BassDad

Welcome, team_mom. We have almost certainly crossed paths at NJ Youth Symphony events. My daughter played bass in YS from September 2002 through June 2005. We may also have met at Tanglewood if your eldest was there in 2004. Small world and all that...

binx

And I believe my kid has played at least one Juilliard pre-college concert as a fill-in in the horn section. (Short male with long hair - he tends to stick out.)

One of the fun things I've learned about the music world over the years is how small it is! When S went far away to school, he met up with people he'd played in youth symphony with, or one summer program or another, or All State, or... And someday, maybe CC!

nycm

wow team-mom, what a great post..! Should be required reading for all parents whose children decide to set out on this course! I had been a high school English teacher and de-facto college counselor for hundreds (thousands?) of kids over a 30 year career, but when DD announced she wanted to apply to conservatories I discovered that I knew almost nothing about the process. The learning curve was pretty steep, the outcome wonderful, and, as you say, the fact that she LOVES what she is doing is the best part of all.

violadad

I've been hanging around here since last December, stumbling into this forum completely by accident. For whatever reason, I never posted to this thread, but I've provided some background in other threads.

We started this process back in late 2001, with no background, no clue. I wish we had the insights then that this board provides. We knew nothing, but we made some good choices, and we survived.

My son graduates this Sunday from Hartt with a BM (highest honors) in viola performance. Through this March, he was a double major, (viola performance/music ed) due to graduate in December '07, but he decided to
drop the ed and graduate this May. I'm still not sure why exactly, but I'm assuming he has issues with the lack of support for the arts in public schools.
This late change means a gap year for him now before grad school as no apps were done given his original anticipated completion date.

I've tried to answer some questions and provide some insights based on our experiences, both general and specific. Having gone through this pretty much on our own, I'm happy to provide whatever support I can to others on the board.

Some general suggestions: search the Internet. There's a ton of info out there. Network... use your youth symphony, your teachers, your instructors. It's a small world and contacts made in this process and for the future are a big part in making it work over the long haul. For the string players, Strings and Strad, and to an extent BBC Music magazines are invaluable for finding schools, festivals, and other needs.

drnancie

I am a mom to a daughter who is majoring in classical vocal performance at NEC. She is currently a junior. She studied violin for 12 years, but stopped formal lessons as a senior in high school. Two sons who enjoy playing music but not going to be musicians.

Neither my husband or I are musicians. I wish I had found this website before she applied to conservatories!!!!

binx

Better late than never, DrNancie! Who knows, you might be looking at grad schools soon. In the meantime, NEC is a school that comes up a lot in discussion, and it will be nice having someone here with personal experience!

drnancie

Binx, you are right! She is planning to apply to grad school. Anyone who has had experience with that, please let me know!

I am happy to answer any NEC questions and I also have a son at Brown.

thumper1

Oh yes....grad school...DS did those auditions this year. BTW...as others noted, when DS auditioned undergrad, he met folks he knew at EVERY school. It was amazing. We were in totally strange places and he was talking to others, comparing notes, catching up, etc. Some were from youth orchestra, but most were from his summer programs. Oh...and don't forget "networking" from here. DS actually did some participation at a summer thing last year that was suggested by Binx (and he did it as her son suggested...only one or two shows, not the whole summer) which we never would have known about otherwise.

hkstrpd

Hi folks -

My D is a violinist. She'll be attending NYU Steinhardt in violin performance this fall. She always enjoyed playing and it came pretty easily to her, but she didn't become serious about it until she started attending the local performing arts high school in the 10th grade (she decided not to apply for 9th grade because she wasn't that serious about music and wanted to go to a "normal high school" -- well, one year of a normal high school cured that). That's when she started working hard, under a new teacher, and was exposed to other talented and ambitious students, and decided she wanted to study performance in college. No more skating by!

She's always been pulled by other musical interests, other than classical. She loves classical music but she also likes many other kinds of music, and there are things about the classical music world -- things outside of the music -- that she is put off by and thinks she would have difficulty with. But when she finds a kindred spirit with wide-ranging musical interests combined with great talent, she is thrilled.

That acceptance of the vaildity of other forms of music, and the opportunity to explore and perform in those areas in addition to her studies and performance in classical music, became the major objective criterion in her search for a college. Yes, teachers are extremely important, but you never know how the relationship will unfold. So, understanding the school's responsiveness to individual student's evolving development and possible changing areas of focus and the ability to change teachers if need be also entered into the decision. All that, combined with the subjective gut reaction of a "fit."

And I think that's one of the great benefits of the often arduous audition process. Compared to most high school seniors, performance majors really have a pretty good idea of which schools among those they have applied to are the best fit. NYU started out as an afterthought for my D and became her top choice. Most students don't have the benefit of an application process as revealing and instructive as those who do auditions.

a.c.bay

My D is a vocal performance person (coloratura_as). She applied at Oberlin for the reason that it was so close and they had early review in December. We would not have to travel too far and she'd get comfortable with auditioning before we did have to travel in January, February and March. She'd also done sample classes with someone there and even went to some student productions. She got accepted before Christmas. It did what we had hoped, and gave her some confidence doing the other schools - all accepted her, too! So where did she end up? Oberlin!!
Good for Mom and Dad. She is only 30 minutes away so we can see her when she in in things, plus they gave her a bunch of money - making Oberlin extremly affordable.
I was a clueless, non musical person. I can't believe we got the best choice for her and it's in our backyard. For years I thought that Oberlin was this bizzarre, politally liberal place. Then we got to know the Conservatory... Perfect fit.

a.c.bay

musicmom

a.c.bay-

Great story! Isn't it wonderful that you get to enjoy your D's performances?
Our S is close by also and like they say, it's priceless!

jazzzmomm

I'm the mother of a jazz guitarist son, a hs junior, starting to look at conservatories. He is a current pre-college student at MSM. He is infatuated with MSM and really wants only to go to college there, though he will apply to all other jazz strong places: New School, NEC, Berklee, Purchase, Uof Arts in Philadelphia (this a new one we discovered and plan to investigate further)--maybe Temple, Ithaca?? Currently, I am overwhelmed with trying to help him navigate this process. I am not a musician and I feel like a blind person trying to lead him around!! This forum has already been a wealth of information for me. I will be looking for advice!

binx

jazzzmomm - Don't overlook University of North Texas. Great jazz program.

hkstrpd

Hi jazzzmommm --

My D also started out infatuated with MSM, then fell in love with NYU. They also have a strong jazz program. Good luck and have fun!

jazzzmomm

Thanks, binx, for bringing up North Texas. We've been hearing a lot about it. At the moment my son is convinced he will only be happy in NYC. He loves the jazz scene here, and who wouldn't? Undergrads at MSM have thrilled him with stories of playing out at Cleopatra's Needle and Smoke, etc.! I feel like we really need to see some liberal arts colleges with strong jazz studies departments, so he can compare the college experience to the conservatory one. He has visited NEC, Berklee and New School, and they all look good for different reasons, though New School seems a little independent in style for an 18-year-old. Two older brothers at Northwestern and Brown, non-music majors, have given him a taste of campus life, and it really doesn't interest him all that much. He seems to be, at least at this point in his life, totally committed to the musician's life. I suppose this all belongs in another thread, though, and I am off to look for it!