College help

Griever · Post by **Griever** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 2:55 pm

I've been looking at conservatories, UC, and Cal state schools and I've been wondering what would good pieces to play be. My teacher said I should easily be able to get into any of the cal state music programs and I'm at an intermediate almost advanced level. What worries me about the audition process is that I've only had a few months of lessons I've only been playing for about four years and I have braces. Pieces that I have been considering are Bouree Anglaise by Bach, Menuet and Spirit dance by Gluck, and possible Soir Dans Les Montagnes by Eugene Bozza.

I do need to start looking for these pieces:a

1) Any of the sonatas of J.S. Bach or Mozart concerto in G or D.
2) Sonatas: Hindemith, Piston, Martinu, or Poulenc, or a sonata of equivalent difficulty.
3) Pieces: Chaminade Concertino, Fauré Fantasie, Enesco Cantabile and Presto, or a piece of equivalent difficulty

For the San Francisco Conservatory so if anyone has these in their libraries and could e-mail copies that would be great because money is tight.

stewyflute13 · Post by **stewyflute13** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 4:13 pm

I would not say that you could get into any Cal-State school. I applied to Cal-State Long Beach, and played Prokofiev, Gluck, Mozart, and Orch. Excerpts and did not get in. I am a beg. professional player and have been playing for 12 years. If you've only had lessons for a few months, I don't think you will be able to get into most music schools. Why do you want to major in music with such little experience?

For the J.S. Bach sonatas, get the Henle or Bahrenreiter editions. They are the good ones. I would not attempt Martinu or Hindemith at your level.

If you apply to usc, I used to take lessons with one of their teachers, and could connect you to him; though this is another really tough music school to get into.

I am not trying to be rude, just know that playing the flute professionally, and even getting into music schools is an extremely competetive process, and does not even always pay off at the end of a day's work. Most entering music students have taken lessons for 6 years, played for 8, and most of these players do not get in. I would not apply to top-Conservatories unless you are an extremely talented, hard-working student who has improved an amazing amount in a short amount of time. They are looking for someone who has got it "all," and it's hard to do that with such little private instruction.

Stewyflute13

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:47 pm

While very good points, I would not be so quick to judge. I myself was accepted to all of the schools I applied to (and offered rather hefty scholarships at all of them) with only 2 months of lessons under my belt (started in late December, then took auditions in February). But with that being said, while these schools were the best in my area, they certainly weren't conservatory level.

I personally went from playing a few Bach and Mozart pieces to being able to really play the heck out of Chant de Linos in 3 years. But on the flip-side of this, I have worked really hard and have been really lucky that I have been able to improve so quickly.

But you do have several points. Just a few months of lessons under your belt before entering a music degree in college is crazy. I have been able to do it, but I was told by my teachers that what I was doing was "crazy, but you're doing it and succeeding." I would recommend following your teacher's advice but unless you have improved amazingly in a short amount of time, apply to smaller local "state" schools to get your feet wet and really improve. Work hard, be the star student, then go for the bigger conservatories. That's what I did.

And as for USC, it is a ridiculously hard school to get into. I have seen it be referred to as the "Curtis of the West" on many occasions. Jim Walker is a fantastic teacher, and I am very fortunate in that he has gone out of his way to let me study with him. I take webcam lessons with him, and I will be auditioning for him at USC in the winter of 2010-2011. He has already agreed to let me bypass the pre-screening round at his school. At that time I also plan on auditioning at Rice, Peabody, Juilliard, University of Colorado at Boulder, and a few others.

My point is, is that it IS POSSIBLE. You just have to want it enough, and want it more than anything else.

stewyflute13 · Post by **stewyflute13** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:02 pm

I totally agree with you that it is possible. And I totally agree with you that I was too quick to judge. Griever, please forgive me for that without knowing anything about your playing level. And fluteguy, you sound like an extremely talented and hard-working student.. Way to go man! Keep it up.. =)

stewyflute13 · Post by **stewyflute13** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:21 pm

I just read your post again, Griever, and I feel bad that I completely skipped over the main question you were asking in your post, which is what pieces you should prepare for the schools you are looking at. My suggestion is as follows:

J.S. or C.P.E bach sonatas, Mozart Concerto, french romantic piece, and I think Bozza would be a nice 20th century work.

So it looks like you have a good repertoire developing ahead of you, and remember- if you play the Bach partita, you must play it really well. Baroque is hard because judges are looking for it to be played a particularly certain way and I would listen quite carefully to what your teacher says on how to play the bouree anglaise, and follow those ideas quite sensitively.

Best of Luck!

Griever · Post by **Griever** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:27 pm

Thanks for the advice to be realistic I'm only sixteen and won't be seventeen until April, and by the time I audition I'll have had another three or four months of lessons. I am an extremely hard worker when it comes to flute and on average during the school year I practice about an hour a day and play in classes for about three. In addition I'm exposed to a lot of different styles of music through my school. I attended University of the Pacific's orchestra camp last year and with about three years of playing and no lessons made it to be third chair in their Intermediate group. I'm not the best but I know that I need to work hard, and I know that the conservatories are a bit of a stretch and out of my league now but I'm willing to put in the time to become better. I'm an excellent student academically with a 3.75 GPA and I passed all my AP tests I've taken. I'm not bragging but I'm just stressed out with the idea of making it into some reputable music programs. If you have any other advice as far as practicing or playing habits that I could really take time to perfect I would appreciate it since all of you are more experienced than me. I have been working on my major and minor scales in all octaves along with long tones. It just seems to me that my tone won't be as good as somebody without braces.

stewyflute13 · Post by **stewyflute13** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:46 pm

it's okay, i auditioned for the major conservatories this year too, and i knew they were out of my league a bit, but i learned SO much from the entire process. work with the intention of getting in, but be happy when you have learned very much from the ambitious and strenuous process it entails to apply to these schools. i don't know anything about braces in relation to flute-playing. My only suggestion would be to take piano lessons, a music theory/ ear training class at a local community college, learn to sing a bit, b/c a lot of these schools give auditioners theory placement tests and piano proficiency exams eventually. In regards to flute practicing, CONSISTENCY is all I can say about that. Keep it up and let us know how you do on your auditions!

Griever · Post by **Griever** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:12 am

Let me say that this board has been extremely helpful because not many people at my school are very serious. I was a bass in my school's advanced choir this past year and will be taking college level theory this year. I'll let you all know how I do at my auditions when they come around!

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 5:55 am

In terms of preparing, here's what I recommend.

Decide the exact schools you are applying to. Go to their websites and get their audition requirements. Each school will have a different process and list of requirements. Base your work around that.

In terms of practicing, practice things slowly. If it's not clean, don't speed it up yet. An audition that seems to have been prepared in a sloppy manner won't impress anyone. They will be able to hear it in your playing. Listen to recordings, and study scores.