A Student’s Guide: Auditioning for Music School
© 2002 Jeanne Baxtresser
Across this country, indeed, around the world, an extraordinary event
takes place each year between January and March. This event is the
audition process for entrance into conservatories and the music
departments of colleges and universities. Literally thousands of young
musicians who have been practicing their instruments since grade school
travel many miles for the opportunity to play for the teachers of these
institutions of higher education.
We flutists are aware that, because of the extraordinary popularity of
our instrument, the competition is daunting. Scores of students apply
for schools that may have only a few openings. It is not unusual for me
to hear close to a hundred flutists within a two-week period each year.
At the end of this year’s auditions I felt, as I do each year—profoundly
affected by the extraordinary dedication, love and support
that surrounds each student. As I don’t have the opportunity to express
my thoughts and feelings at the time of the auditions, I would like to
use the opening of this article to address the parents, the teachers and
the students who have been involved in auditions in past years. I am
also addressing the flutists, families and teachers of future auditions.
To the Parents
I am always so moved by all of you remarkable people who have devoted
yourselves so totally to your children. I know there is an enormous
sacrifice of time and money that goes into bringing your child to the
point of auditioning for the flute faculty of a music school. The
results of your commitment and love are shiningly evident to us as we
greet each student in the audition room. Your children are young people
of poise, dedication, sincerity and intelligence. I can honestly say
that every single student that played for me this spring left a very
positive impression on my colleagues and me. They are beneficiaries of
the many gifts that come to us from studying music. I commend all of
you—the parents of these remarkable young people. You are
contributing not only to the future of your children, but also to the
well-being of our society.
To the Teachers
I must also take this opportunity to thank the scores of teachers all
over the country, and the world, for that matter, who give so much of
themselves to preparing a student for this important event. You are the
ones who literally show the young players how to put the flute together,
how to make their first sounds, and nurture their love of music. You
then guide them to the point where they are able to perform standard
repertoire for professional flutists all across the country.
Those of us who teach at the university level have the very serious
responsibility of bringing your students into the professional world and
into their own future. We will all do our best to carry on the
wonderful work all of you have done in bringing these players to us.
To the Students
I was so delighted to meet each and every one of you who played for me
this year, as well as the hundreds who have played for me in the past.
My greatest frustration in these auditions is not having the time to get
to know each one of you a little better. I am so curious to hear about
your lives, your hobbies, your ambitions, and all the things that have
brought you to that moment where you are playing for us in a college
audition. I congratulate each one of you on your fine presentation and
wish you well in your future education.
In closing, I would like to say that with each student who stands in
front of me, I am profoundly touched by the dedication of the parents
and teachers who stand behind them and have brought them to this point.
I will finish my thank you letter to you all by paying tribute to my own
first teacher, Mary Wilson, and to my final teacher and mentor, Julius
Baker. They are both in my thoughts every single day. Also, to my
parents, Earl and Margaret—they gave so much of themselves to help me
pursue my love of music and the flute.
Preparing for Auditions in Spring
Each year many students call me (and certainly other teachers) for
advice and counsel on how best to prepare their college entrance
auditions. At this point I would like to give an outline of some of the
most important areas in which you, the student, can prepare yourself for
this event. My comments apply to students who are auditioning at the
undergraduate and graduate level.
The Business of Auditioning
Research
The first step towards taking an audition is to do very thorough
research on the school and teachers you want to entrust with your
future. Fortunately, with today’s Internet, you can obtain a tremendous
amount of information about schools—curriculum, teachers, audition
requirements, etc. After you have made a school “wish list” with the
assistance of your parents and teacher, you should start to look
carefully at the advantages and disadvantages of each institution. A
“plus and minus” list might be helpful at this point. The school you
choose has to fit your specific and unique needs. These will include
such areas as performance opportunities, access to university courses,
degree programs offered, level of academic courses, access to an urban
environment, college campus life, and so on. These are some of the
personal decisions that must be addressed. You want to make intelligent
choices selecting those schools in which you will invest your time and
money.
Choosing a Teacher
One of the most important matters to address is your choice of teacher.
A great advantage of playing a popular instrument is that the level of
teaching is extraordinarily high in this country. (To obtain a high
level teaching position is as competitive as the attainment of high
level performing opportunities.)
Every teacher has a philosophy of teaching and a style of playing that
is individual and unique. Your challenge is to find a good match
between you and your future teacher. In researching this, your current
teacher is a useful guide. If you have the opportunity, arranging a
personal meeting with a prospective teacher is a very good idea.
Over the years I have developed a policy for students who have requested
a personal meeting with me. I meet with these students for a brief time
to answer their questions, have them play a little for me, and help to
put them at ease about the audition experience. This is NOT a lesson
and I do not accept a fee. I consider it a service and encouragement to
those young people who are about to spend a great deal of money and time
on the upcoming auditions. I know many of my colleagues do the same.
It is very important for every student to realize that although these
meetings are a helpful source of information, they do not in any way
give an advantage to one student over another. In my experience, jurors
are fair and unbiased. Flute faculties simply want to select the best
future students.
Selecting your Degree or Diploma
Every school offers numerous programs designed to fit various career
paths. Before you apply to colleges you must determine if you want to
make flute performance your major concentration. Undergraduate students
can consider different degree programs (for example Bachelor of Music,
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Music
Education). If you feel you want to continue your lessons but don’t
want to major in performance, there are very good opportunities at many
schools where you can do this by considering a music minor program. In
addition, there are schools that can offer a double major, which enables
a student to concentrate on two disciplines with equal intensity. For
example, I currently have an outstanding student at Carnegie Mellon
University who is majoring in flute performance and Mathematics. She
was reluctant to make a career decision in her freshman year and opted
to give herself maximum exposure to both possibilities.
There are also some very interesting undergraduate and graduate diploma
programs offered at various schools, including the New England
Conservatory. These programs are designed to give the students more
intensive studio instruction and performance opportunity. Academic
requirements are minimal, if any. These programs are worthy of
consideration for students that need more time on the flute in a
structured environment.
Graduate students have a number of choices after completing a Master’s
degree. For example, both schools where I teach offer an Artist Diploma
program. This is a two-year program with complete tuition scholarship
(stipends are also a possibility). In an Artist Diploma program there
is a concentration on lessons and performance without academic
class-work. It is for the most exceptional students who are regarded as
“pre-professional”. The other choice after a Masters degree is for a
Doctor of Musical Arts degree (D.M.A.). This is also a rigorous and
selective program for the performer-scholar. Students selecting this
program should be at the highest performance level and have proven
accomplishments in musicology, theory, etc. This is an extraordinarily
demanding program.
For international students who need time to learn English language
skills, many schools offer programs that can assist in this endeavor.
Preparation of Audition Material
Audition Requirements
Each school has a very specific list of requirements. Most of these
requirements are somewhat similar in terms of repertoire and technical
requirements, but there are also differences that make each school’s
list unique. After you have selected a list of schools that hold great
interest for you, you must start to put together a program of all the
material you will have to learn. Pay close attention to specific
requirements, e.g. memorization, editions, movements, cadenzas.
Preparation
Ideally, you should start thinking about your audition repertoire in
late spring and through the summer of the academic year before the
audition will take place. By the beginning of the fall semester you
should be involved in the preparation of all the pieces you are
expecting to play at the audition. With this time line you will be able
to give yourself a vacation from the audition literature for a few weeks
or even months. This prevents a burn-out on these pieces, and keeps
them fresh and interesting. I also recommend that you create a few
opportunities in which you perform these pieces for a live audience. I
have always felt that you don’t really “own” a piece until you have
performed it. Give yourself the gift of confidence knowing that you can
enjoy playing these pieces in front of an audience, in any setting. Be
sure that you practice stopping in the middle of a piece and then
starting another. Jurors want to hear you cover a variety of materials
and may decide to stop you at any moment, to hear something different.
Play as you would if you were going to play the entire piece, but be
ready to re-focus immediately if you are stopped.
Traveling to Auditions
When auditioning far from home, you may find it helpful to arrive the
day before. This gives you the chance to be well-rested and acclimate
yourself to the new environment. Be sure you bring appropriate dress
for the climate you are traveling to—winter storms are common
occurrences all over the country at audition time. Always bring a
sweater to any audition—the audition room may be uncommonly cold.
Bring water and maybe some food (a banana or roll) in case you have to
wait a long time to play. Be sure you pack all necessary flute and
piano music.
Many of you may be more comfortable if you travel with a parent. This
is perfectly acceptable and a matter of personal choice.
Mental Preparation
A Few Words of Advice
The most important thing for you to realize as you audition for schools
is that you are playing for a jury of people who are extremely
empathetic and supportive of your efforts. If a student faces a
momentary difficulty or mental block, I know exactly what it feels like,
as there is nothing in the performance experience that I have not also
faced personally. As a teacher, I simply want each auditioning student
to do his or her best.
Try to remember while you are playing what it was that brought you to
the audition—love of music and a love of the flute. Also keep in mind
that a jury of professional flutists can hear beyond your momentary
lapses or mistakes. We are well schooled in hearing the preparation and
talent that has carried you through years of study.
The other piece of advice I will offer you is to empower yourself by
remembering that the audition experience is a two-way street. The
school is judging you, but you are also judging the institution. Do you
like the facilities, were you treated well, is the environment a
positive one, do you get a good feeling overall? These questions and
many others will help you to keep a perspective of the event, as the
assessment you form about the school is every bit as important as the
one formed about you by the flute jury.
Keep Your Focus
As you are warming up you will meet and hear many other flute
candidates. It is crucial that you not let this experience distract you
or take you off your path. How other people play doesn’t change what
you do. Remain true to yourself, your plan and your focus.
The Jury
Your Presentation
When a student walks in to audition for me, I assess him or her on many
different levels. Teachers can’t help but react to your personal
presentation: dress, manner, poise, and confidence. Practice the way
you address the jury. Feel free to be friendly and respectful with a
self-assured demeanor. To help us form a good opinion of you, however,
it is important that you acknowledge the jury, that you appear to be
organized in your presentation, and that you be dressed well. This
takes practice, thought and planning. I recommend a few “mock”
auditions so you will feel comfortable with the scenario.
Your Performance
When you begin to play we are listening for control of sound and
vibrato, technical security, solid intonation and rhythm, and a genuine
feeling for the music. We like to see that you are comfortable with the
flute and that you enjoy performing. If we stop you in the middle of a
piece, do not interpret this as an indication that the jury is not happy
with what they’ve heard. Quite the contrary: we are probably anxious to
hear more variety, which indicates we have an interest in what you are
doing. At the most basic level, an audition is simply a performance.
In any performance, your goal is to communicate the beauty of the
composer’s music, to bring the audience into your world, and to enjoy
the experience for its own sake. A jury performance is no different.
Learning About You
Equally important to me is learning about the person before me—your
life, ambitions, and interests outside of music. Be prepared to have
the jury ask you questions. There is an inexplicable bond that is
created between a student and teacher in the years of study. It is
based on mutual trust, respect, and shared ideals and goals. If you are
interviewed in an audition, you should be thoughtful, sincere and
honest. Teachers are most anxious to use their time to get to know you
so that they can feel confident the relationship will be a comfortable
one. A sincere and dedicated student will communicate these qualities
without effort or thought.
Final Thoughts
Do not expect too much of yourself in terms of perfection in these
auditions. You are young, untested performers and the teachers
listening to you understand this. You must be forgiving of yourself and
trust us to hear what you are truly capable of doing.
Also, do not allow a 10-minute audition for ANYONE to define you. One
of the big lessons any performer must learn is that you are not simply a
product of your last performance. Your ability to put auditions in
perspective will help you to do your best. No single audition will
determine your future—it is the overall work and progress that will
matter in the end.
Another word of advice: even though there may be many people playing
before you and after you, in your audition the jury is thinking only
about you. Don’t feel rushed to fill the time, or hurried because you
think the jurors have so many people to listen to. Relax into your time
and don’t feel pressured to make it pass quickly.
In closing, once again, I wish to communicate my admiration to all of
those talented young people who have played for me over the years. I am
sure my colleagues at other schools would join me in expressing this
sentiment. You are part of an exceptional group of people. I wish I
had the time to get to know each one of you not only as a flutist, but
also as a person.
Best wishes to you all!
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