Written By Lucas Edwards|

Featured Photo Credit to Matthew T Rader

The senior class has two students who are attending music colleges, Ethan Rode and myself (Lucas Edwards). In addition to  the normal college applications, submission of SAT scores and essays, we have a very unique portion of our college application; an audition and interview.

The live auditions and interviews at our respective schools are large deciding factors in whether or not we are accepted. They include a prepared piece in the instrument and style of our choice, and on site tests of our rythymic ability, tonal recognition, and skills in sight reading music. As a vocalist, I am considering Berklee College of Music, The Hartt School, SUNY Purchase, and UConn.  Ethan is a fabulous jazz piano player, and is considering some great jazz programs at Oberlin, The New School, and West Conn. All of these schools require discipline  and are generally difficult to get into, so we have been spending time preparing for auditions.

Preparation is very thorough; we spend countless hours getting our chops together for improvisation, music theory, and we also nit pick through our prepared pieces. The interview is suprisingly a huge part of the admissions process, equaling the audition in importance. It is the college’s chance to see our personality, goals, and expectations for their school. Some of the questions that they ask us are: Why do you want to go to our school? What can you do for our school? What do you see yourself doing in the industry? What is your percieved major? Tell us a little about yourself? What is your experience in music?

All in all, the process is a lengthy one, but we do take a lot of enjoyment out of it because, well, we love music!