Auditions

January 11, 2005 at 06:25 AM · Hey Henry, I thought of starting a thread like this. I'll be playing Mendelssohn VC mvt. 1, Bach Sonata no. 1 Adagio and Fugue, Franck Sonata 4th mvt, Harbison Four Songs of Solitude no. 1, Gavinies no 1 and Rode no. 4. I'm auditioning at Indiana (already accepted to the university and honors college!), CIM, NEC, BU, Vanderbilt, and Bard.

Best of luck!

January 11, 2005 at 01:37 PM · Wow! That's a lot of auditions! Good Luck!

January 11, 2005 at 10:27 PM · Hey! I'm a high school senior and applying to colleges this year! :) Stressful stuff. I'm playing the Brahms violin concerto mvts. 1 and 2, Bach Partita no. 1, Wieniawski Polonaise in D, Paganini Caprices nos. 4 and 9 and the Red Violin Caprices (or another 20th century piece that I'm looking at now). I think that's it. The schools I'm applying to are CIM, NEC, Rice, Colburn, Juilliard and ASU (Arizona State University; In state back up). Good luck to all! Have you heard anything yet about when your auditions are? I've only heard from CIM and my audition is on the 31st of January. My last choice, but when you turn in the application the night it's due, what else can you expect? Cheers!

January 11, 2005 at 10:37 PM · it's good that CIM is your first audition if it isn't your first choice-kind of a test run. My Peabody audition will between the 21st and 25th of February, and my Curtis audition if I end up auditioning will be 26-28 of February

January 11, 2005 at 10:45 PM · I'm a junior and we just went through Ideas of what I can play...fun fun fun!!! (Sarcasm)

January 11, 2005 at 11:34 PM · hello! I applied to the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, and Goldsmiths College (all in London) and I'm playing Lalo Symphonie Espagnole Mov. 1, Bach or Barber, and Rode no. 2.

January 11, 2005 at 11:38 PM · Greetings,

Jenni, who or what are you interested in at Goldsmith`s?

And why didn`t you aply to Guildhall?

Just curious...

Cheers,

Buri

January 12, 2005 at 02:43 AM · Buri,

Goldsmith's I'm interested in because their music department is "different" - I love the fact that they have devoted so much to Prokofiev as well. I applied for their two year program though because I expect to transfer to a conservatory.

Guildhall was actually my first choice. I didn't apply to Guildhall or Trinity, however, because I missed the deadlines. I wasn't prepared for them to be so early, compared to US colleges, and I also wasn't sure that I wanted to go to London for college. Once I decided that, and involved my parents and they backed me up, I got serious with applications - but too late. I'll see where I get in, if at all, and then weigh my options.

January 12, 2005 at 12:28 AM · Hi all, I'm applying to NEC and NYU and I'm playing Shostakovich concerto no. 1 Cadenza and last movement, bach d minor sarabande and gigue, ravel tzigane and beethoven spring sonata first mvt.

January 12, 2005 at 01:15 AM · I love the Shostakovich! Good Luck!

January 12, 2005 at 01:19 AM · Greetings,

thanks Jenni. I`ll take a look at the goldsmith`s website becvause I am intrigued by the difference thing. One point to bera in mind maybe is that it was, at least more than twenth years ago ;( academic rather tha performance oriented. Nothing wrongh with that but if you want to be surrounded by consistently top clas splayers it isn`t necessarily the best place to go.

Cheers,

Buri

January 12, 2005 at 02:41 AM · Buri - thanks for the advice! I do want to be surrounded by top players, but I'm open to not going to a conservatory all four years - I may want to take some other classes. I think through other agencies I can involve myself with professionals while in college, and that can only add to my music education. I I do want to be a teacher, so I'll try to intern somewhere as soon as possible.

What part of Japan are you in? Can you advise me what music schools are best around Tokyo? Is there ANY need whatsoever for violin teachers, English speaking? I may be visiting in the next 2 years (definitely in the next 4) and that visit may turn into a longer stay, so I'm curious about my options. (Since this is off topic, feel free to reply by email instead of the forum, up to you. Thanks!)

January 12, 2005 at 05:34 AM · Greetings,

you wanna come to the big J? Woooweeee!

It is much easier here to classify things heirachically as this is a dominant feature of the culture.

The top unversity is Geidai and they produce world class students. The top teahcer and musicain there is Prof. Ito.

The number two university is Todai (I think thats right- I can get more detailed notes on these things maybe later) One of the most famous teahcers an dperformers who works for them is Kenji Kobayashi who was a Galmina student and well known in the US. But he is getitng on a bit now.I think one of his sytudents was Mrs Nishizaki who is a greta teacher and currently lives in the uS.

A lot of the top Japanese players and teachers can speak English to some extent because they studied and worked abroad. There are a lot of superb players because during the bubble economy years people had the money to send kids abroad for intensive study. A lot of these players now live in Japan but have little work in the music busineess which is restricted by geographical situation as much as anything else.

I think you woiuld need to speak Japanese to some extent for your own confort and ease. Keep in mind that there is a lot more need for both introductions and money to study in Japan with a good teacher.

Excellent culturla experience aside the niggling question in my mind is sort of `why come here?`

Of course, you are welcome to kip at my place (as long as Mattias isn`t drunk and practicing ice hockey in the living room?@again)

Cheers,

Buri

January 12, 2005 at 04:15 AM · Look dad, I can se more than one goal!!!

Swim bam bom!

Oops...That was the television......

January 12, 2005 at 05:35 AM · Greetings,

Jenni, sorry one of the disatvantages of not looking at the cmputer screen is you don`t answer the quesiton that was asked.

I can tell you in no uncertain terms you will not get a job in Japan teaching the violin, especially not in English.

If you can get settled here then you might start to pull in private students but that`s about it. I have a quasi univeristy post but that is kept off the books becuas eit is not allowed to exist. My real job (which pays for the damage Mattias causes)is teaching English.

You can email me for more info except not at this address so I will try to send you a personal mail,

Cheers,

Buri

January 13, 2005 at 08:24 PM · Thanks Buri! Look forward to that email. I have some more questions I could throw at you. So you do think it is possible to have private students in Japan if you don't speak Japanese? Given I need to speak a little. (I can speak a VERY little bit at the moment, not enough but it is some progress...) I'm not really looking to be affiliated with a school as a teacher in Japan.

January 13, 2005 at 11:41 PM · Greetings,

hah, forgot the email sorry.

Yes you can have private students in Japan but howare you going to get them?

An interesting aspect of this question is that there are not so many children around any more. Japan has a really serious problem in this respect.

Then you need aminimum basic income to get into the country and then stay for long enough and you certianly can`t get that from privtare violin teaching unless you can establish yourself through an institute first. Not much hope I`m afraid. not a refelection on your ability, just the situation as it stands.

The other posisbility that is changing here is that some Japanese orchestras are now importing foriegn players. But you have to have a really big name like David Nadien to get into a half decent orchstra of which there are very few anyway.

My advice, come here as an Englis teahcer if you reallyw ant to epxerience the countyr for a year or more. If oyu can find private studnets that`s good, but then you have to figure out how to advertize and ask for money when an English teachers contract forbids htis...

Cheers,

Buri

Yes, you do need Japanese language skills to teahc the violin.

January 14, 2005 at 12:10 AM · Please pardon my ignorance, but why are there few kids in Japan?

January 14, 2005 at 12:16 AM · According the demographic transition theory... Japan, a highly advanced and technological country, has reached stage 4: zero population growth. That means that crude death rate=crude birth rate. They have an aging population and their culture has transitioned to smaller families (usually 1-2 kids) because the mothers are often professional career women and are less likely to stay at home and take care of the family. Thus, there are fewer kids being born, and as a result fewer little suzuki kids! That AP human geography class I took comes back to haunt me, even 3 years after the fact :)

January 14, 2005 at 01:01 AM · Er, yes.

It really is affecting things very badly. Schools and Youth orchestras in more rural areas are closing down for exmaple.

And this is purely speculative on my part, but I recnetly joined a gym and there are virtually no young women using it. That wa sa real shock for me. I was last in one here five or so years ago and they were young people places. Now it seems they are the province of prune deficient octogenerians.

Cheers,

Buri

January 14, 2005 at 02:32 AM · "My last choice, but when you turn in the application the night it's due, what else can you expect?"

Oops Henry! I think Klara meant that this particular audition date (January 31st) was her last choice, not the school! Sorry if I have that wrong Klara! I wouldn't think anyone would want to post that information on v.com if they meant the school was their last choice, although someone last year posted that about another school. One never knows who's reading this site!

Vidal

January 14, 2005 at 05:28 AM · Yeah, I'm sorry about that! I meant to say that the 31st of January was my last choice audition date, not the school!! Cleveland is in fact one of my top choices. I'm sorry about the confusion; I was going to remedy that earlier but I was too lazy! :p Cheers!

Klara

January 14, 2005 at 10:55 PM · lol-sorry I didn't get that. just found out my Peabody audition is Feb 22nd

January 17, 2005 at 05:59 PM · hmm... I think I'm going to play Prokofiev 1st mov. for my second piece instead of Bach - everyone plays Bach, for good reason I know, but still. Is Prokofiev a good idea?

January 18, 2005 at 02:46 AM · Sure why not, go for the prokofiev. I'm doing Paganini Concerto No.2, Bach Sonata 1, Paganini 24, and Mozart No.4 for Curtis. See ya there Henry!

January 26, 2005 at 05:03 AM · I did an audition at Julliard and they rejected me. I threw a hissy fit and they got scared. Man I was angry! I played the Kornhole concerto and they still didn't accept me. What gives?

January 26, 2005 at 06:05 AM · It doesn't depend so much WHAT you played, it depends on HOW you played it.

However, if you were kind of on the very edge of getting in, there are variables like who was on the jury, who played before you, your choice of pieces, perhaps even resume or teacher choice.

It's a bit of a crap shoot. Don't let it get you down. Let it motivate you to do even better rather than discourage you.

What do you mean you "threw a hissy fit and they got scared"? That's not really how to deal.

Preston

January 26, 2005 at 06:14 AM · Yes it isn't the fact that he played the Kornhole. The truth is he didn't practice it enough. He should pound away on the Kornhole and go back and audition again. Agreed?

January 26, 2005 at 06:10 AM · I got ticked off and told them off. I think more people should take this approach as it really shakes up the judges. Most of them think they can just say whatever they want and expect the student to take it as constructive criticism. Well, sometimes its not so constructive, and if its destructive they want, that's what they'll get.

January 26, 2005 at 06:38 AM · Greetings,

actually it is not necessary for anyone to take this approach. If you let other people control your feelings in this way you can make an apalling impression and demonstrate some weakness of character by letting others control you.

There are ways of communicating what you are feeling that are more mature and might even earn you some respect that will pay dividends later.

You can express what is annoying you as an objective situation for example. Follow this by telling people your actually feelings at taht moment. Being ticked off is not your actual base level response, we often have to dig deeper. Anger can often be a mask for covering up our realization that the other person is right. You could say that you feel this way because you would like people to respect all the work you have put in, and then respectfully ask them to consider making positive comments about what you have achieved.

This would have just been one way of doing things.

Cheers,

Buri

January 26, 2005 at 06:56 AM · Maybe his Kornhole just went over their heads.

January 26, 2005 at 10:31 AM · Greetings,

hence the maxim I always teach my students "Never audition while swinging from a chandelier,"

Cheers,

Buri

January 26, 2005 at 02:04 PM · Henry, when were you scheduled for Curtis? I'm Saturday, Feb.26th at 9:45 in morning. Great, the morning...just what I wanted :P

January 26, 2005 at 03:19 PM · Buri,

You've hit it right on the nose. Also, I don't think that any of the teachers on the jury (and I know, played for, and/or studied with a number of them) are going to be any sort of intimidated or scared by an unknown student throwing some hissy fit at them.

Preston

January 26, 2005 at 06:26 PM · You might hit their noses especially if you are swinging on a chandelier after eating prunes! Look out below! :-)

January 26, 2005 at 10:08 PM · Forget the Kornhole. Just toss them some Spohr.

January 26, 2005 at 11:53 PM · "They sure looked scared"

Then congratulations. What did that accomplish?

Don't confuse dismay and disgust with fright.

Preston

January 27, 2005 at 01:57 AM · I think anyone on any jury would be scared if someone tried to play the Kornhole Concerto.

January 27, 2005 at 02:02 AM · N/M