not sure if other studios do it differently. last year Northwestern and Peabody strings were just playing. I remember there were forms to fill out ahead of time and to be turned in to the professors at auditions, but those were done ahead of time, not on the spot.
Generally if an applicant will (or may) be asked to sight read during the audition you will find it listed on the school’s website under audition requirements. So for example, Peabody Voice states “A supplemental sight singing diagnostic will be given directly after all undergraduate auditions.”
So she should be able to know ahead of time if she will need to sight sing. And know that in general, her actual audition of prepared pieces will be weighed most heavily.
If there are ways she can work with her teacher on strategies to improve her reading confidence, great. But the most important aspect (in my opinion) is that she performs her audition repertoire with confidence.
To my knowledge, all written theory tests given on audition day are for placement only. So for sure, she should not stress about that.
Many students struggle with sight reading. It is not a deal breaker, by any means.
I cannot speak specifically to those auditions. So if there are others that know specifically about them, I hope that they can respond.
However my D is a professional performer now (vocalist) and went through auditions quite a few years ago. Still I do know about vocalists…in general. Here are a few opinions of mine.
1.) Vocalist can be in the “shallow end” of the theory pool. Vocalist really don’t seriously study voice until high school. Some NEVER do theory. They may come to music through choirs or musical theater performances only in school. So their music skills can be behind instrumentalist. Some male vocalists only come into their voices in Jr year after enjoying choir…and have little time or no time with music theory. Of course there are more serious vocal students who do study theory…but I wouldn’t say that it is the “rule”.
2.) At my D’s UG (IU), a number of her VP friends had to take remedial theory (some high schools do not offer it as you know). They had never had formal theory. It was not a big deal. They were still accepted based on the strength of their audition.
3.) Sight reading…to my D’s surprise…there are “professionals” who struggle with sight reading! Granted this is not opera work. However she is always surprised to find one or two people who absolutely cannot sight read in a professional musical. She is still learning “grace” during the early rehearsal periods as some are her acquaintances and do have dyslexia etc. BUT they can sing!
4.) My D never had any theory or sight reading requests during auditions for VP (she did for MT but it was very quick). Most auditions were short and sweet and only required her to sing. Theory was done through a paper test or a brief meeting after…usually with a student. Or it was not done at all. It was always low stakes and for placement in theory classes.
Since this is causing anxiety, I would highly sugget reaching out to the schools (I would just call music admissions as a parent but you can have your kid call or email) and ask specifically how theory and sight reading is handled during the audition weekend. Your D should understand the there WILL be other vocalists in the same boat as her.
IMHO, a vocalist should not worry about theory or sight reading since it is not taught at all high schools. There is an equity issue here. So you should assure her that theory and sight seeing can be taught by the university. But her unique sound cannot be taught. So she should focus on showing her “voice”…and not worry about theory. She can be staightforward about the fact that she has had no theory study and is looking forward to that opportunity in college.
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Both my VP kids were asked to sight read in a number of their auditions. One did audition at oberlin but I cannot specifically remember, that kid auditioned a few years back. They both had instrumental heavy reasumes as well and they were comfortable with that. We heard lots of students say they “bombed” that part, I think it is fine if asked and that happens and is not likely to be super impactful. Pulling some simple tunes and trying to read starting from a pitch wouldn’t be a bad thing to try.
Both my kids did multiple theory tests through audition season, some did testing later. Again, I think just for placement. Fine to bomb for vocalists. My daughter who is a freshman this year did an online theory class over the summer that was offered for free to students that had not done AP theory I think through her college (my kid didn’t have that option). It was GREAT - perfect set up for success in the theory sequence. If your final choice doesn’t offer something like that, it might not be a bad idea to self study over the summer. I think there are online classes available from various sources. Theory is a weeder course. Both my kids talked about students struggling and dropping during the theory sequence.
Emailing ahead and asking if either of those things is an expectation for audition weekend is a great idea. Some schools are good about laying out expectations on the website or in their emails. I think a lot of vocalists are going to be in the same boat and I’d encourage her not to sweat it! 
This! My S had theory growing up in choir and did AP theory. He still did/will do the required 4 semesters of theory at Oberlin (last semester starts Monday!), BUT he and several of his cohort sing in area churches where he says it’s like a sight-singing boot camp. New pieces every week and one rehearsal to learn it. He says that when he picks up a musical theater piece now, he looks like the most amazing sight singer, LOLOL.
I agree that to “bomb” a theory test or sight singing in an undergrad audition will not tip the scales or sway the decision one way or the other.
Toi toi toi to all who are heading out for auditions this weekend!
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DD did her Blair audition at the weekend - played pieces, scales and sight reading only
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Thank you for all the wonderful advice!
My opera major did have to sight read at most of her auditions. The music theory test didn’t come until she actually was accepted and it was strictly for placement into class. The sight reading was just to get a feel of her level of competence and had no bearing in the offers from the schools. She did take a sight reading class for her major at her conservatory.
Great advice! The inequity in availability of music theory courses is real. Even within a high school. I have 3 daughters. Only the one who didn’t even end up majoring in music was able to take theory. The years my other 2 needed it, they didn’t have enough students interested to offer the class. They are all vocalists. Thankfully all three played instruments through middle school which gave them a little bit of an edge here.
My oldest daughter was only asked to do some simple sight singing and pitch matching at 1 out of her 5 auditions (7 years ago). Once she enrolled for undergrad (also IU–I wonder if our girls were there at the same time???) she took a placement theory exam which was really almost like a little online summer course. There was no pressure–it was simple for placement.
My youngest daughter is going through the same process now–also voice. So far she has been asked to do sight singing and pitch matching at 2 of her 4 auditions, and she knows she will need to do it for her 5th next weekend. All of these programs with this requirement had it listed on their websites as part of the process, so she was never surprised. She felt very meh about her performance on those evaluations but was accepted. None required a written theory exam.
Both of our kids took AP Music Theory in High School. Both got 5 on the exam.
For our music major son, that didn’t net him any credit at all towards his music degree. BUT he did have a lot more background info as a freshman than some of the other students.
At most colleges, music majors will be expected to complete the sequence the school wants them to complete…in house.
The second kid also didn’t really net any credit for that AP score toward their degree.
Sight reading…agree with the poster above. Join a choir. Our kids were in a children’s choir from age 9-high school graduation. Sight singing every single time a new piece was handed out.
Both of our kids said that piano lessons for a number of years really positioned them to understand music theory easily.
Is there still a sight singing part of the AP Music Theory exam?
Hi all who have been through the audition process in the past or currently going through it right now. I’m overthinking, but I have a question. My son auditioned for viola performance this morning at Jacobs. He played the Sarabande and then he played the Hoffmeister concerto in D, but they stopped him about halfway through. The auditions were running early, so he went in early (not sure what time…) His audition was in the East studio scheduled for 10am and by 10:10, he was back at The Mac to meet me. Do you think this is a bad sign, or would stopping a song or movement midway through be normal practice for an audition. This is his fourth audition for college, and the first time this happened. At the other 3 auditions so far, he’s played 3 full pieces. Ina edition to this, at University if Michigan, he and another prospective viola student had an hour long class after the regular audition. I know you just never know, and we will just have to wait for the results, but I’m just wondering if this has happened to anyone and still received an acceptance.
My kid’s shortest audition was at NEC. He was the very last person to audition on his instrument (we lived close enough that they asked us a few times to reschedule). I think maybe it was 20 minutes long max.
He was accepted.
I would not read too much into the amount of the piece your student played.
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My daughter auditioned there yesterday. I know vocalists were asked to bring 3 pieces. For the audition they were asked to sing the piece of their choice first and then the panel picked the second. No one that I know of sang three pieces. I wouldn’t read much into it. I am not familiar with the pieces he played. Is one of them longer than average? How did you son feel it went–general vibe???
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Back in the day, this was considered common. I’m actually surprised it hasn’t happened before to him. In the professional world, this is common as well. Once they’ve heard enough, you are stopped from my understanding. It’s not good or bad…just efficient. Remember they have heard the pre-screen and seen the resume. The audition is to see you “live”. So, auditions can be very short and sweet. I would not read anything into it.
I do remember that some schools were incredibly welcoming. A big food table, discussions for parents, a performance at night with some teachers attending (mainly at LACs).
I would categorize IU’s audition from my memory as: NEXT!
So if that was his experience, I think that’s fine. Enjoy the rest of the day…knowing he had a professional experience (bc that’s what you may get in the real world sometimes).
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He said he just felt neutral, I am positive I am over thinking. I feel like this is all I have thought about for months, and we still have a couple months more of waiting to hear. They said they roll admissions at the admissions meeting, but it could take up to April 3 to hear from them.
Maybe the prescreen is part of what has me overthinking. Since we are Indiana residents, his prescreen was waived, so I have no idea if he is even in the field of having enough skill to even think about possibly being admitted. This is, I believe, the most challenging school out of the places he is auditioning. He said he felt similarly to how he felt after the audition at CCM. He was really happy and felt great after the experience at Michigan, the professor he auditioned with and had the class with told him he’d be recommending him for acceptance, so that was a nice flex. The setup at Jacobs was welcoming for the families. They had a table with water and maybe snacks- I didn’t get close enough to it to see what they offered, a big table with different kinds of information, seating at the mac to wait, and an admissions info session which was at the same time that he was practicing and auditioning, so that was nice. Parking was easy, important to me, lol.
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Based on the Michigan experience, he’s in the ball park…imho.
My D’s IU audition was not more than 10 min. It felt like a lot of work for 8 min in front of a panel. I have heard for voice that sometimes a panel will only listen to 60 seconds of piece…and know if they are hearing what they want to or not. I really don’t think length of time matters that much to the panel…however to your kid, it may be hard to get any feel for the school/faculty. Based on my D’s experience, panels try not to give you much of a feel…in order not to build up expectations.
I think that he probably had a good audition…and now it’s just about the other candidates.
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This is totally normally. My son’s shortest audition last year was about 8 minutes at Juilliard. Got in with a ton of $. There are several reasons for short auditions. 1) It’s usually obvious within about 2 minutes if your kid is either really good or really bad, so schools may cut short auditions in either of those situations. 2) Some audition panels really stick to the allotted time, to the point of having someone timing the audition. When you are hit 8 or 10 minutes, it is over.
My son’s auditions last year ranged from 8 minutes to 20 minutes. I think he only played one Bach movement all the way through in one audition. Everything else was cut off.
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Also, I forgot to say that the Hoffmeister second half is very similar to the first half (apart from the cadenza), so they likely had plenty of information by the midpoint.
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I forgot, they also invited families to come to the opera that’s on campus tonight.