Whether a Young Artist Program, mainstage, concert, or summer program audition, the anxiety and excitement leading up to the audition can often leave you exhausted and struggling to find focus in your preparation. And how does a summer program audition compare to other auditions? To help answer this question, representatives from Seagle Music Colony, Oberlin in Italy, American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, and Classical Singing and New York in June discuss what to expect when auditioning for their programs.
Getting Started
Some summer programs center around a culminating performance of opera, operetta, or musical theatre, while others focus on providing coachings, masterclass participation, and voice lessons to artists of different levels.
Oberlin in Italy, a month-long training program for singers, pianists, stage directors, and instrumentalists, based in Arezzo, Italy, offers singers the opportunity to perform full roles in two staged operas, as well as opera scenes and concert performances. The program accepts participants ranging in age from about 17 to 36, which means the audition panel sees an assortment of skill levels.
Oberlin Executive Director Scott Skiba says that with experience level in mind, singers are assigned to one of the program’s divisions. “Some are at the beginning stages of their artistic development, and some have much performance experience and may have begun professional engagements,” he says.
Though summer program auditions can often be as competitive as Young Artist Program auditions, it’s important to remember one big difference: you are auditioning the program, too. If you are going to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on training, you must be sure to get your money’s worth.
The audition panel at AIMS in Graz—a multitier opera, concert soloist, and instrumentalist program—is fully aware of what a singer needs from a summer program. “We must convince auditioners that AIMS represents a great value and is worth every penny of our tuition, and more. So in a way, they are auditioning us—not the other way around,” says AIMS Administrative Director Sarah Halley.
Preparation
As with every aspect of your musical studies, preparation is key to a successful summer program audition.
The 2013 season of Seagle Music Colony, a vocal training program in the Adirondacks in upstate New York, will feature performances of Eugene Onegin, Street Scene, 42nd Street, and Albert Herring. Seagle General Director Tony Kostecki cautions singers against tailoring what they offer to each program’s upcoming season. “If you throw together an aria or song at the last minute, the panel will know . . . ,” he warns. “Many singers seem to make the mistake of trying to fit their audition repertoire into whatever our season selections are. Believe me when I say that any person that is listening to your audition wants you to sing what you sing and perform best.”
Skiba says “excellent preparation” can make an audition, but he knows live performance is never perfect. “I’ve never seen an entire performance in which something doesn’t go wrong. If I know that an artist is able to handle a mistake and proceed as if nothing has happened, then I have confidence that if a mistake happens in performance that they will not implode on stage and ruin the audience’s participation in the performance.”
Classical Singing and New York in June, led by co-directors Donna Gill and Jane Olian, is a 16-day program that provides one-on-one work through coachings, voice lessons, and masterclasses. Gill wants to hear that someone has prepared “musically and vocally [and asks that singers] bring in repertoire with which you are secure and comfortable.”
Repertoire Requirements
Many YAPs ask for the “traditional five:” those arias that fulfill language requirements, are contrasting in style, and show off your best singing and acting abilities. Summer programs, however, often allow more flexibility in what they want to hear.
“Often, particularly for grad school auditions, there are a number of specific requirements about languages, various types of repertoire—songs, arias, etc.—which we do not require,” says Kostecki. “We ask for two pieces and always hear two, so singers can either bring us a list (of what they’re offering), or just bring the two things they want to sing. The main reason for this is that as a training program, we hear many young singers who have limited repertoire fully worked into their voice.”
Classical Singing and New York in June is also flexible on this point. “We leave the repertoire field open to either art song or arias and are not specific in any way as to language, style, and composer,” says Gill. “We require only that the singer have at least three selections that show some contrast in style and language so that we get some sense of the voice and sense of style, period, etc.”
The Oberlin in Italy program outlines more specific requirements to meet the goals of the season, which in 2013 will include Così fan tutte and Monteverdi’s Orfeo. “While a standard aria or audition package typically includes one Italian aria,” Skiba says, “when auditioning for Oberlin in Italy at least two arias in Italian [are] required. Depending on the opera productions in a given year, the casting committee may request to hear arias with recitative.”
The Audition
Now comes the audition. Achieving that fine balance between exquisite technique and expressive acting is tough, but the audition panel wants to know you have that ability.
“I’m sure that singers hear this a lot, but just singing beautifully is just not enough anymore,” Kostecki says. “If you have an incredible voice and great technique, you owe it to yourself and to the art form to take the next step and work on adding the dramatic intention of the text.”
Finally, do not lose the joy you find during the rehearsal process. Auditions do not have to be terrifying and artistically unsatisfying.
“One response we frequently receive from people who audition for AIMS is how much fun they have,” Halley says. “They seem to completely enjoy the experience, and that is exactly what we work to accomplish.”
Recorded Auditions
The benefits of auditioning live are immeasurable. But program administrators realize that unless they hold auditions in every city in every state, it’s not possible to hear everyone live.
“While we prefer to hear people in person, we are open to CD or DVD recordings if traveling to NYC (our only audition location) is not possible,” says Gill.
AIMS offers auditions in a variety of locations around the country, but also accepts recordings. “We always prefer to do live auditions, but you simply can’t be everywhere,” Halley says. “We recently implemented an online system so people may submit their audition electronically, either via CD or DVD, on our website. The advantage of the electronic audition is that people are able to submit materials year round and receive acceptance earlier in the year than if they wait until our live auditions in February and March. This allows them to get a head start on fundraising, grant applications, etc. It also allows people from many countries to audition for us, not just those in the United States.”
“In a live audition, you get to not only see a singer perform, but you get to talk to them, at least briefly, and get a real first impression of their personalities,” says Kostecki. However, he says, between six and 10 of Seagle’s 32 attendees were chosen from recorded auditions in the past couple of years.
“There is of course something to be said about the energy and communicative power of a live audition,” Skiba agrees. “In cases where due to financial or weather-related restrictions, however, a recorded audition will serve the applicants quite well.”
What to Wear
Professionalism goes a long way, no matter what you are auditioning for. Choose a dress or suit that fits well and shows that you are serious and ready to succeed at your craft.
“Come dressed appropriately,” says Gill. “Physical presentation is very important, whether the audition is live or recorded.”
Who Will Hear You
“Live auditions are usually held by one AIMS representative at a time, due to the cost of travel to the audition locations,” explains Halley. “Electronic auditions can be heard by four or five people, who can simply log in to the system and submit their evaluations.”
Seagle Music Colony live auditions are also small. “Our panel is typically just me and Darren K. Woods, our artistic director,” says Kostecki. “There are some occasions when only one of us is the panel as well. Darren and I are also the only ones that make the casting decisions.”
Oberlin in Italy’s audition panel can sometimes include more than just the program directors. “In some cases, the artistic director may ask for input from the conductors and/or stage directors,” Skiba explains, “but the final artistic decision rests with the committee (of voice faculty) and artistic director.”
A Few Minutes to Impress
After hours, days, and even months of preparation, remember that audition panels are ultimately looking to hear and see the foundations of good singing and acting.
“The committee listens for vocal beauty; a healthy, well-produced tone; even scale; legato; dynamic control; sensitive artistic musical phrasing; and text inflection with sensitivity not only to the translation of the text, but more importantly what the text means to the character and the artist,” says Skiba.
For AIMS auditioners, good technique and commanding acting are important. But it’s often about more than that. “(We’re looking for) vocal development, musicality, skill in languages, level of professionalism, stage presence, appearance, and attitude,” says Halley. “For us, we are often as intrigued and charmed by someone with a lesser voice but great enthusiasm for their art as we are by a jaded but more vocally privileged singer. So for us attitude and spirit are very, very important.”
As in any audition, you don’t have much time, so giving it all you’ve got can make a big difference. “Being engaging, giving a complete performance, and fully realizing your context can make an audition,” says Kostecki.
Gill agrees: “Auditions are such short periods of time to ‘get to know’ the performer, so the more range (not just vocal range!) the singer can show us, the better.”
