Audition Results
Working with an Accompanist and Preparing Sheet Music Info
Solo Audition Preparation
- Pick your songs well in advance so you have time to prepare them and run them with Mr. Hancock and/or Ms. Feldman to get feedback
- Follow ALL directions in the Working with an Accompanist PDF above
- If you are accompanying yourself for a pop song audition, make sure you are able to play and sing simultaneously with confidence. You are being scored on your vocal audition, so if accompanying yourself compromises your voice, you may want to rethink that decision.
- Practice your stage presence and facial expressions, not just your singing
- Arrive early to your audition time and fill out the audition card
How solos are chosen
- Each solo audition is scored according to a 100-point rubric that have the categories of tone strength, tone clarity, breathing/control, registration (evenness of sound through your range), intonation (singing in tune), stage presence, style, memorization, and song choice.
- Students with the highest audition scores for that concert are chosen for solos. Seniority is only a factor when there are ties. Other factors, such as length of time in Tesoro Choir, how many solos a student has received in a given year, involvement in choir leadership, and parent involvement, are not part of the scoring and do not influence solo decisions.
- It is the philosophy of Mr. Hancock and Ms. Feldman that this is the most fair way to choose soloists. Leaving it up to other factors becomes quite arbitrary and subjective, and it is impossible to maintain any kind of actual fairness. In addition, it would diminish the whole point of having auditions, and would render them practically useless.
Realize that solo audition results:
- Are not an indication of your overall skill as a singer or choir member
- Are not an indication of Mr. Hancock’s and Ms. Feldman’s opinion of your voice
- Do not define your choir experience
- Are a moment in time in the development of your voice
In an elite choral program such as ours, the competition for solos is heightened. This means that talented singers will not always get solo opportunities, despite a beautifully performed audition. Regardless of the outcome of the audition, we encourage students to discuss their auditions with Mr. Hancock and Ms. Feldman after results are announced to get helpful feedback.