Should We Abolish Entrance Auditions for Music Programs?
Would this be a step toward making the arts more accessible or a step backwards by compromising excellence?
Musicians have accepted auditions as a standard process to get into schools, training programs, and, ultimately, employment.
Aspiring teenaged musicians spend their last few years of high school preparing for their university entrance auditions. Most of them have already spent most of their childhood taking private music lessons in their given instrument, so these auditions aren’t a big deal for most.
However, not everyone has the privilege of taking private music lessons. While many school and community programs are designed to make music accessible, these programs are often ensemble-based and do not offer regular private lessons.
Generally speaking, students who only ever played in their high school wind ensemble without taking private lessons will not be able to satisfy most university or conservatory entrance requirements, as it is implied that prospective music students will have studied privately for at least a few years.
