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Shared from the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Facebook Page...
Shared from a college professor after hearing auditions...this is excellent advice for those still in the midst of auditions and for those who will be auditioning for college in the near future!! ------------------------------------------- This post was shared with permission from Chris Van Hof, assistant professor of trombone at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. Auditions are over at my university, and I have a handful of thoughts young (high school age junior and under) players might want to keep in mind: 1. Details matter. If the page says "p," then play piano. If there is an accent on one note and nothing on the next, make a noticeable difference. Details matter. Play everything on the page. 2. The fundamentals of trombone playing matter a HUGE deal. Quality sound, good time, accurate slide technique and articulation, and good intonation are essential. 2.5 (sorry, re-read and added this): We'd rather hear you play GREAT than fast/high/loud/hard repertoire. Choose your repertoire to showcase your best playing, if possible. 3. Your grades in high school matter. Good grades are an important indicator of success as a music major (not the only indicator, but a big one) 4. Wear nice clothes. Ties and a tuxedo are not needed, but you should look at least like you're on a first date at like, the *nicer* Applebee's in town. 5. Scales matter. If they are requested by the school, you need to know them. 6. Be ready to answer the question "It says here you want to be a music education/composition/performance/technology/therapy major. Why is that?" with a more detailed reply than, "band was my favorite class in school." Show us some passion. Or at least that you're not succumbing to The Singularity. 7. Don't forget that everyone you're playing for has been nervous before, and it's ok if you're nervous. It's even ok if you need to take a breath and start something over. We've all been there and we want to just hear you play great (see numbers 1-2). 8. It's generally not good if the first time we're hearing you play is your audition. Set up a lesson with the teacher well in advance. 9. Finally: take private lessons in high school. I can't stress enough how immensely important this is if you aspire to major in music. It's not impossible if you don't, but it'll MAJORLY help your chances of scholarship/acceptance. This was originally posted on the Trombone pedagogy Facebook page.
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