Did you know that by choosing the wrong audition repertoire you can actually hinder your chances of being admitted into the school of your dreams? Do you choose repertoire that shows your strengths or do you pick songs in hopes of “impressing” the voice faculty? What do university professors really think about students’ song selections during college auditions?
As a university-level voice professor, frequent adjudicator, and active performer, this has been a subject that struck a nerve each time I judged a competition or listened to aspiring voice majors during entrance auditions. And my strong reaction to poorly chosen or ill-prepared repertoire was not in isolation. Fellow colleagues would roll their eyes or audibly mumble under their breath when a young baritone attempted the dramatic bravado of Vaughan Williams’ “The Vagabond,” when a perky soprano would struggle with the octave leaps in Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro,” or when a lovely high soprano would unsuccessfully try to sustain passages in “Willow Song” from The Ballad of Baby Doe.
Since I was obviously not alone in my dismay at some chosen repertoire, I decided to investigate this topic further through surveying voice professors from across the country. What follows is a summary of opinions and advice on appropriate audition repertoire from the experts.
The Results: Inappropriate Repertoire
My first survey question, “Do you think singers often present inappropriate repertoire for college auditions?” received a resounding 88 percent “yes” from survey respondents. The second part of this question, “Why?” generated a wide variety of views. “Either they are given poor guidance or they may have a misperception of their ability level,” suggests Linda Lister, assistant professor of music at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas. Many students perform non-classical repertoire, which shows that “a potential voice major simply does not understand what a classical voice program is about, so they do not know what to prepare,” says Melissa Malde, University of Northern Colorado professor of voice and author of the book What Every Singer Needs to Know about the Body.
Lawrence Johnson, assistant professor of voice at Southern Utah University, passionately adds, “Absolutely! Singers often sing pieces way out of their range, sing the wrong gender aria, sing pieces they have no clue what it means, or sing repertoire that does not fit them in general—for example, an introverted personality singing a passionate and engaging song with no passion or engagement.”
The problem of presenting inappropriate repertoire is not only limited to high school singers. “I do hear singers doing repertoire that is beyond their vocal capabilities,” Ann Baltz, artistic director of OperaWorks reveals. “Several artist managers have told me they prefer to hear a singer audition with repertoire that is a Fach lighter than they might do because it stimulates the manager’s imagination.” This advice can help young singers as well, because voice faculties are trying to find singers with potential, not perfection. Joan Dornemann validates this further in her book, Complete Preparation. She suggests that singers learn repertoire in the order it was composed: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, etc.
To discover the reasons behind this phenomenon, I also posed the question, “If you do find that singers often present inappropriate repertoire, do you blame the student or the teacher?” This received mixed results, with 50 percent blaming the teacher, 4 percent pointing the finger at the student, 29 percent directing responsibility to both student and teacher, and 17 percent admitting it depended upon the situation. Lisa Stidham, lecturer in music at Scripps College, aptly summed it up by stating, “Both, but it is the teacher’s responsibility to make good choices. The students often want to sound older than they are or prove they can sing difficult repertoire. The teachers sometimes want to have a student who is attempting a difficult piece, even if it strains them beyond their capabilities.”
“Many students these days have a drive and determination that is often years beyond their ability,” speculates Jay White, assistant professor of music in voice at Kent State University. “They are strong minded and can be very convincing. Unfortunately, sometimes their confidence and passion for the art may not match the talent necessary to be a successful artist.”
“‘Blame’ may not be the operative word here,” explains Helene Joseph-Weil, professor emerita of voice at California State University–Fresno. “Sometimes it is just pure ignorance on the part of the teacher or the student; sometimes the student presents repertoire the teacher would not have sanctioned; sometimes the student has had no formal vocal training and only has the support of a high school choral director; or, finally, the audition has been hastily prepared with no prior knowledge of the audition requirements.”
“Most of the students I’ve heard with inappropriate literature don’t have a private instructor,” shares Jim Tompkins-MacLaine, a San Diego-based voice teacher and coach. “They rely on their high school or church choir director. Sometimes those people have no training in voice and they don’t know what kind of song to choose. I was judging a vocal competition, and a young baritone sang a selection from Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben. After his performance, I asked him who chose the piece for him. He told me his high school choir director. I explained to him that the song was from a cycle that a woman would sing and that the song extolled the manliness of the singer’s intended. He turned bright red and told me that he was going to use that song for his college auditions.”
Next, I raised the $64,000 question: “Has poorly chosen repertoire impacted your final decision about admitting a singer into your program or awarding a scholarship?” Of those surveyed, 64 percent responded that yes, this factor could impact the outcome. Some teachers had a difficult time discerning what a young singer was capable of if they presented poorly chosen literature, whereas others found that if another singer was just as good and had a better “overall” package, the voice faculty would sway toward the latter singer. Of course, if a student was also pushing or singing incorrect notes, the student might not be admitted. Occasionally a singer would present inappropriate repertoire with correct notes, good intonation, and a healthily produced tone. And very rarely, a student would be able to adequately present more difficult material, but this is definitely in the minority of cases.
The full article this appeared in Classical Singer magazine.
