Emilie Kushner
Senior Editor
While seniors buckled down to make November first deadlines, the few students hoping to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) or Bachelor of Music (BM) program are in a different mindset. Supplements and test scores are the least of their worries – auditions however can make or break them.
Senior Christy Coco is taking on both, auditioning for a BFA in Musical Theatre as well as a BM in Voice. She can be seen at an audition wearing anything from a “pretty, respectable dress” to a “leotard, ballet tights and ballet skirt” as students can be required to interview, perform monologues or songs, and even dance on-the-spot combinations.
Unlike the normal application process which is already competitive, the BFA and BM programs are incredibly competitive, only admitting around five girls and five boys a year. “My auditions will have a large effect on whether I am admitted to the schools” Christy said. “For some schools, if you are not accepted into their music or theatre programs, your application isn’t even considered for the school, despite your academic applications.”
Senior Maddie Rusch who committed to Duke for swimming, compared her own stress of choosing one of five colleges who recruited her to that of her friends who are auditioning for college. Christy, however, thinks otherwise. “The arts are largely undervalued in colleges,” she said.“Kids who play sports are recruited by college scouts but there is no process similar to that with the arts.” While athletes abilities help their admittance, artists must be the best of the best to be admitted to a BFA or BM program.
Senior Tess Musky-Goldwyn, who is auditioning for Musical Theater and Acting, realized the benefit of the audition process – the auditions weighs so heavily on your decision that grades are not as important as they are in the normal college process. “Auditioning is like 60% or more of what gets you into the college so grades aren’t as important” she said.
Senior Harrison Miller, who plays the bassoon, will be auditioning to major in Bassoon Performance. Unlike students applying specifically to BFA or BM programs, he will be auditioning for conservatories. He too puts less emphasis on the academic side of applying. “I mean, my SATs don’t matter, and at most of my schools I don’t send transcripts until I am accepted or commit, in April” he said. “The audition really determines if you get in.”
Senior Alyssa Thompson is auditioning for piano programs and goes through an even more extensive audition process. “Half of my schools require pre-screening, which means that you send in a DVD and then they let you know whether you’re invited for a physical audition or not.” To prepare for both the pre-screening and audition she has multiple lessons with her teacher per week. She will be recording her pre-screening at the end of this month. “Recording it will be stressful, but a really good exercise at stepping it up when the pressure is on” she said.
While students reach out to a multitude of resources for help with preparing for the audition, NCHS Teacher David Gomez plays an integral part in his students’ preparation. “I select pieces for my students and work with them to prepare for the audition” he said. “The process is very stressful and requires a lot of preparation.” Mr. Gomez has given all of his students a good background when it comes to pursuing their art on a college level. “Auditions are very difficult because they can be required to sing a song in different languages and styles” he said. “My students fare well in auditions because they can already sight read music.”
Whether it be for musical theater or playing the bassoon, auditioning is a completely different ball game. “Auditioning is another layer added to the already stressful application process” Christy said.” It requires a lot of time and effort beyond the usual ‘senior application process.’”
Harrison has experienced the stress surrounding the almighty audition as well. “For me, the audition is everything,” he said. “Applying to conservatory is such a different world than applying to a college or university in that everything you do comes down to fifteen to twenty minutes.”
“It essentially is like doing double applications, or even more. Not only do you have do all the regular admissions work, applications, and essays, but you usually have to do a separate application to the music school or conservatory – none of that matters if you don’t play your absolute best come audition day” Alyssa said.
