I’m in the process of finalizing trial lesson times with violin professors at UMich SMTD and Northwestern Bienen. When I was researching the professors to see who I’d want to learn from, I chose the ones I thought were “best”, naturally. But then I heard that these professors (specifically the UMich one) has really high expectations of who to accept into her studio💀which is valid and expected. I’ve heard that trial lessons often put you at an advantage if you’re a decent player, but if the professor has really high standards, could a trial lesson hurt my chances?
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Your audition will be the most important thing, but yes, if you have a practice lesson where you make a bad impression with an influential faculty member, that certainly could hurt your chances. Not only do you want them to be impressed with your level of playing - you also want them to be able to teach you something during the session, to come across as being able to respond to instruction. And of course you want to seem like a pleasant person to work with.
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