Page 10 - 2020 Classical Singer Magazine January Summer Program Issue

CROSSOVER CORNER AUDITION ACCOMPANISTS GIVE ADVICE
BY CHRISTY TURNBOW
Find out what accompanists expect from you at your next musical theatre audition.
You should know what to expect from and how to communicate with an accompanist so that you can feel confident and calm during an audition.
The first thing that will help you help your accompanist is getting your sheet music from the right source. Not all copies of musical theatre songs are created equally. The best place to get your music is from the piano conductor score. This is the orchestral score reduced for piano with the vocal lines included. A university library is a good place
to start looking for a copy of the piano conductor score.
Music printed in the vocal selections of a show
or found on websites that sell sheet music have often been simplified so the accompaniment may be a little sparse, with the right hand of the piano doubling the voice part. The key may also have been altered to a key with fewer accidentals, presumably making it easier to play but not necessarily easier to sing. The simplification and alteration of published musical theatre music is more common in the older publications. More contemporary shows tend to be published in the show key with fewer simplifications. It is always a good idea, however, to double check it against a copy of the piano conductor score.
Many of the piano conductor scores of the older shows are still in a handwritten script. Music theatre pianists are generally used to this. If it is a poor copy, however, it is even more difficult to read. You may also consider looking to see if the song you want to sing has been included in an anthology. There are several anthology publications that are in the show key with the accompaniment from the piano conductor score.
Once you have the copy of the song you want to sing, there are a few varied opinions on what to do with it. Traditionally, it gets put in a binder in some format that is playable. This has included putting the
sheet music in plastic sheet protectors as double- sided or single-sided copies that have been taped back to back.
I polled industry professionals including Sarah Brett England, faculty member at Montclair State University, music director, accompanist, and arranger in New York City; Beth Burrier, associate professor
at Baldwin Wallace University and associate artistic director at College Light Opera Company; and Roberto Sinha, music director for the national tour of Hamilton about what they prefer when playing for auditions, and this is what they said.
How do you feel about playing from plastic sheet protectors?
Sarah Brett England: As long as they’re glare- free, I love them. Allows for easier page turns, avoids staples or taped pages that might not be conducive to turning, and also allows the actor to adjust the cut. [For example,] if you have single-sided pages, you can move the pages in the sheet protectors more easily than if they’re hole punched in the binder.
Beth Burrier: I hate them. They are slippery, they glare, they make books heavy.
Roberto Sinha: I don’t have a strong hatred
of them like others, but I will say that there is the possibility of glare and/or some page turn issues, so use them at your own risk. Even the anti-glare kind have lighting issues. I think double-sided printing or single-sided back to back and taped (never stapled!) is my recommendation.
How do you feel about playing from an iPad/ tablet?
SBE: I play from an iPad the majority of the time for rehearsals, performances, classes, and lessons. However, for auditions, still plan to bring your music
10 Classical Singer / Jan/Feb 2020