NEW College Audition Preparation Program

Directed By Gloria dePasquale of
The Philadelphia Orchestra

July 18-31, 2020

For High School Students Only

While still participating in PIMF’s flagship Symphony Orchestra program, students will benefit from an informative daily College Audition Preparation Seminar led by renowned educator Gloria dePasquale. All students will be required to prepare for (and participate in) mid-festival mock auditions as well!

Sample Daily Schedule:

• 9:30 – 12:00 Orchestra Rehearsal
• 12:00 Lunch
• 1:00 – 2:00 Private Practice
• 2:00 – 3:00 Daily College Audition Preparation Seminar
• 3:15 – 5:15 Chamber Music or Additional Private Practice
• 5:30 Dinner
• 7:00 Concerts, Special Events, Master Classes & Faculty Recital with Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Solo Performance & Competition Opportunities

2019 Daily Seminar Schedule

• Sunday, July 14: “Handling Adrenaline” – Tips on getting over those audition nerves, led by Michelle Basile, Director, PIMF Piano Studies Program and former conductor at the Governor’s School of Virginia.
• Monday, July 15; Tuesday, July 17; Wednesday, July 18: Program Overview – Specifics on how to combine academic interests with music; how to find and apply to colleges and conservatories; leveraging your musical accomplishment for selective entrance and/or scholarship; explanation of degree offerings.
• Thursday, July 18: Selecting audition repertoire for arts supplements, prescreening, and college/conservatory auditions – Includes breakout session to begin composing individual repertoire lists, pairing to school audition requirements.
• Friday, July 19: “Mock Audition Preparation” – Tips on the audition process ahead of “Mock Audition Day,” Saturday, July 21 – Includes breakout session to rehearse the process.
• Saturday, July 20: “Mock Audition Day” – Each student will participate in a “mock audition” and receive feedback from our panel of judges.
• Sunday, July 21: “Audition Assessments”
• Monday, July 22: “Recording your pre-screen or arts supplement video” – tips and instruction on how to record your best video audition by recording engineer (and classical musician), Alexsei Alexandrov – Includes breakout session for each student to record short excerpt.
• Tuesday, July 23: “Time lines for successful audition planning and summer work”
• Thursday, July 25, “Resume Writing” – Tips and instruction on how to best display your accomplishments – Includes breakout session to begin composing resume and repertoire lists.
• Friday, July 26: “Wrap Up” – Time for reflections and Question & Answer period with Gloria dePasquale of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Program Director:
Gloria dePasquale

Gloria dePasquale joined The Philadelphia Orchestra’s cello section in 1977 at the invitation of Eugene Ormandy. Prior to that she served as associate principal cello of the Buffalo Philharmonic under Michael Tilson Thomas and was also a substitute player for the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Born in Evansville, Indiana, Mrs. dePasquale credits the public school music program of her home town for her introduction to the cello. She graduated with honors with both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston…Read more

The College Auditions Preparation Program will include a presentation by Rec Today re: “How To Make Your BEST Audition Video”

Music video production is a complex process, requiring a tremendous amount of skill and experience to get it right. Just as a musician might spend 10 years in performance training to get to an accelerated skill level, a professional recording engineer will have been practicing recording, mixing, and editing for years.

Recording Artist Alexsei Alexandrov, from Rec Today will be discussing the various different aspects of making an audition recording and why it is important to partner with an engineer who has ample experience working with classical musicians.

If you are applying to a music school, conservatory, or competition, your recording is the first impression you are making, and may be your only chance to showcase who you are, what you can do, and why you deserve to advance to the next round of auditions.

As a part of the seminar, Rec Today will offer a presentation demonstrating what every musician must know to achieve the best audition video results and how every stage of production – from setting up the equipment to the software you use to render the video – changes the outcome of the product.

Additionally, all students in the College Audition Preparation Program will be given an opportunity to record a short audition video with Rec Today and to review the sample clip with Alexsei Alexandrov, himself a classical trained performer!