One of my greatest pleasures during her college days was shopping with my D for gowns (and being amazed at dropping more money on her music career!). She asked if I would come to her NYC grad college audition. I was so happy to be invited to at least one (she did the rest alone)…and once she finished auditioning (during a snow storm) she pulled out a list of stores to go recital gown shopping. I suddenly realized why I (and my wallet) had been invited to this audition. We had a wonderful time despite about a foot of snow everywhere that made getting to stores and cocktail bars (that she had mapped out) difficult…but she was determined and being from MN we could take the bad winter weather in stride…as there is no bad weather truly only bad outerwear choices.
D23 sent “Thank You” notes after all private lessons, paid and complimentary ones. And after each conversation/“get to know you” sessions. Nothing after the audition.
We are gearing up for auditions with my D vocal performance (soprano) major and I have a question about dress for audition days. I understand it’s fairly standard to wear concert black for the actual audition. When a school has a full day of activities, should they plan to wear that all day? Or change into their concert black before the audition?
First audition is at Eastman, which is an all day exoerience. Thanks in advance for the help!
my D vocal performance (mezzo) wore either black dress or black pantsuit (ok for mezzo). If there was a day of activities she changed to more comfortable clothes - especially since winter in Rochester is COLD!
She may want to bring a change, particularly shoes. If she’s anything like my D, she’d want options and then would watch what the others were doing. If she’s in one building most of the day, she could change into street shoes and bring a sweater for over her dress. If she will be walking around outside, she may need shoes/boots and could change into pants if more comfortable. If a parent is along expect to be lugging a big bag around!
Traditional black is always fine and safe…but not required for VP. It’s OK to have a little style in her look as long as it is not distracting (big prints, chunky jewelry, cut outs…or too short or too low in the front…shoes should not be too high). You will see F VP candidates putting on a touch of the soloist diva. Just be sure it’s tasteful and authentic. Otherwise, traditional black or cool black is always good.
For those that have had students go through college auditions already, how long after the audition did you hear if your students was admitted or denied admittance? My son’s first audition is tomorrow! CCM!
Programs vary widely as to when they release results. There will be variability from year to year as well. But last year’s acceptance thread might give you some ballpark estimates for various schools. Shout out to @BeverlyWest for organizing this compilation.
I see Cincinnati greeted your son with some snow!! Good to see what the weather will be like. This is the most we get at any given time.
Ha ha ha! I heard! My ex husband took him today. They drove down last night because of the snow, we are in Indy. He said the snow is causing problems down there because it’s hilly!
My S, who is Comp major, also has to audition on piano at Jacobs this weekend. We’re planning on black shirt and pants. Should he also wear a tie? TIA!
M son is thinking he needs to “step it up” for Jacobs audition. He’s mostly done khakis and nice shirt and then at CCM last week he wore black pants and a nice colored button down but we saw guys in everything from suits to jeans. I think he is thinking he would add a tie this week but no jacket, not comfortable for him to play in.
I would say that if a tie helps him feel like he owns the room, then he should go for it. But if it makes him uncomfortable, it wouldn’t be a necessity as long as he looks polished otherwise. I have done many audition weekends with my 3 kids, and I have found the ones at Jacobs to be surprisingly laid back–in a good way. Just sort of the vibe of the whole music school. Maybe it’s a result of being a “conservatory” on a Big 10 campus. Don’t get me wrong–the programs there are super intense, but I feel they want to keep the overall feel of the music school accessible and welcoming for all the campus’s students and thus tend to be pretty casual. You’ll see patrons in everything from elegant gowns to shorts/t-shirts in the audiences of operas, recitals, and symphony concerts. But then again, an audition is different and more of a reason to dress to impress:).
Good to know you’ve seen a wide variety. S is very comfortable in a suit because he does speech & debate, so maybe I will have him wear a tie.
Interesting that Jacobs is more laid back! I would have thought it would be the opposite! But, good advice for him (or anyone) to wear something that makes them feel like they own the room!
That is very good to know and great advice, thank you! I think I worry about this way more than he does. So far he has felt comfortable in what he’s worn so I will encourage him to go with him what makes him feel his best for playing. Thank you!
I recommend erring on the side of overdressed versus too casual. However, the ability to move and play comfortably is absolutely the most important factor.
My son wore exactly the same outfit for every audition from Jacobs to USC to Juilliard to Curtis. Black dress pants, black dress shirt, comfortable but very nice black dress shoes.
You will find than many (most?) wind and brass players will not wear a tie for auditions or recitals. My son will not wear a tie unless it is required dress for an ensemble/orchestra. It is either constricting (his neck expands about 3 inches in diameter with the back pressure each time he articulates) or he needs to wear it so loose that it bobs around when he plays. Which looks really odd and distracting.
He always donned a suit jacket and often a tie for any interviews.
To this day I overthink his clothing…he is starting to take professional auditions still in that same outfit. But I have to stop myself from inquiring if his shirt is pressed and if he remembered his black belt. 
We bought our flutist a fancy tie on a trip to Europe when everyone else was getting a fancy gift. He has yet to wear it, no concert, audition, school visit, too constricting when he plays, ha!
Thank you, this is all very helpful! He definitely prefers no tie and of course less restrictive for playing. Most likely he will stick with the same outfit as last weekend. But it’s always a question as we do these conservatory auditions!
Same here…except back in my son’s audition time, a white shirt was standard. But very comfortable was the rule.
I have a different audition-related question. For those with experience with Eastman, Northwestern, Oberlin, Blair and Peabody auditions, I am curious as to whether there are theory or other similar types of components besides just the performance and interview parts. DD (vocalist) has dyslexia, and she is very worried about being asked to do theory or even sight-singing on the spot. Her high school has no theory classes so she has little experience with that, and while she can sight-sing, she is very slow at reading musical notation unless she has heard the piece before (in which case she just goes by memory for the most part). In one of her EA auditions, there was a theory piece, but it was very low-key. She is getting increasingly stressed now because she knows these won’t be low key auditions. I am actually worried that her level of stress about this will interfere with the audition process! Any thoughts are welcome!