Tips for Performing & Visual Arts Students 

Students who wish to study visual or performing arts have some unique challenges and options during their college search. If you're considering a major in music, art, dance, or drama, read on for some advice from the experts.

A Difference of Degree

Prospective arts majors have two degree options: a bachelor of arts (BA) degree with a major in the arts and a bachelor of fine arts (BFA) for artists/performers or bachelor of music (BM) for musicians. The BA degree is the typical liberal arts degree--students who major in English, history, and other humanities majors also earn BA degrees. The BFA or BM degree is more focused and intense.

"There is a world of difference between a BA in music and a BM in music," says Anthony Celentano, school counselor/military advisor at Pope John XXIII High School (NJ), who holds a BM and MM (master of music). "A BA in music will be pretty much like any other BA degree--lots of courses outside of your major with approximately 12 or so courses in your major. That's not a lot of music for the student who is looking for an intense musical experience. A BM in music essentially is a professional degree. Within my 120+ credits for my BM, only 36 were liberal arts courses. The remainder were music or degree-related courses: private lessons, conducting classes, music history, music theory, etc."
Which degree you choose depends on your college and career goals. If you have a high degree of commitment to your art and desire an intense, often competitive college experience, a BFA or BM might be right for you. If you would rather study a variety of subjects along with your arts major, a BA may be the way to go.

Types of Colleges

Visual and performing arts students have several types of colleges to consider. Conservatories and stand-alone arts schools offer an immersion-type experience for students earning BM or BFA degrees. All of the students you meet at this type of school will be artists, and the atmosphere is often highly competitive.  Some larger universities offer BFA/BM degrees as well as BA degrees in the arts. You may find somewhat self-contained music or arts schools within the larger university. In this atmosphere, you could pursue the more specialized degree while still keeping the door open to taking a few liberal arts courses (which would be unavailable at specialized music or arts schools). In addition, a university-based arts program might give you the option of pursuing a double degree, such as a BM in music and a BA in history. (A double degree would require more than four years, however.)  Students interested in drama have the additional decision of pursuing musical theater or theater.

The Application Process
In addition to completing a typical college application, students in the visual or performing arts should prepare a portfolio or audition. Each arts program has different requirements, so you should contact the schools as early as possible to obtain their portfolio or audition requirements.

Although your portfolio or audition is an important part of the application, arts programs do consider your academic record and test scores.

"Some [colleges] place greater value on academics, while others lean more toward the student's portfolio or audition," according to a workshop on arts programs presented at several NACAC meetings (compiled by Kavin Buck, UCLA; Jane Buckman, Cornish College of the Arts; Ed Schoenberg, Otis College of Art and Design; and Jenny Woo, UCLA). "Most colleges balance the student's creative talent with their academic achievements."

Assessing Your Abilities

If you're interested in pursuing an arts major and career, now is the time to seek objective opinions of your abilities in the field.  James Gandre, dean of Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University (IL), offers this advice to young musicians: "In addition to asking for honest advice and evaluation from high school ensemble and private teachers, students can get outside assessment from musicians at a local symphony, dance company, theatre, etc. Of course, everyone doesn't live in a big city, so this may require driving one to two hours or more to get this advice, but it's worth it."  Visual arts students can receive portfolio evaluations and college information at one of the National Portfolio Days sponsored by an association of arts schools and art departments at universities. For more information, talk to your guidance counselor or art teacher or visit http://www.portfolioday.net/

Other Considerations
All students benefit from visiting the colleges that interest them and asking questions about academics, student life, and other facets of college life. As an arts student, you may have different or additional things to consider.

Location. The location of your chosen college may be more important to arts students than to students in other majors. "There may be many factors to consider when choosing where to study," notes the workshop authors. "For art students, these should involve access to professional venues such as museums, galleries, theaters, and concerts. Also, do these venues attract regional, national, or international talent to inspire and educate the students? Additionally, the opportunity to perform, exhibit, and have active internships is vital to a young artist's education."

Facilities. In addition to checking out dorm rooms, classrooms, and athletic facilities, art students should look at a college's studio space or practice rooms, performance or exhibit venues on campus, darkroom facilities (for photographers), computer resources, and any other resources specific to your field of study. And ask questions about how accessible these resources are to students: attractive studios are of no help if there aren't enough to go around.                          

Reputation and philosophy.    Talk to your art, music, drama, or dance teachers about the reputation of the colleges you're considering. Ask the colleges about career opportunities for graduates and about what their alumni are doing. The goal here is to get some idea of how the program is perceived by professionals in your career field and what career opportunities you might have when you complete college.  Also, ask each college about their philosophy. Different fine arts or music programs can have very different emphases. For example, one music program may emphasize classical music, while another specializes in more modern forms, like jazz. Similarly, the intensity of competitiveness, workload, and pressure can vary from school to school. During your visits and talks with students and faculty, try to get an impression of the daily pressures of being a student in that particular program. 

A good fit. Finally, as for any student, visual and performing arts students need to find a college that fits their personality, interests and goals. Especially for very ambitious students, it's easy to be dazzled by the prestige of a top professional school or arts department and overlook the question of whether the program is right for you. "When working as dean of enrollment at New York City's Manhattan School of Music, I would run across the occasional unhappy student who came to New York City because someone else had told them that New York or Manhattan School of Music or a particular teacher was perfect for them. They listened to those mentors instead of their gut and made a wrong choice," says Gandre. "No matter how talented the student and how wonderful the school, fit is always crucial."

Written by Jennifer Gross, NACAC website

Creative Colleges By Peterson’s
Elaina Loveland

Performing & Visual Arts College Fairs  
The Performing and Visual Arts (PVA) College Fairs are designed for students interested in pursuing undergraduate and graduate study in the areas of music, dance, theater, visual arts, graphic design, and other related disciplines. Students can learn about admission and financial aid, portfolio days, audition and entrance requirements, and much more by meeting with representatives from colleges, universities, conservatories, festivals and other educational institutions with specialized programs in the visual and performing arts. This website provides a calendar of performing and visual arts college fairs: http://www.nacacnet.org/EventsTraining/CollegeFairs/pva/Pages/default.aspx

The National Portfolio Day Association (NPDA) was created in 1978, solely for the organization and planning of National Portfolio Days. The Association consists of representatives from regionally accredited colleges and universities, which are members of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The NPDA is the only organization of its kind, and its membership represents the highest standard of visual arts education available in the United States and Canada.  http://www.portfolioday.net/ On this website, a calendar of portfolio days are identified as we as a list of colleges offering visual arts programs by major and concentration.

What is National Portfolio Day?

National Portfolio Day is an event specifically for visual artists and designers. It is an opportunity for those who wish to pursue an education in the visual and related arts to meet with representatives from colleges accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.  Representatives will be available to review your artwork, discuss their programs and answer questions about professional careers in art.  High school students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors and college transfer students are encouraged to attend. 

National Portfolio Day serves a variety of purposes.  Most importantly, it is designed to help further the artistic development of young artists by bringing together experienced college representatives to review artwork and offer feedback.  We understand that some people make certain kinds of art more successfully than others.  Don't be discouraged if you see work that is "better" than yours.  A National Portfolio Day may be the first time you have seen so many people in one place who all share a powerful commitment to the arts.  The experience is a small taste of what a professional art program can be like.

National Portfolio Days are also about the exchange of information about your work, yourself, your college plans, and your concerns.  This is not an examination or competition.  The college representatives are pleased to talk about their programs with you and can be most helpful when discussing your artwork.  Your portfolio should include your best and most recent work, but it can also include works in progress, sketchbooks and tear sheets.  You'll hear many different opinions of your work.  Don't hesitate to explain how you develop your ideas and where you want to go with them.  No admissions decisions or scholarship awards will be offered to you at National Portfolio Day.  Some colleges represented may accept your portfolio as the visual portion of your application.  Other colleges have restrictions that prohibit them from making a definite portfolio decision at the time of your review.  We urge you to discuss your work with as many representatives as possible.

Visual Arts College Night at GA – May 25, 2010, 6:30 pm

PREPARING FOR COLLEGE MUSIC AUDITIONS
by Barrick Stees

“How were your auditions this morning?”
“Great! We heard an oboist play the whole first movement of the Strauss Concerto from memory! She was terrific. How about you?”
“Not as good as the last audition day. You should have seen the clarinetist with the weird tattoo!”
Those of us who teach music at the college level may recognize this kind of conversation as that which often takes place during the lunch break on a college audition day. The professors get together to eat and discuss the talent they’ve just heard.
As a teacher at the Cleveland Institute and formerly a faculty member at Michigan State University and the Interlochen Arts Academy and as well as a private teacher of high school bassoonists, I’ve had a good opportunity to observe students when they undergo the process of auditioning for music schools. Along with providing topics for lunchtime conversations like the one above, the range in quality of the auditions I’ve heard has always astounded me.
My observations below are based on many years of experience, pride and frustration in preparing my high school students for auditions and listening to high school students audition for the colleges at which I have taught. I hope that my words will be helpful to those preparing for auditions this coming year.

Researching Prospective Music Schools
John Whitwell, the Director of Bands at Michigan State University, is fond of saying that students put more time into researching a car purchase than they do researching information about music schools. Researching information on schools begins with doing a little research on yourself.
Ask yourself questions like the following:

• What are my goals in pursuing a degree in music?
• What do I wish to do after graduating?
• Is a conservatory education or university education best for me?
• What other interests might I pursue instead of or in addition to music?

Answering these questions and others like them can help you narrow your focus. There is a wide spectrum of viable programs available for the young musician depending upon the answers to these questions. Many music schools are part of a university that offers a broad education with a focus on music. Conservatories usually specialize in a more narrow focus with little or no non-music academics. Some music schools fit somewhere in the middle. In addition, it should be noted that just because the school has the word “conservatory” attached to it does not insure a high-quality music education for your instrument. By the same token, some university music schools turn out graduates that compete favorably with conservatory-trained musicians in the job market. It is very important not to stretch yourself too much by applying to and auditioning for too many schools. Four or five has always been a good number for my students. Through careful research and by asking good questions of school representatives it should be easy to narrow the choices.

Some intelligent ways of gathering information about schools are:

• Visit the school’s website. Much valuable information regarding curriculum, application procedures, scholarships and financial aid can be found. In addition, you can learn the names of important contact people in advance. Use links to the school’s college and/or university if it is part of a larger institution to find out information about other sources of financial and scholarship aid.
• Make a campus visit during the summer or fall of the senior year. Take a lesson with the professor, visit with advisors, go to ensemble rehearsals/concerts, attend a music class.
• Discuss the reputation of the school with your teacher, students in your youth orchestra, people you meet at summer camp. The names of the best ones will keep popping up. Speak to anyone you might know already enrolled at the school.

The 10 Questions                                                                                                                    
As you gather information, begin to make a list of questions you will ask the studio teacher at every school. For example you could ask questions regarding the:

• Studio size and load
• Number of openings for next fall
• Teacher’s/school’s job placement record
• Ensemble opportunities
• Teacher’s expectations in an ideal lesson
• Teacher’s teaching philosophy
• Scholarship opportunities

Application Procedure
This topic would not seem to need elaboration, but different schools have different application procedures so it makes sense to pay attention and spend extra time on this to do it right.

• Some schools require separate applications for the music school and the university. Make sure you obtain and fill out both.
• Many applications can be filled out on-line. If an essay or personal statement is required, have it checked over by your English teacher or guidance counselor. Yes, your future bassoon teacher is interested in how well you express yourself in writing!

Musical Preparation
Start practicing now! When possible I like to begin work on the college audition during the student’s junior year by stressing fundamentals during that year. Along with talent, most college music professors look for someone with good fundamentals. In fact, I would dare to say that many would prefer a student with solid fundamentals who is maybe not quite polished as a performer to one who performs well, but needs some major rebuilding in the approach to the instrument. Given the choice, I would much rather work on music with a student than have to fix a bad hand position, for instance. Focusing on fundamentals can be difficult given the demands placed on seniors, so I advise students to get as much work in during the junior year and the summer before the senior year as possible because you won’t have as much time as a senior to fix a bad embouchure or poor breath support.

Have the college audition repertoire chosen by the end of the spring or in early summer prior to the audition year. Try to choose pieces and etudes that are listed on more than one of your colleges’ repertoire lists so you won’t be overwhelmed by learning too many pieces. Learn the tempos, notes, rhythms and interpretive markings for a few weeks and then put the pieces away. While you work on other things during the summer the pieces often mature on their own and feel more familiar when gotten out again in the fall months.

Here are some further suggestions:

• Practice your scales!
• Purchase authoritative editions of the music you are playing.
• Study recordings of these pieces that are available.
• Have your instrument serviced prior to the auditions.
• Stock up on reeds or other equipment you may need.
• Spend a few practice sessions recording your audition repertoire and critique the recordings.
• Play a mock audition for your teacher, ensemble director, friends or family.

The Audition Day
Arrive early for all of your appointments. There will be cancellations and the schedule may change. Dress appropriately. When in doubt dress as though you are interviewing for a job at a bank or law firm. Most schools structure audition days to function as an open house for their programs. Therefore, this is a good time to look around and take in what is happening during that day if you have time. Treat the audition like a professional performance, using proper etiquette (Mr. or Ms. Or Professor, no first names, please!), and have a sense of stage presence even if the audition is in a small room. Play each piece from beginning to end without stopping. No grimaces after mistakes! When finished, be ready to receive a critique of your performance and show flexibility when asked to play something in a different manner. Be appreciative of the time given and the comments offered you. If you have some one-on-one time with the studio teacher you can ask him or her questions from your list (see above). This may not be possible during the audition. Most teachers can spend a little extra time with an interested student on the day before, during or after the audition.

Follow Up
After your auditions are completed, contact the instructors at schools that interest you, thanking them again for the comments made and time spent on your behalf.  Now you can fill in the answers to the questions on your list with a column for each school’s answer to the questions. Maybe some new questions will have come up. Look over your answers and see how each school fares on your list of answers. Next consider the overall impression made upon you by each school. What does your instinct tell you? By looking at your list of questions in both a quantitative and qualitative way you should be able to narrow your choices. When acceptance notices and scholarship offers come, sit down with your parents and teacher and discuss it all.

Above all, be honest and swift in your communications with these schools and professors. Be communicative with the professors at schools that are your top choices. Arm them with knowledge about your interest so they can help with admission and scholarships. Even if you are not interested in attending a particular school it is helpful for you to let the institution know. They may be holding a place for you that could go to someone else. The way in which you wrap up this process is very important. You have made some contacts that may be helpful to you in the future. Always remember that the music world is a very small place. How you act now will be noticed and remembered for a long time to come.

For Parents

• Being the parent of a talented young musician can bring much joy and pride. Sometimes that pride and joy can blind parents to the realities of competition in the music world, however. Here are my suggestions for parents:
• Do not view the bassoon as a “meal ticket” to college. While this may still be the case at some schools, generally you get what you pay for in a musical education. You are making an investment in your child’s future by paying for music school.
• Some musicians graduating from music schools will find gainful employment in the music business, but many will not. For years the job market in music performance has been over-loaded with too many applicants for too few jobs. It takes talent, discipline, perseverance and luck to make a living as a performing musician.
• Many parents focus on the idea of a double major for their child in case music doesn’t work out. There are pitfalls to be aware of in this scenario. In my experience, most double majors (music and engineering, for instance) are so challenged by both degrees that they end up being mediocre in both. Usually the student drops out of music and pursues the other degree. When exploring a double major at a particular college, make sure there is good cooperation between the advisors and instructors for both majors. Plan on a five or six year undergraduate term.
• When researching a particular school, be sure to look for sources of financial aid in unlikely places. Sometimes another part of the university will award scholarship or financial aid to a music major.
• Expose your child to concerts, master classes and conferences offered outside your area. Don’t let him or her be a “big fish in a little pond”.
• Schedule informal school visits for lessons with the instructors in the summer or early fall. Seeing the school on a non-audition day may be more revealing.

Preparing for college auditions requires good organizational skills, discipline and perseverance. Students need the support of teachers, parents and friends to be successful. Skills learned in the process can be applied to many of life’s other challenges.
I hope that the advice and suggestions offered here will spur others to take up this subject with their students, add their advice and help bring a well-prepared, articulate class of prospective students to the doors of the nation’s music schools.

Tips for Preparing for a Musical Theater Audition
College auditions are unlike most other auditions you will attend in your performing career - there is no specific production to focus your audition pieces around, so it can seem overwhelming when trying to pick material. While every college is different, there are some basic guidelines that will help you narrow your focus.

1. Pick age-appropriate and type-appropriate material. Colleges want future professional performers in their programs. By choosing material that suits your age and type, you are showing the audition panel that you understand what your limitations are, and that you know how to market yourself to your strengths. You should never use material belonging to a character that you could not realistically play at the professional level.
2. Remember that high-school casting is not a good indication of your type. High schools must cast teenagers as middle-aged characters and may even cast females as males. If you have mostly performed in high school productions, you may not have a realistic view of your type. To get a realistic view of your type, try feedback from an agent or a site like areuastar.com
3. You can't start too early. You just can't rush finding the "perfect" audition material - it takes time and effort. Listen to tons of cast recordings and read tons of scripts, and keep track of the ones you like. Spend time at the library. Trust me - the audition panel can tell who has spent a significant amount of time doing this and who picked the first song & monologue they found in an anthology.
4. Remember that obscure does not mean better. Realistically, the audition panel has been holding college auditions for years. They have heard just about every possible audition song - good or bad. So if your only goal is to find a song they wont have heard before - good luck! And if you DO find a song they haven't heard before... do you think there might be a good reason for that? Yes, there are songs that are just too overdone to even bother with, but your goal should be to choose the best song for you.
5. Don't use cold material if you can help it. Once you have chosen your material, do everything you can to get experience presenting this material before you start your college auditions. Cabarets, coffeehouses, workshops and other auditions are all great opportunities to "work the kinks out" beforehand. Not only will you identify potentially embarrassing problems ahead of time, but you will also gain a great deal of confidence with the material.