9th & 10th Grade: How Visual and Performing Arts Students Should Spend These Years
The first two years of high school is the time to explore new interests. If you already know you want to pursue a visual or performing arts major in college, these early years are also the time to lay the foundation for your specialty, create valuable connections with your advisors, and learn from your fellow students.
Intensive Summer Arts Programs: A Big Bang for Your Buck
Specialized summer arts opportunities immerse you in the life of a visual or performing arts student, prepare you for the complicated application project, and can give you an immeasurable return on your investment.
Training for a Marathon: How to Win Your Voice Audition
Practice is always the key to calming those nerves. But what's the best way to practice? Soprano Anna Atkinson shares her preparation tips, whether online or in person. As a student in the Masters of Music in Opera and Voice program at McGill University's Schulich School of Music, Anna is a veteran of winning auditions.
Can’t Visit Campus? Ten Ways to Research Colleges Without Being There
Here are some options for researching colleges online.
Thinking about majoring in voice? Here are eight ways to prepare
The most successful applicants don’t wait until senior year to start preparing. Admissions panels at conservatories and university music programs are looking for students who have already invested in their craft, built a foundation in music theory, and shown a real commitment to performance. Here are eight ways to build your skills, strengthen your application, and show programs that you’re ready
Managing Audition Nerves Part IV: Maintain Creative Expression
Don’t Let Creative Expression Get Lost in the Weeds. Audition advice from Arts Advisory Board Member Dmitri Yevstifeev
Managing Audition Nerves Part III: Organize Mock Auditions
To best prepare yourself for what a real audition might be like, set up several mock auditions in a variety of settings that mirror the stressful conditions of an actual audition. At each mock audition, challenge yourself!
Managing Audition Nerves Part II: Get Centered
The Centering Process is a simple technique that quiets the nerves that can affect you physically, mentally, and emotionally when you’re about to step into a room or onto a stage for an audition.
Managing Audition Nerves Part 1: Arrange Logistics & Stay Calm on Audition Day
Most of your attention should be focused on the important stuff like practicing audition repertoire & setting up mock auditions, but the practical side of planning auditions should not be put off! Follow these guidelines & you will avoid unnecessary distractions & stress at your audition:
Puzzling it Out: Writing for Performing and Visual Arts Applications
You show your academic side through your transcript, GPA, and test scores, but you can reflect more deeply about who you are as a person and an artist through your artistic resume and activity list and, most importantly, your writing.
Why School Rankings Don’t Matter for Music Degrees
In the world of music, a school's rank holds little significance when it comes to measuring the quality of education and future success. Fame and the name on a college diploma do not determine one's worth. Instead, factors such as personal talent, dedication, and individual preference play a bigger role. There are many factors that transcend notions of "rank" when choosing a music school.
Making the Most of Your College Visits
I just came back from a whirlwind, but exhilarating visit to six Boston schools. With this fresh in my mind, I have some tips on planning your college visits and maximizing your time on campus.
Film Quick Takes: Script Study
Short, focused exercises to build your filmmaking skills. Studying a full-length film script can provide valuable insights into the creative and technical aspects of filmmaking, as well as improve your own writing skills and deepen your appreciation for the art of storytelling.
Film Quick Takes: Three-Point Lighting
Take three still portraits of friends or loved ones using a three-point lighting setup. Three-point lighting is a basic lighting technique used in photography, videography, and filmmaking to create a visually pleasing and balanced image. Learn the steps to set up three-point lighting in this blog.
Film Quick Takes: Ordinary Objects
Short, focused exercises to build your filmmaking skills. Find a very ordinary object. Using different camera angles, lens lengths, and lighting techniques, take three photos that reveal a new way of seeing the object
Film Quick Takes: Creating Meaning From Sound
Short, focused exercises to build your filmmaking skills. Go to a place that holds a lot of meaning for you. Record audio that captures why the place is important. Place this audio recording in the timeline of a film editing software program. Find images and assemble them in a timeline so that they illustrate the meaning you captured in the audio recording
Film Quick Takes: Tell a Story Using Five Still Images
Short, focused exercises to build your filmmaking skills. Telling a story using five still images is a great way to convey a narrative in a visual and concise way. Here are the general steps involved in creating a story using still images.
BA, BM, BME, BFA, BMT! Music Degrees Explained
It’s like alphabet soup—BA, BM, BME, BFA, BMT. They’re all music degrees, right? Yes, but the curriculum is very different and geared to what you want to do with your career.
Find Your Film’s Story: Brainstorm & Be Messy
You must let it be okay to have bad ideas. Remember that writing is a process. It goes well, and it goes poorly. It is always okay to struggle. You are more than any process. Hesitate to cut things out, even if they don’t make sense! There will be plenty of time to trim away later in the writing and editing process.
Find Your Film's Story: Delve into Character
Character journey is the heart of filmic storytelling. We’re all engaged by characters who face challenges and are transformed by them.