Houston Grand Opera

2024-25 Houston Grand Opera Studio: Pianist/Coach Application

This application closed on Monday September 25, 2023.


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REMINDER - Deadline for applicants is Monday, September 25, 2023. References should be completed by Friday, September 29, 2023.

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

Important Dates for Pianist/Coach applicants:

  • Tuesday, August 1, 2023: Applications go live on YAP Tracker
  • Monday, September 25, 2023: Applications due
  • Friday, September 29, 2023: References due
  • Friday, October 13, 2023: Pianists notified for advancement to live auditions
  • November 2023: Houston live auditions (by appointment)
  • November 6-7, 2023: Cincinnati live auditions
  • November 8-11, 2023: New York City live auditions
  • November 12, 2023: Philadelphia live auditions
  • Friday, February 23, 2024: Notification of results

Please contact the HGO Butler Studio at studio@houstongrandopera.org with any questions regarding this application. For technical help, please contact help@yaptracker.com.

Personal Information

Number of selections required: 1.
MM/DD/YYYY Format
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

Contact Information

Please enter a 2 letter state abbreviation where applicable, such as TX, UT, NY, etc.
No spaces, dashes etc. phone number fields

References

Please request these now as the deadline for receipt of references is September 29, 2023.
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

Please use the fields below to indicate the three most recent schools, colleges, universities, and/or conservatories you have attended, the dates of attendance, and the degree awarded, beginning with the most recent. Only the information of one institution is required to submit the application.

Your application will not be adversely affected if you have not formally studied at the post-secondary level; if that is the case, please answer 'no post-secondary studies' in the required fields.
Education 1
Fill these fields out if submitting more than the one institution required in the field above.
Education 1
Education 2
Name, plus specify Teacher or Coach (ex Jane Doe, teacher)
ex: 2012-Present, or 2011-2014, etc.
Name, plus specify Teacher or Coach (ex. Jane Doe, teacher)
ex: 2012-Present, or 2011-2014, etc.
Name, plus specify Teacher or Coach (ex Jane Doe, teacher)
ex: 2012-Present, or 2011-2014, etc.
Name, plus specific conducting or prompting training (ex. Jane Doe, conducting)
ex: 2012-Present, or 2011-2014, etc.
Name, plus specific conducting or prompting training (ex. Jane Doe, conducting)
ex: 2012-Present, or 2011-2014, etc.
Name, plus specific conducting or prompting training (ex. Jane Doe, conducting)
ex: 2012-Present, or 2011-2014, etc.
Languages - indicate languages you have studied grammatically and the length of your study in years.

Roles

Include musical theater or oratorio work, if any*:
(All fields must be completed. Use N/A where necessary. RESUMES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IN LIEU OF A COMPLETED APPLICATION)
Role 1

Role 2

Role 3

Role 4

Role 5

Role 6

Role 7

Role 8

Video Selections

Candidates should submit application videos that satisfy the following requirements.

All excerpts are to be both sung and played. Please make every attempt to place the camera on the side rather than behind or in front to capture both the pianist’s face and hands.

1) Mozart: Please select a secco recitative in Italian with at least two characters and at least 2 pages in length.
2) An aria in Italian by Donizetti, Bellini or Verdi.
3) Please select 1: An aria in French by Gounod or Bizet OR an aria in German by Wagner or Strauss Minimum number of selections permitted: 1. Maximum number of selections permitted: 3

You must be signed in to add videos.

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.)
You must be signed in to add your headshot.

Live Audition Requirements

A short solo piano piece of your choice (no more than 5 minutes in length).

**ALL EXCERPTS ARE TO BE SUNG AND PLAYED**

EXCERPT 1 - MOZART RECITATIVE Mozart secco recitative in Italian with at least two characters and at least two pages in length.

EXCERPT 2 - MOZART - Please select 1, sung in Italian
- Le nozze di Figaro: Act II Finale from the entrance of Antonio (Scene X, Allegro molto) until the end of the Act
- Cosi fan tutte: Act I Finale from the entrance of Despina/Don Alfonso (Scene XVI, Allegro) until the end of the Act
- Don Giovanni: Act II Sextet, “Sola, sola in buio loco”

EXCERPT 3 - PUCCINI - Please select 1, sung in Italian
- La bohème: Act I until the entrance of Benoit
- Tosca: Act I until rehearsal 40

EXCERPT 4 - BIZET - Please select 1, sung in French
- Carmen: Quintet, “Nous avons en tete une affaire”
- Carmen: Trio, “Melons! – Coupons!”

EXCERPT 5 - WAGNER OR STRAUSS - Please select 1, sung in German
- Wagner: Die Walküre: “Siegmund heiss ich,” Rehearsal 72A until the end of the Act
- Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier: “Wie du warst,” Rehearsal 12 to 4 measures after Rehearsal 25
- Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos: “Sein wir wieder gut,” Rehearsal 108 until the end of the Prologue

EXCERPT 6 - CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH An operatic excerpt in English, no longer than 5 minutes in length, taken from a work written in or after 1970