I’m starting to explore visits to Voice and Opera programs for a HS Jr. I’ve been through this once for a composition student, but I have no idea how things work in voice - do I only look at teachers who are themselves Bass singers, like my son? Or should we reach out to any teacher available to offer a class when we’re there? How do people find out about particularly faculty beyond those they might encounter in a summer program?
Thanks for sharing your collective expertise - hopefully there will be other people who will need to know this kind of basic information beyond me!
Hi! I’m a parent of a HS Sr going through this process right now for classical voice, and also a voice teacher myself. Does your son have a current voice teacher? That person should be the point person for you as you go through this. If not, you might try to set him up with lessons with someone at a local college. You want someone who knows how the college audition process for voice goes. Or your own, you can definitely research the voice department faculty at schools he is interested in. I am a mezzo and studied with a tenor in college, so I don’t think studying with the same voice type is essential. Having said that, my son has only had female teachers up to this point, and we are looking for a baritone (his voice type) for his college teacher. He reached out to some teachers that seemed really interesting (mostly via website searches) and asked if they offered trial lessons, either virtually or in person. Most responded really positively, and most offered this on a complementary basis, but some do charge a standard hourly rate. Sometimes, the trial lesson was combined with audition day, and sometimes, it happened before (virtually). In one virtual case, the trial lesson moved a school much further UP the list because it was such a positive experience.
I also think it’s important to think about what kind of school he is looking for overall. I’m sure you know this having gone through it with a composer, but he should decide if he wants a standalone conservatory, a music school at a larger college/university, or a music department. Also - does he want a program that focuses on undergraduate training, or one that has a large graduate student presence? Does he care about location? All of these things came into play as we crafted my son’s list. And finally - having a range of schools (less competitive to reach schools) is important, and to my mind - any school you think of as a safety school should be a place he would actually want to go.
My kid just checked out the faculty and emailed the professor for a sample lesson. She had lessons from men and women so the teacher does not have to be your kid’s voice type to be a good teacher. For even school we visited she had a sample lesson. I didn’t go in with her but I think she did ask questions about the program while there with the professor.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate all the info about sample lessons, voices, etc. We do have a voice teacher but we haven’t had the major college talk yet, just bits here and there - he’s a super busy teacher, also super $$, so my son sees him roughly every other weekend sometimes less with performances and the teacher’s travel. (also my son goes to a performing arts HS so he has voice daily in school).
As for the rest of the college selection process, you pose excellent questions, which we don’t have answers for yet, but hoping to start filling in answers as we start visiting different kinds of schools.
Good luck to you too! Keep me posted if you’d like to!
Just a couple of additional comments. My D went through the process quite a few years ago.
1.). Vocalists are “young” compared with some instrumentalists. So when you hear a heavy emphasis on the teacher and getting the exact right one that can be confusing to a vocalist. Since vocalists don’t start “serious” voice study until high school, they are young in their development during the college search and may not be looking for a specific teacher with a specific technique/style etc. That will change for grad school, but a vocalist may be simply looking for a teacher that is kind, empathetic, good at shepherding young vocalists and building repertoire…as opposed to an expert on Mozart and that type of voice.
2.). My daughter didn’t know exactly how to approach a teacher at some of the larger universities. In the end, she sent her music resume to the head of the voice dept and asked for help finding an appropriate teacher for a trial lesson. That teacher gave one…and after the lesson mentioned 2 teachers that may be appropriate for her. After the audition, she was contacted by another teacher that she ended up studying with.
3.) We found that schools/administrators were pretty helpful if you asked for help. No one judged my D’s requests for guidance. Individual teachers could be helpful or not. The teacher that she ended up with never replies to requests for lessons prior to auditions. My D found this out after working with her. It was her policy. She waits for the auditions and then reaches out to students of interest to her. I think for an instrumentalists this may sound crazy. But to my daughter, a vocalist, it seemed fine.
While there are aspects of the music audition process that are the same for all, we found that there are differences depending on the instrument. So as you read comments on here, be sure to note the instrument…and rest assured a vocalists process will be different from a violinists.