@claire74, I PMed you with an 8 bar knock-it-out-of-the-park clip. It is possible.
@theaterwork, TBH, none of that bothered me. The things that bothered me were: the audition panel that never looked up from their papers, from the moment my D walked into the room until the moment she left (she was WL there…go figure); the school that sent us someone else’s decision and when I called, didn’t bother to ask us whose decision we got so the poor girl had no idea what happened; the school that lost my D’s entire file and insisted she didn’t have an appointment (after we flew across the country for the audition) - and then “snuck her in” the very last slot of the day when the auditors were exhausted and wanted to go home. THOSE things bothered me. Asking to hear a song from a show that everyone knows/should know did not bother me. With 20/20 hindsight, my D said that she should have said, “No, I don’t have any Chicago songs, but I do have XYZ which is similar…let me sing that for you!” I really don’t think CMU did it to throw her off. I think he was truly interested in what she would sound like doing a Chicago song. They really were the loveliest, most caring people during the entire audition season, and I just cannot believe they did it to throw her off. Great people, great program, just not a good fit for my D.
And, if I were an auditor of any of these highly selective schools, I would want to see how kids do in the face of the unknown. One school stopped playing my D’s song halfway through. She just kept singing. Turns out, they did it to everyone, to see how the kids would react, maybe? Do you blame them? They have - in some cases - just a few minutes to make a decision on whether they want to spend the next 4 years training this person. A person who, when they graduate, will represent their school. If I were an auditor, I would do everything I could to make sure that this person was someone I wanted and someone I could work with and someone who doesn’t fluster easily. I didn’t begrudge them any of their questions or their directions or their requests. As long as they were respectful (as the vast majority were), it was okay.
The fact that you are on CC asking lots of questions and reading and researching means you and your D have a leg up. Imagine all the kids who don’t know this stuff. They don’t know that accompanist’s can stop playing, or auditors can ask for a song that isn’t in your book, or ANY of this stuff. Being forewarned is a good thing. But none of it is silly or a waste of time. The auditors want to see who your kid is as quickly as they can. Tell your D to be herself, let her personality shine through, choose materials that show who she is, and to be kind and nice and humble. None of it is a waste of time b/c in the end, you will end up where you need to be (95% of the time). The process works. And these auditors have it down…they know what they are doing.