At CCM today. Much more formal experience than at BU or Oberlin. Auditions in recital hall rather Than classroom or large lecture room. Only about ten minutes or so in the actual audition.
Ok question for VP candidates and parents: what to do when accompanist still ignores tempo instructions? Unlike her previous auditions, there was no meeting with accompanist beforehand. Upon walking into the recital hall at CCM today, D asked that her first song be played slower than written and that didnt happen. Should she raise her hand up and stop next time? What is the proper thing to do in this case? I can’t stand the thought of flying all over the place only to have a song rushed and to have D feel it wasn’t her best audition because of that 
@coloraturagirl Even with a pre-meeting, the accompanist can ignore markings and tempo preferences. It’s not uncommon. In a formal setting like a competition, recital, audition, D never stops - just goes with it. As she has gained experience, she can take control a bit with her voice and gestures. Also, don’t judge the quality of the audition - her perception (favorable or not) may have little relation to what the panel sees, as they are focussing on technique, teachability, potential, not perfection.
On another note, D arrived at IU. Has enough time to eat something, dress, and warm up. Hurray!
@coloraturagirl see below. A comment I made to someone asking for audition tips.
2.) Be organized with a cheerful disposition NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS! Smile! You are “on stage”. It is not uncommon for an accompanist at one or two of your auditions to take things too slow or too fast. You will have a very short time to interact with the accompanist. Make absolutely sure your music is organized and try your best to communicate any details like tempo. In most cases, the accompanists are busy students who may or may not fully absorb your comments…as they are doing this for hours. In other words, it’s not as big a deal to them as you. Be a good sport about it! No matter what happens sing as best you can with a positive attitude. If the accompanist screws up…smile and work to get back on and don’t let it throw you…just keep singing with a positive attitude. Don’t roll your eyes or show a bad attitude towards the accompanist. The teachers WILL know who screwed up and will NOT hold it against you. You may win points for being cool and professional in a difficult situation. And if the accompanist messes up for you, they are probably messing up for others. If it is truly bad (which it won’t be) the faculty will intervene (not you). In most cases, they will be able the hear what they want through any errors. Trust in this.
I understand that you want to control this. You expect a very high level experience. The truth is…you may not get it…and the teachers can generally hear talent regardless. And maybe it shows your personality…to struggle a bit…so the teachers may not intervene. Again this common and should be planned for.
Here’s the full link if curious.
There is always a risk when you don’t have your accompanist (just a standard) and the piece is done “differently”. Again it’s your Ds responsibility to adapt regardless. My D was in a chorus at a top opera house where a assistant conductor took one show. They finished 15 minutes early! I went to the show and was surprised. She said “ he rushed the whole show”…and laughed. She said…you just have to adapt.
@coloraturagirl My D is now in a class for pianists. She is the vocalist and they (accompanists) are being graded on how well they collaborate. Teacher specifically asked for her to sing because while she can roll with it, she also is a bit dramatic and they need to learn to follow her too. So as part of this class, she is working with 5-10 different pianists on the same music. She said it has been excellent training for both her, and the collaborative pianist in training!
Reminds me that last year my singer was asked to participate in auditions for collaborative pianists by singing a very well-known art song as a means of evaluating them for the program. She also swears by her humidiflyer when she flies!
Hello musical hive mind! Does anyone have a sense of how competitive non-top-tier schools (University of Tennessee, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, any of the smaller LAC etc) are for jazz programs? I understand that most have few spots (and probably fewer drums, bass etc than horns) . . . . but there’s virtually no info out there on how many are competing for them. S has applied to/is auditioning for programs for jazz drums (so far he’s in at Temple) . . . . There were a few other drummers at that audition, seemingly not so many at some of the others he’s had so far. Would appreciate any insights!
@jazzydrums Congratulations on Temple, which is a great school, often overlooked. Can’t comment further to your question, but just wanted to offer a shout out!
We just returned from IU/Jacobs. It was very cold and windy on the day of his audition but we still managed to walk around a lot, visited the library. He went to some classes. We wanted to stay this evening for a concert but with weather was getting cold and we thought roads might get icy so we returned home today.
He was very excited and very nervous at the same time. Whole thing took 20 minutes. Some ear training questions, and they looked over his portfolio. Whole faculty and students were super friendly. There was a reception at the end of the audition day. Parents were also invited. Kids get to know each other and had time to talk to current students and faculty.
Apparently they mail the results. I guess we will be watching the mail each day.
@doransa Congrats. My D was there today as a MM candidate. We can wait together! 
Indeed it is !!! Boyer is definitely an overlooked gem.
CONGRATS @Jazzydrums to your kid getting in. Auditions at Boyer for the kid here on the 16th of Feb. He’s excited
@Doransa and @songbirdmama congrats on having completed IU! I’ll admit that a lot of these auditions seem like much quicker affairs than I’d imagined. That’s neither good or bad, just a wide range, and not always what I’d pictured. Question about the end-of-day reception. I would guess it’s not mandatory, but could be fun/useful. Do you have an approximate timeframe? Guessing it won’t be possible to attend if we’re planning to fly out that evening.
Thanks @songbirdmama and @BenniesMom1 (and good luck to your kids on all their auditions). Grateful that he has at least one (so far) likeable option. The not-knowing is driving me crazy . . . . . .
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid There were 2 info sessions. One in the morning that was a tour of facilities. D did not do that one (as she was on the road). The evening reception was specific to MM VP candidates. It was scheduled on her pre screen passing announcement, so I m not sure how it would work for instrumentalists. She said it was mostly current MM students in attendance which was very useful. I think there might have been one faculty member there, but it was mostly a student to student info session.
@songbirdmama yes we will wait together. 
I heard Jacobs has rolling admission? Maybe MM is different. I am not sure. Good luck to both. I think I was more nervous than him. He likes to talk about his music. He was having fun. Whatever the results will be I am so proud of him to get to the this stage at the process.
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid
The reception was low key and I believe it was optional ( at least for composition majors). It was mostly for kids to get together and talk to current students and composition faculty. Very friendly environment overall. Kids took a tour of electronic music studio at the end of the reception. It started at 5:30 and we were out by 7 pm. We would have left early but he took the tour and stayed to talked some grad students.
Just a note: School is really big and buildings are spread out. We checked some residences as well. I think Read residence is the closest one to the music buildings. 1000+ students leave in this residence. Very busy campus.
Humidiflyer - Looking it up now! We are on the way home from NYC, leaving again on Thursday for CCM and CMU.
The NYU audition was pretty low key. My daughter felt good about how she did, and it seemed like everyone walked out of the room with a smile on his or her face. I think she was done in 10 minutes.
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@Jazzydrums and @BenniesMom1 - my kid is a freshman at Boyer (percussion) - feel free to PM me with any questions. He LOVES it - and we often find that Temple is very overlooked and really top notch for music. Lots of ensemble opportunities and great faculty.
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid - for percussion IU had their ‘reception’ at lunchtime so it was easy to go before the audition. It definitely varies on time by instrument.
More notes on CCM: formal audition (songs only- no theory or sight reading) but very informal faculty meeting with voice instructors. Lots of helpful info and insights on the program. Not as much of a study abroad program as some other universities, but a very serious program that produces top performers in the opera world. Undergrads and grads perform together and operas are chosen by staff with a mind for the students enrolled. Everyone very approachable and D was impressed. Double majors possible, but probably not that common.
I like this Boyer tribe we’re assembling! ? Good to hear such positive experiences, and see the school getting some well-deserved love!
Did some digging through kid’s email. I knew about IU audition time, but had no further details. No mention of a reception on our schedule, so I guess I won’t worry about rearranging anything at this point. Thanks for the clarification!
Jazzy drums—— Competitiveness (and scholarship offers) can vary every year even at the same school, depending on openings and applicant pool with or without financial need (especially at smaller conservatories / programs). If those schools inform how many spots / chairs they are trying to fill, it would make our lives much easier… but they just don’t. They want to hear all musicians with potentials. So, musicians must travel and perform…
Did you see recent Michigan State YouTube videos? Great performances!
My son has three jazz friends at Temple and two jazz friends at Michigan State currently. Both Temple and Michigan State have a great jazz program and super talented musicians.