JULIE BARON

Interviewed by Ashley Johnson Lam

I f you are a young artist, chances are slim you’ve never heard of YAP Tracker. With thousands of auditions and competitions held worldwide annually, YAP Tracker is your one-stop shop for finding these golden opportunities. But this tool that many singers rely heavily on wasn’t always available – at least not until mezzo soprano Julie Baron arrived on the scene nearly twenty years ago.

If necessity is the mother of invention, Julie Baron wears the crown of Queen Mother of YAP Tracker. Emerging as an eager young artist from her studies at Manhattan School of Music and fresh on the artist circuit at Opera Colorado in the early 2000s, she began the rite of navigating t he competition and audition circuit.

At that time, listings and advertisements for opportunities were scattered; not only did one have to be a well-prepared singer, but also a skilled detective in sleuthing out all possible avenues to find information in every nook and cranny of the internet and across magazines that may or may not have been available in your area. The young artist circuit was a veritable gauntlet, a worthy rival o f any Tamino trial.

But in her best Mozartian spirit, Julie set forth to create some order out of the chaotic landscape. What began as a simple spreadsheet to track audition and competition opportunities developed into a database with the help of her husband, a software engineer.

Word spread among her friends and the database sharing began. It quickly became evident what a gem Julie had created with this central hub for essential singing career elevation. In 2005, the tool went public online as an affordable subscription-based membership that would help young artists track all of their options -more than 3,600 of them- in one convenient place. A true game-changer. And subscription options are made artist-friendly: “Having been a singer myself, I’m sensitive to accessibility,” states Baron, “I love to help young singers, and this is one way we do that at YAP Tracker.”

Today, YAP Tracker is ubiquitous throughout the Young Artists landscape. But it is a continually growing resource, as the path forward for young artists continues to evolve. On the site you can find more auditions, competitions, and training programs than you can imagine. A more recent addition to the site is scholarship and grant opportunities.

Born out of pandemic priorities, funding opportunities for scholarships and grants were added at a time when singers were suffering a great loss of both opportunity and income. And, while we seemed to have slipped past the grip of the Covid pandemic, Baron is happy to share that funding opportunities will stay on the menu of YAP Tracker’s listings. “Some of the funding opportunities listed are very niche and not all are large awards, but if you find just one, not only does it pay for your membership, but it can be life-changing for your career,” she says with a tone of gratitude that reflects her personal experience in find ing funding for herself as a young singer.

And while young singers are the first beneficiaries that come to mind when the words YAP Tracker are mentioned, companies and the singing industry at large are growing from the platform, too. Companies and programs can list their opportunities at no charge and reach a national and international pool of artists with their information.

This practice was leaned into heavily during the pandemic, but Baron shares that companies continue to embrace the access to talent that YAP Tracker provides; yet another innovation she’s helped steer through her warm, generous self, genuine drive to support the singer landscape, a nd her dedicated team.

Julie Baron’s Tips for Making the Most of YAP Tracker

1. Singers can earn free memberships by referring new members to the site. https://www.yaptracker.com/ account/refer/

2. YAP Tracker also offers listings and features for accompanying pianists. They can post their availability to play for auditions, be listed in an accompanist directory or find out about opportunities for accompanying pianists. https://www.yaptracker.com/register-accompanist

3. Ever wonder if other singers are hearing from a company yet? YAP Tracker uses exclamation marks (orange and blue, single or multiple) to give a visual cue when singers are reporting they’ve gotten an audition slot or an offer. https://www.yaptracker.com/more/all-notifications/

4. YAP Tracker is just for Americans right? Nope. We post opportunities from all locations. Out of the over 3600 opportunities we posted in 2022, over 1500 were either based in Europe or held auditions on the continent.