacher who she ended up with said “I love your dress” as my D was walking out the door. It was very cool and stylish…but still appropriate. My D was told by a student a year older “don’t be afraid to show a little personality in your dress”…meaning not the simple black look (which in the end is fine, I think). Still it should be a “classy” personality in the end. It is something, for better or worse, that is “noticed”. As @musicmom2two says…her piano teacher definitely has an opinion…not surprised by that at all.
Whoo Hoo! We have recordings! Just like @songbirdmama’s daughter, mine is a vocalist applying for grad school, so she’s taking the lead now and I’m worrying remotely. So, I was pretty happy to hear that recordings were done for her prescreens. ? A year ago she had viral laryngitis for 2-3 weeks so I’m beyond thankful she’s been healthy.
I’ve been watching / helping with this application process on the home front for months now, and here’s what I think: Anyone who has spent years practicing and performing, who has written multiple, unique essays, who has crafted an artistic resume and carefully formatted a repertoire list, who has put blood, sweat and tears into prescreen videos and managed to upload them properly should be able to go to ANY SCHOOL OF THEIR CHOOSING, no questions asked! Oy! Lol.
Breathing a sign of relief after D submitted two more last night. The finish line (for this leg of the race) is in sight!
@buoyant Woo Hoo! I think my D is re-recording today. Her teacher watched the package and said her runs weren’t clean enough in one. Ugh. She just finished the opera over the weekend and has the requisite post performance cold coming on, plus she is pretty vocally exhausted. She has a good attitude though. Just rerecording the one aria and said she will take the better of the two. Good luck to your D!
@songbirdmama wow… I am impressed with your daughter. I would not let anyone tell me to re-record at this point. I still have three more essays to write… and Thanksgiving break homework! I’m grateful just to have my videos, even if they are not perfect.
@Racingfan53 She respects her teacher’s judgement, who also knows her abilities which apparently were not well reflected in this particular aria’s performance. She has the time, her essays are all done, the opera is over, so she figured why not? The room and accompanist were already reserved for her weekly coaching, so she will put on a nice dress and record on her iPhone instead of doing a “normal coaching”. Couldn’t hurt and might help!
@songbirdmama kudos to your daughter! I’m glad she has everything done. What a great position to be in, definitely gives you some wiggle room to re-record.
@Musicmom2two So happy the Berklee audition went well. So she applied “early action” correct? I know they say they will notify by 1/31 but my daughter learned of her acceptance and scholarship right before Christmas (her audition was Dec. 8th) so hopefully they will give you an early decision.
I admire your daughter-and anyone else-applying to NYU. My daughter was overwhelmed with the prescreens, early auditions and application process and ended up abandoning the idea of applying to NYU. She was applying to the Clive Davis Recorded Arts school, so it required lengthy essays and paperwork but also a promo video which was quite involved. The sample videos we saw looked as if they hired Hollywood producers to create them! Lol. Her academic stats weren’t great (91% average, 25 ACT) and the price tag was way above our comfort zone (we knew of one person who received a scholarship to Clive Davis which was $10K and she was exceptional, so we knew they didn’t give much money compared to the high tuition.) When she weighed everything, she decided it just wasn’t worth it, knowing that even if she was accepted, it wasn’t too realistic we could afford it. She also took USC off the list when we learned they gave no scholarship money for Pop Music majors (in addition to the high academic standards.)
Can’t believe we are almost to that Dec. 1st deadline! Best of luck to everyone as your kids conquer this chapter and prep for the auditions to come and-the worst part-the waiting game! Hope you all can feel the veterans here cheering you on!
@AmyIzzy very glad to hear Berklee news could come sooner than jan 31. my son had his audition and feels like his prepared piece went very well. he’s eager for some good news after being declined on two acting prescreens.
Congrats to those who have auditioned and those that are done with prescreens. S finally has the prescreens done but is working on merging audio and video. Essays done. So ready to hit the button in a day I hope. He dropped one school and added NYU Steinhardt to replace it since his list is kind of small. If all goes well he will only have a west and east coast live audition in late Jan early Feb, Berklee which happens next week, and possibly NYU and McGill early March. He is applying to two purely academic schools with a music supplement but those apps with more essays aren’t due until Jan 1. Also got his state flagship app out earlier, though he has no interest in attending. I wish he had a few more music schools but no sense in applying if he won’t want to attend.
best of luck to everyone