| We live in Madison, WI, a place that has turned out to be very supportive of its young classical musicians. What we found very helpful was consultation with the UW faculty in the music dept. My son would occassionally have lessons with a couple of the teachers there even though they weren't able to take him as a full time student. During his junior year, I called one of them who knew my son's playing quite well and asked him for a frank appraisal. He was very helpful. Not only did he assess his ability for us, he has some suggestions for schools and teachers that he should consider.
I think that this approach can be helpful for others as well. If you have a local university, try and establish a relationship with a faculty member there, even if you child does not study with them. It can be very helpful in the long run.
Ofcourse, this was only one of the things we did. He also entered competitions and attended competitive summer programs. All of these activities helped us to gain an understanding of where he fit in the greater scheme of things. |