A Guide to the College Audition Process
by Michael Reedy
Congratulations, you are finally a senior in high school, isn't it great?!?!?! Try not so much for the many of us who are suffering from the ridiculous amount of stress that comes along with the thought of the words: COLLEGE AUDITIONS. Questions running through your head like what solo should I do? What excerpts? What if I don't like the school? What if I don't like the teacher? What if the teacher doesn't like me??? These are the same questions that every senior thinks of before the actual audition and I am here to tell you that although I am not an expert, I am in the same boat. Over the next couple months, I will be doing a journal-like approach to this article with different topics and tips to make your senior year less hectic while using me and my experiences as the guinea pig.{mfcorner reedy.jpg|Michael Reedy|left}First let's get a little more acquainted, my name is Michael Reedy and I am going to be a senior at Blake High School for the Arts in Tampa, Fl. I have played horn for the last six years and have studied privately for the last five with Robert Schoos( Principal, Florida Wind Band) and Gene Berger( Principal, Southwest Florida Symphony; Asst. Principal, Cincinnati Symphony). I have been on the top of youth orchestras, honor bands, and everything at my school but yet the fear of not being good enough still consumes me and many of you. How do we fix it? With the combination of organization, and the help and advice of each other, everyone will be capable of preparing a solid audition. So....STEP 1!
The main focus of this first article is about the
communication between YOU and the professors of the schools of your
choice (usually it is good to have about 5 colleges/conservatories to
choose from). I cannot stress how imperative it is that you introduce
yourself and stay in contact with the professor so that they remember
your name or a little bit about you. What I have been doing is sending
an email to the professors of the schools that I am interested in,
stating who I am and that I am interested in their studio, similar to
this:
Mr. / Mrs. ___________________,
Hello my name
is ________________ and I just wanted to take a moment and introduce
myself and express my deep interest in your studio. Any information
about your studio or your style of teaching would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
Sincerely, _________________________
Another
bit of advice is, if you have the opportunity to take a lesson with
that teacher, DO IT! Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to work
with one of my choices this summer and the experience was great. It
gave me a chance to see the school and see how he teaches as well as
whether or not it worked for me. This will give you a chance to meet
them in person, for them to gain a personal relationship with you, and
it will also give you some insight as to what it is that he/she is
expecting when it is audition time. Another plus to this is that the
first time nerves are already over with and so now you can focus on
playing to the best of your ability when it comes to the actual
audition.
****If you have any questions, comments, or ideas
for upcoming topics dealing with the college audition process, please
contact me at Cornostud@yahoo.com, I would love to hear from you.
