Any ideas for repertoire?
I am looking for classical repertoire in English and Italian, as well as more contemporary songs in English or Spanish. I also need a jazz number, which my teacher is going to work with me on because he has significant experience with jazz performance for voice!
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
I will ask my teacher for a list of strengths and weaknesses, as far as he can see. Do you have any repertoire recs for the list above, to help work on the weaknesses while showing my strengths?
@bridgenail I have been told you might want ot see this
I will also mention @compmom for this
I am the parent of a kid that went to college for VP. But I am not musical. So I would have no knowledge of good repertoire etc.
For my D, I had here work with her private teacher and choir teacher. While I appreciate that you are reaching out online, I would think that the best information would come from a music teachers.
I hope that this helps.
There are many books available that contain standard art songs for young singers for each voice part. That is generally where you can find good audition pieces. Young singers (HS aged or younger) are generally advised not to try to tackle difficult arias, especially for college auditions. If you are auditioning, each school will have its own list of requirements but there is usually lots of crossover.
Is voice different than other instruments? My musician had a list of repertoire the colleges expected him to know…and be able to play excerpts from. The repertoire was listed on the college website.
Maybe that is not the case for voice majors?
No its not. There is not a specific list.
Your best bet is to talk to your private voice teacher about repertoire. That person will know your voice and ability level better than anyone here. They can help you choose appropriate selections for you. Plus, they will also have some knowledge of what vocal performance programs might want to hear.
It is different for VP- there are requirements like a piece in Italian, a piece in English, and often an additional piece in a different language- German, French, etc. Some want an arpeggio sung (although I think we only came across this for one school). Sometimes there’s a requirement for a piece composed in a more modern era, things like that. You pick the pieces, but they have to fit the requirements, because many pieces are not written for all voice parts.
Thanks. And I say again…someone more familiar with this student’s voice, level of singing, etc, will be able to help them make a choice that is suitable for this student. And hopefully help them prepare the pieces for an audition, if required.
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Yes, I was not implying that the student must choose for themselves, the “you” meant someone other than the school/admissions, etc. However, those books I mentioned are pretty ubiquitous and the schools are expecting rep choice to come from those common sources.
This particular student has mentioned they do not have a private teacher, just a choir director to seek advice from.
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I agree with everyone that a private voice instructor is the best resource.
If it helps, my child is starting to compile his pre-screen choices, and these are the two collections that his teacher mainly uses for audition art songs. These are also the standard books used to find selections for our state’s solo competition.
The First Book of Solos - Joan Frey Boytim (there is a collection for each voice type)
Schirmer’s 24 Italian Songs & Arias
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Does anyone have any general rep recs? Books or composers for young vocalists?
I have had 2 daughters go through college voice auditions successfully. I would be happy to message you with their audition reps if you would like. Just let me know. As mentioned previously in this thread though, their reps won’t likely be matches for you–it’s all so individual. Someone familiar with your specific voice type and experience level would be better at helping you with this. However, their lists could give you a feel for the type of repertoire expected for college level admissions….
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Done. Let me know if you have trouble finding it.