Eastman Audition - What to expect? - Page 2

MomOf3Stars · 02-08-2008, 03:39 AM

Thanks Shennie. We are getting ready to go now...ahhhhh!! I hope D slept more than I did last night, I was awake every hour, mostly because I obsess over not getting up on time.

jazzzmomm · 02-08-2008, 05:34 AM

Oh, no Mof3Stars, I do that too. And driving long distances to these auditions on practically no sleep, bad hotel beds, stress, etc. make this audition experience uniquely exhausting. The trick is not to let your child know how you're feeling! My husband is doing the next two auditions---Yay!

I hope all goes well, today--let us know.

binx · 02-08-2008, 08:04 AM

Just posting to say I'm thinking of you today, MomOf3Stars. My S is currently in Houston for his Rice audition - also horn. Nice thing about grad school - I don't have to go!

musmom2 · 02-08-2008, 09:21 AM

to Momof3Stars: I can't add anything to the comments people have made about Eastman, since after a tour in the fall and All-State, my D. decided not to apply (kind of wish she had, just to see whether she would get in). I do know there is a good coffee shop pretty much next door! However, I can tell you something about Fredonia, since we were there last Sat. Plenty of free, unlocked practice rooms, cafeteria food available at one of the dining facilities, there also is a café right in the music building. They give tours of both the music building and campus if you want. Kids have a theory "proficiency" test. We were told this doesn't count toward admission, but later found out that for vocalists (D is a soprano) it does, as does the piano proficiency test. All in all it was a good day, well organized, friendly and informative. Also were sessions for parents and kids with a music admin. type, a faculty member from your intended major, and the kids had a Q+A session with current students. You will find out the specifics of your schedule when you sign in. Good luck, hope the weather is good for driving!

stringfollies · 02-08-2008, 11:02 PM

Thank you all for the great information which we will stow away for S's audition next Friday. Good luck to those there this weekend!

MomOf3Stars · 02-09-2008, 06:12 AM

HI all,
I am typing this in the half dark as D is still trying to sleep. Eastman was good. We were impressed with all of the students we spoke to, the atmosphere was not as serious as I had expected.

I cannot believe I did not notice all of the coffee shops and restaurants when we were there before!! I must have been blinded by lack of caffeine that day!! We loved Java!!

Hard to say how the audition went, the interview went really well though which is good. There were plenty of students around to help us and all were wearing Eastman tshirts. The info session was great, I was both impressed and comforted by the friendly and humorous attitudes of the staff on the panel.

We are at our hotel in Fredonia right now, her audition is at 10:30. We called home yesterday and my youngest D had a message for oldest D saying the horn professor from Fredonia had called our house and said how much he looks forward to meeting D today for her audition!!! That really made D much more relaxed about today.

I will post more when we get home.

stringfollies · 02-09-2008, 07:35 AM

I never sleep on these trips either - luckily my S does! And the snow makes the driving very tense. It is very wearing and exhausting. I'm glad to be home from Michigan today! The audition (violin-performance) was only so-so. He learned on his way in the room that he would be asked to sight-read. This is his bug-a-boo and I think it knocked him off stride immediately. Oh well....he's got some more chances coming up. Eastman next week, the Rice, IU and Oberlin.

I look forward to hearing more about Rice.

Good luck to all on the road this weekend.

mom4 · 02-09-2008, 08:47 AM

The audition process yesterday was about as flawless and low stess as anyone could imagine. They do group interviews with the kids--so smart, because it helps them relax and meet a couple of other auditioning kids. Numbers wise: they said they were auditioning 182 kids yesterday; it looked evenly divided between undergraduates and graduate students. Not intimidating. And when we went for the audition itself, it didn't feel overwhelming--no long lines of hopefuls waiting their turns; just a couple of overlaps. The Middle Eastern restaurant around the corner was great. Every time we go to Eastman, we are reminded of what a friendly place it is, and impressed with the level of the program.

binx · 02-09-2008, 08:55 AM

S called last evening to report. He said he played okay, but not his best. Auditions for horn were running about 45 minutes each, apparently a cross between an audition and a lesson. The person before him went long, and when he walked in, the teacher said, "Good, we've already met," and he had a shorter audition. He played everything - expositions of two concertos and 5 excerpts.

He asked to repeat one excerpt he didn't play well, and nailed it the second time, to which the teacher said, "Okay, you can walk out of here feeling good about that now." Teacher told him only that there were 4 openings, and he still had "a lot of people left" to audition. S had been hoping for more encouragement than that. But teacher did comment that if S comes there he would be a strong addition to the program.

After the audition, he had to take several tests - theory was relatively easy, music history was "ridiculous." (I think there was another test as well.) The tests are for placement or remedial work, but if scores are too low, can be a killing factor for admission. (This is for grad school, remember. I don't know how it works for undergrad.)

By the way, I slept fine.

Grad school is so completely different!

shennie · 02-09-2008, 03:29 PM

A note about the atmosphere at Eastman - My son's experience was that it was a very supportive environment. He said people compete with themselves, not each other. When his instrument was in the shop for 4 days, other students let him know when their instruments would be available for him to use for practice. He didn't miss a single minute of practice or any rehearsals. Attendance was always good at student recitals. Of the school's 800 students, close to 75% are undergrads.

And binx, I agree, the grad auditions were a lot easier on the old mom than undergrad. I got to sit at home and worry, but much less stressful for me!

violadad · 02-09-2008, 08:45 PM

shennie wrote: <And binx, I agree, the grad auditions were a lot easier on the old mom than undergrad. I got to sit at home and worry, but much less stressful for me!>

I have to say it's easier all around regarding angst and grad school auditions as well. Son is laid back about it, and wife and I aren't at all stressed like we were for undergrad.

I guess it's due to his level of confidence in his abilities, and being comfortable enough with auditions in general. Plus, he's funding it

MomOf3Stars · 02-10-2008, 05:17 AM

D's interview at Eastman was one on one not group but I am guessing this is a Music Ed thing. Also, in her audition there were about 5 undergrads in the room listening as well. D was given the choice to have them in there or not, she said it seemed easier to have them there. The professor was not chatty at all with her but I found out from the girl that auditioned before D that he was not with her either. Both she and my D said it was hard to read him. It's ok though, Eastman is a HUGE longshot for D even though she said she played the best she has ever played (always a good thing just not always a sure thing).

SUNY Fredonia was awesome. D just fell in love with the school. We were not expecting this by any means. The facilities and campus there are really wonderful. It seems like they are constantly trying to make improvements to everything there. A good portion of their students go on to do their graduate work at Eastman and other top notch schools. The horn professor was really great, friendly and D said he seemed really excited about teaching. He is a graduate of JHU (D noticed his diploma).

We have NYU-Steinhardt in 2 weeks. That is our last one, if anyone has any experience there I would totally appreciate it.

DefyingGravity04 · 02-10-2008, 04:27 PM

Momof3stars,

My best friend is a Music Ed major at Steinhardt in vocal and piano and really loves it. I know her entire schedule is mostly music courses and she loves it, and is in University Singers and will be studying abroad next fall.

stringfollies · 02-16-2008, 12:00 PM

S auditioned yesterday. There were 300 kids auditioning (their biggest day, they said) and it was a bit of a well-managed zoo. He was able to get a practise room, but not without some scrambling around. Since they require you to be there at 9 AM (his audition was at 2:10), it was not possible to practise at the hotel before going so he HAD to have practise time. This made for some anxiety. I also think it's too bad that they schedule the theory tests before the audition because it also adds to stress level. My S is very strong in theory and says he did fine on it, but he always gets stressed by any kind of test. I wish they had timed it differently.

The audition (violin performance) was 10 minutes. All 6 violin teachers were there in a small studio. He was able to play part of each selection and did pretty well. The teachers did not interact and gave no feedback.

The interview was with 2 others and that was very easy to get through and went well.

In spite of obstacles, we both thought that the atmosphere of the school was very nice and friendly and the main building and performance spaces are outstanding.

On to Rice next week.

cjm · 02-16-2008, 01:08 PM

What did you do between 9 and 2:10? Other than the theory test, do they have any tours or info sessions for parents and prospective students? My son and husband are going next week for piano audition. Then after the audition are you free to go or are there possible callbacks?