BassDad

You can always ask for feedback from an audition. You may not always get a response.

Depending on the school, studio assignments may have already been made or they may still be in the works right up until the start of the semester. Once you are certain of the school you will attend and get assigned to a specific studio, then you can contact the teacher if you like to ask whether there is anything they would like you to prepare for the first lesson. This could make a favorable impression on the teacher, because not everyone thinks to do this. Some schools send out a packet of music that they expect you to have ready for seating auditions, which are held either in the few days before classes start, or else during the first week of classes.

Many schools have an orientation period for incoming first year students that ranges from a couple of days to a week before the start of classes. This gives them time to learn where things are on campus, get their student ID, buy books and supplies, meet with their academic adviser to discuss their class schedule and similar tasks. For music majors, it could also involve getting assigned a storage space for your instrument, taking placement tests for music theory and/or language classes, and holding seating auditions for various large ensembles. International students may have the opportunity to arrive even a day or two earlier than that. This orientation period would normally be when the student first meets with the teacher to go over anything that needs to get done before the first lesson.

Bassplayer08

Thanks violindad and BassDad. I had no idea that students actually had to audition for orchestra at school thanks !!! For sure I need to enquire and start getting ready. I suppose positions like principal and assistant-principale are only for upperclassmen ?

OK ! I wasn't sure if feedback was only for people who got rejected or if I could also ask. I'll try. I did recorded auditions for most schools so maybe they'll be nice enough to listen a bit of it again if they have forgotten me.

BassDad

Again, it depends on the school. Larger schools can have more than one orchestra, so the auditions may be to determine which group you play in as well as where you sit within your section. Some schools have rotating sections, so that more students can get the experience of being principal or assistant principal in their section. Some go as far as moving players from seat to seat for each major piece in the same concert, although that seems more common with woodwinds than strings. Some schools reserve principal and assistant principal seats for upperclassmen, and some give them to whoever turns in the best audition.

violindad

I am not aware of any schools that offer feedback to students that were rejected, but that might be more of an indication of my lack of knowledge than of the reality out there. Does anyone know of schools that routinely do this? Or is it (as I would expect) mostly a teacher decision as to whether to provide feedback?

I would think that if a teacher or school routinely offers feedback to students that are rejected, then they would probably offer it to those who are accepted, as well.

binx

Both my kiddo at state school and my kiddo at conservatory have to audition every semester. There are differences, though. My D earns a spot in the orchestra and remains there for the whole semester - which is usually only 2 concerts or so. My S's school rotates positions and concerts. There are many more concerts per semester, but he won't play in all of them. He is in his last year of grad school, and has been principal for many, but not all, concerts this year. Principal spots do tend to go to the grad students, though. (At both schools).

(My point, in case I have muddled things, is that semester auditions are common, but each school handles the results differently.)

stradmom

Off track a bit here, but D had a very helpful phone conversation with a prof at the school where she's waitlisted - got some good advice not just about how the waitlist works at that particular school but also some helpful tips on which of her other options might be a good choice if prof's school doesn't work out. As prof pointed out, they could end up working together at a summer festival or something later on even if she enrolls somewhere else.

tenormama

Peabody will speak to rejected students about how they can improve. I think there was a whole thread here last year about this. The Director Admissions at Peabody wrote a rejection letter and in the letter it stated that a rejected student could contact Peabody to find out why he had been rejected. No one believed that Peabody would really be willing to speak with the student and thought that it was an empty offer. Someone on cc contacted Peabody about the tone of the letter for other reasons. The Director of Admissions actually posted a letter on cc. The bottom line is that Peabody is willing to speak with rejected students and to explain to them what the faculty felt were the shortcomings of the audition, where they need to improve, etc. Apparently, they keep very detailed notes during the audition so that this is possible --not for this purpose, but they are able to do this as a result of their extensive note-taking. S noticed that during his audition, the panelists did have computers and they were typing the entire time.

violadad

The Peabody letter and feedback threads tenormama refers to are here:

Peabody - still waiting
A response from Peabody re: letter