@musicmomof2 SO excited for you and D! Enjoy a relaxing audition season!
@Musicmom2two congratulations on being done! I know the Berklee scholarship really impacted my S as well in that he didn’t submit any further apps as he had planned. Although he hasn’t committed and will still do two other auditions.
Is there a chance she would switch and choose Frost if given an equal scholarship or is she just curious? My S visited Frost right after his Berklee audition and liked it alot, although he also was very impressed with Berklee after his audition and tour there (it was his first time to Boston and seeing Berklee).
@raincat I’m not sure she will change her mind. Although I suppose it’s always a possibility. She really liked Frost a lot but feels that she would like to experience life outside of Florida. I think that Frost would have been her choice if she had not received the merit money. I personally really liked Frost for her. But I like Berklee for her as well.
She did a workshop at Berklee two summers ago and loved it.
@Musicmom2two congratulations!! It’s so awesome that you can be ‘done’. I can’t imagine how great it feels to be able to know where your child is going to be.
@Musicmom2two Such a great news, so exciting. Congratulations.
@Musicmom2two I forgot you are from Florida. It makes sense that she wants an out of state experience. The one downside of Berklee, for our S, is the weather. We are in a gloomy place and the allure of the sun of Miami and LA is calling to my S! Lucky there are two great programs in those places lol.
My husband and I both attended grad school in Boston and we have our own opinions… But in any case Berklee is a top contender despite the climate. Unfortunately we will be waiting until the bitter end of spring to know where S ends up! Lucky you and great for your D to know what she wants.
D completed regional audition in LA today for Oberlin. We had 30 mins in a practice room, and the audition itself was about 20. Assistant director of Conservatory was there, and he filmed for the vocal faculty then conducted sight reading, rhythm and pitch matching tests. Everyone we encountered was so warm and friendly- wonderful experience. She did all three of her songs through.
Kid is down and out with a terrible sore throat. Second time since Thanksgiving. Almost never gets sick, but this is rough. Auditions are a month away, and proper practice is impossible. Tears at the doctors office this morning when strep test came back negative, and he did not prescribe anything. That is the correct response, of course, but the frustration is real! I guess things could be a lot worse. Kid could be a vocalist and/or auditions could be this weekend. Ugh! Take care of yourselves and be well out there, folks!
This happened to us as well – S had bronchitis and was coughing like a fiend. Thank goodness auditions are a month away still. She should be fine.
I suspect the stress plays into it. S’s teacher reminded us that he wouldn’t forget everything in the 7-10 days it took to heal; that caring for your instrument (including your body) was a good life lesson; and that in an absolutely worst case scenario, adrenalin would push him through. He was fine by the audition days, but we brought along lemon and honey, special tea, and anything else we could think of to pamper him. I know some vocalists travel with portable steamers.
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid my son had a terrible sore throat like that back in September, a couple weeks into his freshman year as a voice major. He had the strep test come back negative too, but the doctor prescribed anitibiotics anyway (based on his other symptoms I assume) and judging by the way it responded rapidly to treatment it was definitely bacterial. For him though it took three different anitibiotics to completely clear it up—-he had bond fide allergic reactions to the first two drugs.
Hope your son recovers quickly but if he’s still sick in a few more days I’d push for further investigation. They also tested my son for mono. That can really hang on and be nasty. Another of my kids had a nasty case of that a couple years ago. Memorable.
I’m so sorry, @mom2clarinetobsessedkid , but she still does have time to recover- thank goodness!!! She’s probabably been practicing like crazy before this, so I’m sure she’ll be fine. Regional solo/ensemble is 3 1/2 wks away, and I’m already trying to figure out when I’m having S start taking Emergen-c as a preventative measure, even though kids hate the flavor. Last year, S had a fever, sore throat and cough 2 days before his big solo concerto, so I frantically emailed both his coach and band teacher. Both basically said to keep him home from school, rest and drink lots of liquids. He stayed home both days, including the day of the performance. For the whole performance, I dreaded each long or quick, successive notes, but he did great. And yes, things can be a lot worse. At any rate, her body is telling her to rest; stressing out about not being able to practice may only serve to prolong her recovery.
Stay well everyone.
So sorry @mom2clarinetobsessedkid. My daughter was terribly sick (sore throat, barky cough) in late September last year. She was preparing for several early auditions over the next few weeks, so she was frantic We went to the doctor and everything came back negative so “there was nothing they could do” which caused her more stress. The only thing that worked was Robotussan with codeine because at least that helped control her cough and allow her to sleep. After a few weeks (before the auditions thank goodness) she was healthy but it was a stressful time for sure! Good luck to your son-don’t worry, he will do well! Hope he feels better soon!
My daughter was sick with a sore throat and virus 1-1/2 weeks before her Miami audition. She rested her body and voice, drank hot stuff and took vitamins. Oh, and she took thisntnroat spray called “coldzyme”
The Doctor was convinced that because she was busy and stressed she should reschedule her audition. But, with everything she did to take care of herself she was ok for her audition. She hadn’t practiced as much as she wanted to but her voice was fine.
The admissions director and D’s piano teacher both mentioned that even if the kids are a bit under the weather the instructors can still recognize talent and potential.
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid - I’m so sorry! That is my daughter’s worst nightmare. She lost her voice before a big audition last year - completely gone. She quit talking for a week and drank lots of Medicine Balls from Starbucks. (Now called Honey Citrus Mint.) It worked! She now swears by the Medicine Ball to keep herself and her voice healthy, and she’s learned how to make it on her own. (She’s in the kitchen making one right now, warding off any bad illness juju.) She also sleeps with humidifier every night and steams her voice when singing a lot. Both will be traveling with us. But seriously, the Medicine Ball. A big cup of hot tea works wonders.
Thank you all! So many kind words of encouragement and support! ? We are taking many of your recommendations to heart. The humidifier is now cranking full time at night, salt water gargles are being done, and we’re pumping every OTC and natural remedy we can think of! This is day 4 of ‘the wretched throat’. Little to no improvement. Beginning to suspect mono—as at least one other person has suggested. Would be nice to know for sure, but without any real treatment for it other than what we’re already doing, not sure it’s worth the blood test stress.
At any rate, I knew you all would understand. The Dr. looked somewhat scared and perplexed when kid began sobbing yesterday, poor guy, but he doesn’t know that the 3rd movement DESPERATELY needs more work (for #1 school, of course), and summer applications/auditions are due, and this may be the end of hopes and dreams as we know them…
Sigh. Thank you, friends. Stay well!
P.S. Is the recipe for The Medicine Ball a closely guarded secret? Sounds like it could be useful!
Did they send the throat swab out for culture or just say no strep based on the rapid test done in the clinic? They are supposed to send it out as rapid is often negative. If you suspect strep and it wasn’t sent out, please test again. Also make sure they do a very thorough swab. Lots of docs don’t. It should almost kind of hurt. (We have had a lot of experience with strep).
Also untreated strep can rarely have serious long term effects, so additional reason to test again. Cvs minute clinics will test for strep if you don’t want to return to your doctor.
Hello everyone. I’m new here… posted on another thread and was encouraged to post here. LOTS of good stuff gleaned already. I will spend more time reading tonight when I work. Right now I have to go to choir rehearsal . I’m a singer and pianist but this is not about me… it’s about my son who is “clarinet obsessed” as well. @mom2clarinetobsessedkid - LOVE LOVE that name. All I can say is SAME. Maybe I could be mom2clarinetobsessedkid2 LOL !. Anyhoo… sorry to hear about your kid being sick. I haven’t read all the posts but we swear by copious amounts of fresh ginger in this household (being a singer and all) and that seems to work to my son as well to stave off and cure ‘whatever’ ails us. Grind it up, put it in tea, smoothies, cook with it, chew on it raw… it’s a natural inflammatory and seems to kill whatever it is. No joke. Works. Every. Time. And ginger tea with honey and lemon IS yummy and has a calming effect on the kid when stressed - which lately with All State and audition is every day. Our poor kids.
Anyhoo, must skeedaddle so just going to copy my post from over there here. We’re DEEP in the process and was posting audition info. Thanks for the welcome @runninglate and @akapiratequeen and the recommendation to post here. So… here I am.
And right into it… starting off with audition dates and places (you can skip to the good part below 
Son - Instrumental Performance (Clarinet)
1/25 - Lebanon Valley College
1/26 - Rowan University
1/31 - School of Music @ University of Delaware
2/1 - Ithaca College (His 18th birthday date and he’s not feeling it he says)
2/4 - Wells School of Music @ West Chester University of Pennsylvania
2/8 - WVU (already accepted)- Might see if we can move Ithaca here.
2/11 - Tell School of Music @ Millersville University of Pennsylvania
2/14 - Mary Pappert School of Music @ Duquense (they’ve already spoken my
language $$$
2/15 - The Hartt School @ University of Hartford (this is probably not gonna happen
cause he has a concert that same day - Just haven’t cancelled yet)
2/16 - Boyer @ Temple (Hasn’t had a lesson here so going untested on this one and
according to “his” plan, shouldn’t even still be on the list, but it’s confirmed)
2/28 - William Patterson University of NJ (it’s still on my calendar for some reason)
2/29 - Uhmmm… I just have on my calendar - Audition WTH? Must go research that
one
Holy Guacamole!! Even typing it this seems like a lot. I hadn’t even realized how many but the kid has as plan. I’m just the support crew of one - single parent First couple of schools are practice runs - literally. His top two (and the trial runs) are within an hour’s drive from home, so no big whoop. For some background, kid was adamant about not going to a conservatory as he’s interested in other “stuff”. Will save the conservatories for Grad school. Doesn’t think grades are competitive enough (they aren’t) to get accepted to some of the more selective music schools within a university, and he didn’t like the instructors so didn’t apply. The Instructor!! THAT is the big deciding factor for him, which is why he dragged me all over the country to take lessons prior to submitting an application. OK, not really ALL across the country since part of the deal was he wasn’t allowed to like a school that his Momma couldn’t drive to in a day trip - so five hours was my limit. Selfish, I know, but he’s my “one and done” and it’s just he and I. But you don’t need to hear that story
So, back to auditions. For the most part, he’s fiercely auditioning mostly for the merit/talent scholarships he’s confident he will get from some. Academically, he’s below par so no merit there . (though he DID, surprisingly, get a $10,000 merit scholarship at a super safety school he didn’t want to go to all along - but that’s a whole n’other story) He frankly told the admissions counselor in an interview at Duquense that " I can play, but I suck at Math " She thought it was hilarious but that’s my kid. He did his essay on “I just want to play” and schools that looked at academics before audition results, instead of as part of the admissions package, were promptly dropped from “the list” . University of Maryland is one that comes to mind.
MOST of the schools he’s auditioning at say he will have an official decision pretty quickly after the audition. So the plan is, IF he hears from one of the his top three and he still has pending auditions, the rest of them are being cancelled. There’s a method to the madness! I think. I hope.
Good luck to all of you/your kids with upcoming auditions. The whole admissions process has been an eye opening experience for this Momma, that’s for sure. I might have applied to 2 colleges tops and went to the one that give me a scholarship. I’m pretty sure I never visited before accepting. They actually came looking for me if I remember correctly. Anyhoo, things have certainly changed. And yes, I’m “old” and got a lot of “advanced maternal age” stuff thrown at me when I was pregnant. That too is another story for a different place.
Tip for those coming down the road for next year - If you can, GO get a lesson and meet the instructors. You’ll have some serious advocates in your corner during the admissions process if they like you…want you in their studio. One such clarinet instructor who really liked him even got his initial declined decision overturned!! (didn’t even know that was possible - but she appealed on his behalf. Still unsure as to how that happened, but whatevs). So, go meet these people BEFORE you apply. We went to a college fair for musicians at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia (HIGHLY recommend it if you’re in the area - Project 440… THE best college fair we attended and had we known about it earlier, would have been the only one we went to! That itself deserves its own post. We were DONE and just went to it for some face-time with music admissions folks and found his favorite instructor there!! ) and this Enrollment coordinator from Julliard did a workshop on the audition process. He emphasized, SEVERAL times that you HAVE to meet the instructors before making your decision. “Don’t make a decision based on school name or prominence or prestige or whatever. Select your instructor”. Best advice we received. This is probably a conversation for another thread but since I’m just now finding this place, just thought I’d throw out a helpful tip. You all probably already know this
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid - This is basically the recipe that my daughter uses: https://eat-drink-love.com/copycat-starbucks-medicine-ball-tea/ . I think she uses more like 1 c of water and a 1/2 cup of lemonade, though. We got the Teavana from Amazon.
You might pick one up from Starbucks first so your son knows what it’s supposed to taste like. 
My daughter swears by it!
https://www.starbucks.com/menu/product/2122274/hot?parent=%2Fdrinks%2Fhot-teas%2Fgreen-teas
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid - also have the doctor look for sinus infection. My kid once had something that mimic’d mono and they tested for strep (negative) and then x-rayed for sinus infection and viola! Those have nasty post-nasal drip (says the person who is on antibiotics now for one) that can irritate the throat too. Good luck! Don’t give up hope…remember they look for potential NOT perfection.
Just stopped in to say good luck to all who are going on auditions soon. My son got sick around Christmas time with strep throat and after a few days of not feeling better, I took him back to his doctor who did a test for mono and that came back positive. He had a rough 2 1/2 weeks and missed several days of school. During the break, he made up his mind to withdraw his other music applications and auditions and he accepted at Stanford. I have to say that I am relieved. With his illness and fatigue I am not sure how he was going to be able to travel across the US to attend all of the auditions that were booked. His first trip would have been this coming up Friday to UT Austin and I don’t think he would have been able to make it. Anyways, he is on the mend and feeling better.
Again, good luck to you all. I will be following this forum to see how you are all doing 