Part I: General Strategy

Start Planning Early

Make a list of target schools at the beginning of your junior year of high school. 4-6 schools are an ideal number. Visit the various websites to learn about the schools. Email the professor of your instrument to express interest in visiting the school for a recruiting visit. See if you receive a timely and cordial response. Most university teachers enjoy receiving contact from prospective students and will answer in a timely manor. If you do not receive any response after several attempts, this should send up a red flag. You should proceed with caution and may want to consider eliminating this school from your target list.

Make Appointments to Visit Your Targeted Schools

Schedule appointments to visit each school during the spring semester of your junior year. Schedule an appointment with the director of music admissions to discuss the application process. Ask to schedule a private lesson and an interview with the professor of your instrument. Include your parents in the interview sessions. Prepare a list of questions. SAMPLE TOPICS:

• Describe your curriculum.
• Where have your students been accepted for grad school recently?
• What professional musical positions do your former students hold?
• Tell me about performance opportunities at the school.
• What scholarships are available for me to apply for?
• What will you expect me to perform at the entrance audition?

On Campus Visit

Have a lesson with the professor. Remember this is their audition for you, not yours for them. Decide if this is a person you can trust, learn from and relate to. Four years of studying with someone is a long time. If you are truly interested in attending this particular school, express this to the professor and show enthusiasm for the program. Request to speak to some of the current students in the professor’s studio. Ask them questions about the professor, other faculty and life at the school. This is very important, as the school’s faculty and administration cannot offer this valuable viewpoint.

Try to schedule your campus visit to coincide with a performance by one of the student ensembles that you can attend. This way, you can hear the quality of the performance by some of the current students.

Follow-up your campus visit with brief thank you notes or emails to those at the school who offered you their time and expertise.

Keep Your GPA as High As Possible

This will make your application much more desirable to the various schools and will increase your chances for receiving a good scholarship offer if you are accepted.

Take the SAT and/or the ACT Repeatedly (if necessary)

The higher your scores, the better your chances are of getting in to your targeted schools and receiving a good scholarship offer.

Play Live Auditions

This is always preferable to sending a recording. Faculty members prefer to meet prospective students and hear them perform in person. This also gives you a good opportunity to observe the school in action. Ask yourself: Were the auditions well run? Were the faculty and administration cordial? Was I treated like a person or a number? How are the facilities? Can I see myself going to school here?

If you have no choice but to send a recording, send a high-quality CD or DVD. Make a professional quality recording, not something recorded in your dining room with the dog barking in the background. Include a cordial and carefully proofread letter listing your audition program. You can’t believe some of the typos and mistakes that people often send in these important materials. Label the recording as professionally as possible.

Part II: Musical Strategy

Here are some musical tips for preparing your audition material and on how to decide which school is the right choice for you:

1. Know Your Scales!!

Major, minor, and chromatic. Be prepared to play them from memory at the auditions.

2. Select Your Audition Repertoire Carefully.

Review the audition repertoire requirements of your targeted schools. Play as close to the same program as is feasible at each school. Pick two or three pieces and focus in on them. Do the same for your etudes. Standard pieces and etudes are always good choices.

3. Start Prepping a Year in Advance

Be extremely organized and systematic in your approach to your applications and auditions. Make a planning calendar with regular attainable goals. (I'll have the first movement learned by this date; I'll complete and send in my applications by this date, etc.)

4. Get Good Recommendation Letters.

Get your letters from well-respected musical and academic experts who know your work, your work ethic and your personality. Amass 3-4 letters before you need them. During application season, popular teachers and administrators can get inundated with writing multiple recommendations, so give them ample notice (one month). Fill out as much information as possible for the recommender, for both electronic and written recommendation forms. If the recommendation is to be sent by snail mail, provide your recommenders with self-addressed stamped envelopes. They will appreciate this!

5. Audition for Several Schools

Don't limit your options exclusively to your number one choice. You never know how many openings a particular school will have in a given year.

6. Don't Be Afraid to Audition for a Prestigious School.

Again, you never know how many openings a particular school will have that year. Each professor listens for different things when hearing auditions by prospective students. Example: You may have exactly the tone or style that is most desirable to that professor, even though your technique is not as developed as some of the other auditionees.

7. Play Mock Auditions in front of other people before going to your auditions. Choose people to play for whose opinions you respect (your teacher, band director, local professionals, fellow students, etc.) and ask them for feedback. Doing mock auditions will also help your nerves on the actual audition days, as you will have experienced the process before.

8. Record Yourself regularly during the entire preparation process. Listen for your progress. Ask yourself: Is my rhythm accurate? Am I playing with sufficient contrasting dynamics? Is my interpretation musical and stylistically appropriate? What can I do to sound better? A quality digital recorder is both inexpensive and indispensable. You can record on your Smartphone until you get a digital recorder.

9. Instrument & Equipment.

See a professional technician to be sure your instrument is in top working condition. If you are a reed player, make sure you have a selection of several good reeds to choose from.

10.Relax!

Once you have learned your repertoire, the hardest part is over. Remember that everyone is nervous at college auditions and you should expect to feel those butterflies in your stomach. Sometimes that extra adrenaline rush can actually make you play better!

Part III: Audition Strategy

• Warm-up before going to the audition. Warm-up facilities may be unavailable or crowded.
• Take a bottle of water and some light snacks along. I like bananas.
• Get there early so you do not feel rushed.
• Dress for success. Look professional and you will be taken seriously.
• Be prepared for the auditions to be running early or late. There are often no-shows and/or unexpected circumstances which are out of your control. Don’t allow this to phase you.
• Try to smile and look relaxed (even though you will be nervous) when you go into the audition.
• Keep your focus and concentrate exclusively on playing well. You have spent many months preparing, so focus your attention on playing your music well. Give it 110%. Take a few deep measured breaths to calm down.

GOOD LUCK!

About the Author

Mitchell Estrin is Professor of Music Emeritus at the University of Florida where he was founder and music director of the University of Florida Clarinet Ensemble and a University of Florida Research Foundation Professor. He served as the Artistic Director of the Vandoren Clarinet Ensemble Festival and was founder of the Buffet Crampon USA Summer Clarinet Academy. Prof. Estrin was the 20th President of the International Clarinet Association (ICA). He is the author of the biography Stanley Drucker, Clarinet Master published by Carl Fischer and Writing the Vandoren WAVE published by CAMco. His critical edition of the Weber Concertino for Clarinet, Op. 26 is published by Jeanné.

Prof. Estrin is a 2023 recipient of Honorary Membership in the International Clarinet Association. This accolade, marking the highest honor in the clarinet world, is said to acknowledge individuals with a distinguished background in the areas of professional service, teaching, performance, and lifetime achievements.

Mitchell Estrin studied clarinet with Stanley Drucker at The Juilliard School where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. His other influential teachers include Jerome Stowell, Walter Wollwage, Leon Russianoff, Larry Combs, Robert Bloom, and John Moses.

Prior to his academic appointments, he had a 25-year association with the New York Philharmonic. He performed in hundreds of concerts and on 19 international tours with the Philharmonic as principal, second, and E-flat clarinetist under music directors Alan Gilbert, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, Leonard Bernstein, and many distinguished guest conductors including Erich Leinsdorf, Sir Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Klaus Tennstedt, Andre Previn, Sir Colin Davis, and Leonard Slatkin. He performed on dozens of recordings with the Philharmonic and on numerous occasions performed with the orchestra on the PBS award winning series, Live From Lincoln Center.

As an international concert artist, Mitchell Estrin has performed in over 40 countries on 5 continents. He performed and recorded the world premiere of The Shadows of October for clarinet and orchestra by Michael Whalen with the Janacek Philharmonic.
“This beautiful and lushly scored tonal piece…. is performed by clarinetist Mitchell Estrin…. He plays beautifully with a lovely colored tone.”
The Clarinet

As a chamber musician, he has performed with such notable ensembles as The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New Arts Trio, American Chamber Winds, at the Newport Music Festival, and was a founding member of the Amadeus Ensemble.

Prof. Estrin has an extensive discography of solo and chamber music and recorded hundreds of television commercials and Hollywood motion-picture soundtracks. He has performed and recorded with many leading popular artists including Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Peter, Paul and Mary, Ray Charles, The Fugees, Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Smashing Pumpkins, and Natalie Merchant. His motion picture soundtrack credits include recordings for Columbia, Walt Disney, Paramount, MGM, 20th Century Fox, United Artists, and Warner Brothers on feature films including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Alamo, Intolerable Cruelty, The Score, You’ve Got Mail, Primary Colors, Fargo, Batman Forever, Interview with the Vampire, Home Alone 2, Pocahontas, Doc Hollywood, Regarding Henry, The Untouchables, Reds, and Dressed to Kill. His television credits include recordings for ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, HBO, TBS, and ESPN. Prof. Estrin was principal clarinetist for the NBC 75th Anniversary Special; broadcast from the famed NBC Studio 8H in New York City. He has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Phil Donahue Show, the television series Nurse, and in Kramer vs. Kramer, the 1980 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture. His clarinet playing has also been heard on hundreds of television and radio commercials. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences recognized him as a Most Valuable Player nominee for his outstanding performances in the recording studio.

Prof. Estrin has presented recitals, masterclasses, workshops, and seminars at many prestigious educational conferences and institutions. This list includes the Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Arizona State University, Florida State University, University of Maryland, University of Alabama, University of Arizona, University of Illinois, University of Texas, Texas State University, Texas A&M University, Midwest Clinic, New York State School Music Association, Connecticut School Music Association, and Florida Music Educators Association. In 2019, he was a guest clinician in Australia at the University of Melbourne. He has performed in recital with clarinetists Stanley Drucker, Karl Leister, and Mark Nuccio.

Widely acclaimed as a conductor and proponent of the clarinet choir, Prof. Estrin has served as director of the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest® College, Festival, and Professors Clarinet Choirs, Texas State Clarinet Fiesta Clarinet Choir, Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium Clarinet Choir, Texas Clarinet Colloquium Clarinet Choir, and United States Navy Clarinet Choir. He held a Guinness World Record for conducting the world’s largest clarinet choir (367 members) in 2019. He has conducted the University of Florida Clarinet Ensemble throughout the United States and Europe, including three feature recitals at the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest®. The ensemble has produced four critically acclaimed CD’s for Mark Masters, Christmas Clarinets (2016), Clarinet Choir Classics (2012), Clarinet Thunder (2009), and Wind in the Reeds (2006). Each of these recordings was selected for the Grammy Nomination eligibility list. Prof. Estrin has authored multiple articles on the history, development, repertoire, and logistics of the clarinet choir.

As a music producer and annotator, he has worked on projects with such renowned artists as trombonist Joseph Alessi, jazz pianist Lynne Arriale, and saxophonist Mike Smith. He has produced five clarinet choir CDs for Mark Recording.

Prof. Estrin’s students have performed with such prestigious ensembles as the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, New York Pops, United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, United States Army Field Band, and West Point Band. His students hold educational positions at several major universities including Indiana University, University of Arizona, University of Florida, and University of South Alabama.

Mitchell Estrin is a Buffet Crampon Legacy Artist and performs exclusively on the Buffet R13 clarinet. As a Vandoren Performing Artist, he endorses and performs exclusively on Vandoren reeds (V.12) and mouthpieces (BD2). Prof. Estrin’s educational articles are published regularly in the Vandoren WAVE and his biography is listed in Who’s Who in Classical Music, Who’s Who in American Music, and Who’s Who in International Music.