<p>Post audition recap
D had her last audition yesterday at Curtis. We went into it with the attitude that we would have a fun trip to Philadelphia, forget about the cost, she would sing her heart out and see where the chips landed. We loved the city, as well as Curtis’ location steps away from a pretty little park and in an eclectic shopping, restaurant area. The institute building itself was beautiful–lots of wood paneling, antique furniture, gorgeous stonework, etc. The 28 or so singers auditioned were mostly girls, with maybe five boys. Chris Hodges (who is exactly like Project Runway’s Tim Gunn in appearance, accent, and manner–we had fun with that!) was very warm and welcoming. He told the students they should all be very proud of themselves for making it past pre-screen–a select group of 75 who would be auditioned. Everyone was happy and looking forward to auditions. Now, my daughter has auditioned and performed a lot, and always comes away feeling that the panel enjoyed her singing–there has always been something–a smile, a laugh, a few kind words–that has made her feel positive, regardless of the outcome. Not so at Curtis. The auditor, Mikael Eliasen, who is highly admired and respected as a judge of vocal talent, was alone in the room with a Curtis student. He spoke only two words during the entire audition–the name of the song he wanted D to sing. No smiles, no welcome. Now, I said D was a performer–she puts her whole heart into her singing and has wonderful acting abilities. Yet Mr Eliasen missed all this as he did not look up from his notepad. (We had researched the school and read interviews with him in which he spoke as though he very much valued the ability of singers to emote and perform, so this surprised us.) D came out quite unhappy that he had barely looked at her and seemed from the moment she opened her mouth that he wished she was done already. She did her best, and left. As we waited three hours for the callback list, I noticed the same looks of confusion/distress on the faces of many of the singers as they returned from auditions. I don’t know what happened in their auditions, of course, but there was none of the bright chatter and laughter we’ve come to expect from other auditions. Of the 28 singers, 3 were called back (two girls, one boy); sadly, my daughter’s name was not on the list. It didn’t take D too long to cheer up afterwards, and we’ve enjoyed chatting about the Tim Gunn look-alike, the highlight of our day. </p>
<p>In retrospect, Curtis seems to be a wonderful school and I’m sure Mr Eliasen knows what he is listening for (which is probably why he auditions alone). Would we do it again? Despite the results, probably yes. It was costly, but D entered the audition with a good attitude and hopefully took away a lesson or two about the audition process (the first note that comes out of your mouth can be the deciding factor). Would I advise others to accept audition invitations from Curtis? Again, yes, if your budget allows. I’d say prepare well (especially the first notes), then go in and show what you can do, but don’t pin your hopes on this school. And be sure to plan some downtime to enjoy being with your son or daughter in a beautiful city!</p>