| Mainly to high school seniors auditioning for colleges,
I agree that these auditions are probably one of the best opportunities for playing in front of the major players/teachers in the world, however, sometimes one time isn't enough. I found that taking lessons before (months before) the auditions was the most beneficial thing that I did. Of course this can be an expensive endeavour, especially over long distances, but I think it's worth the trip if it's driveable (although gas is crazy nowadays). In my auditions at NEC, Maryland, McGill, and Michigan, I knew the teachers from previous lessons/summer festivals, and I think that knowing them as more than just a face from a website relaxed me a lot.
Something that varies a lot school to school is the formality of the audition. At NEC, there was a four or five person pannel who barely spoke or interacted at all. I rememeber the audition was at 48 past the hour, and lasted exactly 12 minutes as planned. Meanwhile at Maryland, Chris Gekker was the only one in the room, had me play the first three lines of the Haydn and then stopped me. I had a lesson with him about two months before, and he said he already knew how I played and didn't need to hear more. Then we talked for about 10 minutes. Both of these auditions ended up being successful for me, and in both cases the teachers remembered me from more than just the audition. If you make the time to take a lesson, the teacher knows you're interested, and gets a better feel for what you can do than they do for someone who just auditions. Meanwhile, at CIM, where I'd never met the teachers, I felt less comfortable. Darling and Sachs were both seated behind me, which was a bit odd, and had me point my bell straight away from them. The audition turned into a mini-lesson and I think that had I traveled to Cleveland a month or two before the audition, I could have given myself a slight advantage.
Regarding adrenaline, I know that I need a long time to settle myself down, even all day sometimes. I think utilizing the warm up rooms to either settle down or pump up is key. As long as everyone takes control of what happens to them before the audition and talors it to what is best for them, they should be able to play the way they want to. Also, a note to auditioners, beware the theory/eartraning tests. Know when they are and make sure they don't get in the way, trust me.
As to mock auditions... SUMMER FESTIVAL AUDITIONS. There are tons of them, and most are free. The ones that aren't free... can be. I took a couple summer festival auditions and didn't fill out the application. The application was 60$ but the audition was free. These are great mock auditions, because they aren't really mock, they're real. Recording yourself as if you are playing an audition is great too. Do yourselves a favour though, don't let the first audition you play be for a top choice school.
So Mike writes dissertations and I write narratives, great!
Matt |