 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Alfred
Date: 2008-06-17 06:05
I'm wondering, is anyone here an Oberlin student/alumnus?
I'm to begin applying for colleges soon, and Oberlin is my dream school. I've read their audition requirements and criteria (the standard K. 622 and scales), but I was wondering if anyone would be able to provide a first hand account of the audition progress. I've heard my varying things about it, from it being very relaxed to very stressful. I've also heard of many different types of auditions. So, would anyone be able to help?
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Author: Alane
Date: 2008-06-17 06:20
Don't worry about the audition being high stress. I auditioned two years ago, and the atmosphere couldn't have been more relaxed. It just felt like being in a regular lesson playing for your teacher. You go into his office, sit down, you chat a bit, then play until he tells you to stop. He asked me about my mouthpiece and reed, then he played on my instrument, which by the way, sounded AMAZING when he just played a little something on it. He asked me about an articulation I was doing on the Mozart, and then he asked me to play it slightly different. He told me he couldn't make any guarantees at the moment, but that I sounded great and I was on my way. It was definitely an overall good experience.
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Author: Alfred
Date: 2008-06-17 06:27
You don't know how happy that just made me. So, what exactly did you play? What scales? Did you have to play any etudes?
How long was the whole audition process?
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Author: srattle
Date: 2008-06-17 06:33
I also had an experience like that when I auditioned almost 7 years ago. I didn't have to play any scales. I think I did Mozart and Messiaen Abîme des Oiseaux and something else. I basically played a few notes and then he stopped me and gave me a lesson, essentially. Really relaxed
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Author: patrickryan04
Date: 2008-06-17 12:39
Oberlin is a school that is on the very top of my list as well. I have been in email contact with Mr. Hawkins and I must say that he seems like a very nice person to work with. Due to my current deployment he has even offered to listen to a cd of mine and offer feedback. I can imagine auditioning for him would be a very pleasent and rewarding experience. Best of luck with your journey in music.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2008-06-17 15:32
All auditions are a little stressful because you want to win the audition, school, competition or job. Schools like Oberlin that only have one teacher have its advantage for auditions because you get one on one contact. Schools like mine, Peabody, have all our auditions on the same day for a committee so you don’t get to have the same personal attention as with only one teacher. Of course having made contact with one or more of the teachers could help relax you but the best thing to do for any audition, for any committee, for any position is to be 100% prepared, get a decent nights sleep, and have a good reed. Never go to any audition without at least four good reeds, even it you have to break in several boxes because they never play the way they did when you left home so have some choices to pick the best one. I’ve heard too many auditions where the student just could not play properly because they were obviously having reed problems. It’s difficult for a committee to determine how a person plays when they can’t control their reed. Make sure you audition for at least six schools, and choose a safe school as well because the competition is fierce. I know at Peabody we, or the admissions department, rejects at least two thirds of the applicants, sometimes even more. Peabody admissions usually accept twice the number as they have openings based on their playing audition, interviews and grades, thinking half will accept. Sometimes that backfires and only a few decide to come, but sometimes more then half accept. It usually evens out over time. I’ve lost several very good applicants over the years because of low high school grades. It’s the complete package that many schools look for. No school wants a good player that can’t pass their academic class work; music courses like theory and ear training, or can’t hear. ESP
www.peabody.jhu.edu/457 (Listen to a little Mozart)
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Author: Alane
Date: 2008-06-17 18:43
I believe I played the exposition of Mozart, Stravinsky Two, and maybe some scales? I can't remember now if scales were involved. I also believe there may have been sight reading. But if there was, it wasn't too difficult, because I remember leaving feeling good about how it went. There is a written theory test, but it's separate from the audition. It's just to place you in the correct class for when and if you are accepted into the school.
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