2023-24 Houston Grand Opera Studio: Pianist/Coach Application

This application closed on Monday September 12, 2022.

REMINDER - Deadline for both applicants and references is Sunday, September 11, 2022.

To keep in touch with developments, please join our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/hgostudio. Thank you for applying to the HGO Studio.

We are working together with other young artist programs on a coordinated repertoire list for this year's auditions. Steps are outlined below to guide your understanding of the audition process.

Step 1: Apply to each program as you normally would. Applications are due Sunday, September 11, 2022.

Step 3: Live auditions – November 14, 2022 (Philadelphia); November 15-18, 2022 (New York City); November 19-20, 2022 (Cincinnati); November 2022, by appointment (Houston)

Selected Artists are required to abide by HGO's general Workplace Safety Protocols, including our COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, in place at the time of service. Currently, Artists are required to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 and proof of booster (if eligible) against COVID-19 or a fully supported petition for exemption due to a qualifying disability or sincerely held religious belief.

Personal Information

Read INFORMATION FOR PIANISTS before completing this application form

Acknowledgement that you have read the Info for Pianist page*

Number of selections required: 1.

I have read the Information for Pianists page and agree to be governed by those terms.

First Name*

Last Name*

Have you ever applied under a different name or spelling of your name?*

Yes

If you answered "yes" to applying previously with a different name or spelling of your name, please use the space below to enter your previous name. Please leave this section blank if you answered "no".

Date of Birth*

MM/DD/YYYY Format

Have you submitted an application to the HGO Studio before?*

Yes

If yes, in what year(s)?

If you wish to let us know your pronouns, you may do so below. We want to know how to respectfully refer to you.

Voluntary Demographic Information*

This information is for data purposes only and will not be used in the awarding of auditions or studio contracts. For more information on the categories below, please visit appendix 4 on the following page: https://eeocdata.org/eeo1/howto/instructionbooklet

Hispanic or Latino

White (Not Hispanic or Latino)

Black or African American (Not Hispanic or Latino)

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (Not Hispanic or Latino)

Asian (Not Hispanic or Latino)

Native American or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic or Latino)

Two or more races

I do not wish to disclose

Audition City*

Second Choice Audition City

Contact Information

E-mail Address*

Address Line 1*

Address Line 2

City*

State/Province*

Please enter a 2 letter state abbreviation where applicable, such as TX, UT, NY, etc.

Zip/Post Code*

Country*

Cell Phone*

No spaces, dashes etc. phone number fields

References

Please request these now as the deadline for receipt of references is September 16, 2022.

Recommendations

You are required to submit 3 references: one from your current/most recent primary teacher and two others from established music professionals.

Maximum number permitted: 3 Allowed method(s): Online.

You must be signed in to add recommendations.

Education and Training

EDUCATION - List colleges and/or universities, with dates attended (include expected graduation date if still enrolled), fields of study, and major degree or degrees awarded.*

Other pertinent experience (include other training programs, competitions, apprenticeships etc.) and dates:*

Piano Training (specify if teacher or coach) and dates:*

Conducting and/or Prompting Training (specify if teacher or coach) and dates:*

Music and Academic awards, grants, scholarships:*

Languages - indicate languages you have studied grammatically and the length of your study in years.

English*

Italian:*

German*

French:*

Spanish*

Other languages studied (and for how long):

Please use this space for any further information you think we should have:

Roles

Website

Video Selections

Video Selections*

Candidates must submit at least two different video clips of their playing, which may be a combination of solo pieces, clips of the candidate singing and playing an operatic excerpt, or of the candidate accompanying a singer in an aria or song of their choice (live or remote). If possible, videos should be no more than 12 months old. Number of selections required: 2.

You must be signed in to add videos.

Headshot

Headshot*

HEADSHOT: Files must be less than 2MB and in the .jpg/.jpeg format. Your filename must contain your full name and may not contain any special characters (ampersands, apostrophes, etc.)

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Live Audition Requirements

• Candidates should prepare one selection from each of the following five lists.
• Please note that in extracts I, II, and IV, some options that may appear in the application for other companies are omitted.
• Candidates should be prepared to sing and play all operatic excerpts, to follow a conductor, to translate each extract without reference to notes, and to respond to musical direction.
• Auditions may also involve sight-reading and verbal interviews.

EXTRACT I
Prepare one short solo piano piece of your choice of comparable difficulty to the below extracts

EXTRACT II (MOZART)
1. Le nozze di Figaro – Act II Finale from the entrance of Antonio (Scene X, Allegro molto) until the end of the act
2. Così fan tutte – Act I Finale from the entrance of Despina and Don Alfonso (Scene XVI, Allegro) until the end of the act
3. Don Giovanni – Act I Finale from Allegro 6/8 “Riposate, vezzose ragazze” until the end of the act
4. Don Giovanni – Act II Sextet “Sola, sola in buio loco”

EXTRACT III (ROMANTIC)
1. Puccini: La bohème – Act I up until the entrance of Benoit OR Act IV up until the entrance of Musetta
2. Puccini: Tosca – Act I up until figure 40
3. Puccini: Madama Butterfly – Act I up until Figure 37
4. Verdi: Rigoletto – Act 2 Scena and aria “Povero Rigoletto...Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” AND Act 3 Quartet “Un dì, sebben rammentomi…Bella figlia dell’amore”. (Ricordi Scenes 9 and 12)
5. Bizet: Carmen – Act II, #15 quintet “Nous avons en tête une affaire” AND Act II, #20 trio “Mêlons! – Coupons!”

EXTRACT IV (20th CENTURY)
1. Poulenc: Les mamelles de Tirésias “Non, Monsieur mon mari” (Act I Scene I from figure 20 - figure 34)
2. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier – “Wie du warst” from rehearsal 12 to four measures after rehearsal 25
3. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos – Zerbinetta’s recitative and aria, from 5 before #117 (“So war es mit Pagliazzo”) to #144
4. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos – Komponist’s aria from from “Sehr lebhaft” (rehearsal 108) until the end of the Prologue.
5. Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress – “No Word from Tom…I go, I go to him!”

EXTRACT V (MODERN)
1. A 5’-10’ operatic excerpt from a work written after 1940 in English.