I have a suggestion for judges at every level, from middle school festivals to the Met auditions: You are on the best ground if you report on what you hear, without giving ways to fix it. You do not know the context of that singer’s study, their history, their challenges, nor their ability to translate […]
Tag: auditions
The dreaded “foreign language requirement” in auditions
This year I have four high school seniors auditioning for college programs in performing arts. Three of them are auditioning as vocal performance majors. At least one school for each student is requiring an English song and songs in two other languages. One in particular says that Spanish is not allowed. This year none of […]
What to sing for auditions?
There is no “perfect song”. However, there are many, many excellent choices. The purpose of an audition is to show the listeners the best of what you can do vocally, and that you can communicate. That’s it. Whether you are castable is in the minds of the panel. Let’s talk about what your audition should […]
What are the music schools looking for in auditions?
Last year, one of my very bright students asked me this: I was looking at the [a school of music] website and they said they look for talent and not technical proficiency in the audition, but what’s the difference? How can you listen to a voice and say that it’s talented? Below is my response. […]
Judging at NATS
I judged college junior women and college senior men today. I will write a few random notes here. Please ask other people what your “starter piece” should be. A lot of you picked starter pieces that were not your best, I suspect. I heard lots of Italian with missing R’s today. Flip or roll, those […]