Judging the Bay Area Chorus Scholarship Auditions

A few weekends ago, I had the great opportunity to judge high-school seniors for the annual Bay Area Chorus Scholarship Competition.  In order to compete for the vocal scholarships, each student was required to sing two songs of their choosing and submit their grades and letters of recommendation.  We awarded three scholarships that night - two for music performance and one for music education.  I thought I would pass on my observations.

1) Everyone was really, REALLY good.  It was tough deciding the winners. This brings to mind one of the lessons of the music industry.  Everyone in the industry was 'top dog' at their high school.  Once you get into the professional world, there is little that separates those with careers and those who get work occasionally.  This competition really hit home for me how important good manners, professionalism, acting, and luck are to a music career.

2) Presentation matters.  If you look professional and showed off some acting ability, you were more likely to win this competition.

3) Pick songs that you sing great, not what looks impressive.  Singing repertoire that you are not ready for only hurts you because you will not sound as polished as the next singer.  If you sing a simpler song beautifully with great musicality, you will impress lots of people.

DWS