Auditions are 5+ weeks away. I thought the student would be practicing audition repertoire every day for hours. But for where S is at in his jazz basserie, the songs are kind of nailed down, so S is spending time just working on a whole variety of exercises and non-audition day songs. S did however start sight-reading through the Real Book starting from song #1 and plans to go through the whole thing.
Iâm not sure you are aware but I did find that Grammy Camp published a list of finalists on their page. They did not send an email out and I only happened to see it because I was looking at the other Grammy camp programs and saw it listed. If they published a list of HM and Finalists from last year I never saw one so I have no idea⊠I was happy to see that my D made this list anyway which give me hope for her for next year. Thought you might not have seen it and be interested.
http://www.grammyintheschools.com/sites/default/files/2017%20GCJS%20Finalist%20List.pdf
All pre-screen results and audition info has been collected. Auditions for UNT, Michigan, Frost, and SUNY Purchase are scheduled (still have to book hotel for SUNY Purchase, as we just heard today). And then William Paterson is auditionless.
I was thinking why I am keeping this running log instead of making a nice summary like BassDad did several years ago. I think there are two ways to look at information we see in a forum such as this one. Is the information there to be a history account/log/journal. Or is the information here meant to be reproducible, actionable, instructional. I think in the end, I could not endorse that anything we have done is something that can guide another personâs decisions or steps too much. At some point I imagine making a nice summary posting, but not with any indications that what we did can reproducibly lead to whatever results we will eventually see. The summary would probably be somewhat brief as such, since so much historical account is already here. So, I like this journal format, as it keeps information in the perspective of that time and intend it mostly as historical account.
Right now, we are anxious to get on with the auditions. We think a little bit about what to do if certain offers come in certain sequences, but we canât process all of the options into a decision tree. The cost of auditioning is rather clear right now, and being able to drop one or two would definitely be nice in that regard.
I suggested a sample list of questions that S could ask if he were asked if he had any questions. Mainly along the lines of - what is expected to happen over four years, what preparations should be made during the summer before attending, and how a student can help make sure they are using all of the resources available at the college to make the most of their time there.
@goforth I would recommend to keep doors open (donât cancel scheduled auditions) if they potentially could by a destination for grad school.
Youâll also want all the financial offers in hand when it comes to the final decisions and negotiations - as long as the schools are equal in quality, which I believe all of yours are. Often final financial offers donât happen until mid April or even later as everything settles out.
That would be nice to have all offers to compare. I donât know if we will have an âasymmetricalâ decision process where one decision has to made earlier for some reason that helps a music professorâs planning. Or if an offer or two might come earlier that are really excellent to accept. That is getting ahead of the game, but just thinking.
I believe there are rules about the deadlines colleges can impose on the decision process. Partly to be fair so everyone can indeed compare offers. Sometimes a particular college/university might pressure an applicant because they want to either free money up or have an opportunity to get the next student on the list if the applicant should turn them down. And yes if you want to be considerate it is helpful to make your decision as early as possible and then to let the other institutions know. But at the same time it is vital that YOUR STUDENT not feel rushed or pressured into making a decision. It is your studentâs right to be able to take the time they need to take to compare and contrast offers and contemplate what they want. And even in our sonâs case where for both undergrad and grad he had strong ideas about where he wanted to go, it was very helpful for him to not just accept the school of his choice but to mull over the competing offers so he was confident in his decision.**
**We spent money we did not really want to spend and time to send him to Oberlin in the spring. Partly this was a âmomâ thing because I was frustrated with how our son was so quick to rule Oberlin out without ever having visited it. I insisted he visit and meet with the bass faculty and spend a weekend on campus. He loved the faculty but came back from the weekend even more positive that attending Oberlin was not right for him. Later when he was having some low moments socially and feeling the frustration of being at a small conservatory in a city where there are many large colleges it was helpful for him to know what he had turned down and why he had turned it down. He sometimes would bring up his experience that weekend at Oberlin when he was frustrated socially and comment on the things he gave up but his confidence in why he gave them up. NO PLACE IS GOING TO BE PERFECT. But what you can do is help your student sort out the various pluses and minuses to the places he/she is considering and then when they do hit those inevitable bumps they will know that it was not their decision but rather just life that is causing the bumps.
I completely agree with what StacJip wrote. In fact, we went to Oberlin twice (from the East Coast), once in the fall and once in the spring! For many kids, fully investigating each choice after acceptance really helps ensure the right decision is made and, as StacJip says, avoids future regrets. Even when money is a factor.
Iâll add my stories about trying to pull the plug early. In our case, it was me (being scrooge).
I thought we were done. She had an offer that we doubted she would refuse. So why continue to spend the money?
For my D, it seemed like I was cutting her off 3/4 of the way through the race. She had started this process years in advance (of me) and worked really, really hard. She had visited the school, done the pre-screening and could see no reason why she wouldnât finish what she had started (of course she wasnât watch the bank acct - haha). Plus it was another opportunity to audition (which is important to enjoy or at least get used to), meet more teachers and get another possible validation. The fact that she got several acceptances and worked well with different faculties, increased her self-esteem and confidence for going into college. Plus after the first acceptance, auditioning was fun!
Another benefit: that school (after she sent her decline) let her know that the offer stood for another year. So if for some reason she didnât like her first choice, she could switch to the other school in one year without another audition. As stated above, you never know how students will re-act that first yearâŠwell actually you kind of doâŠmany will complain about something and question their choice. So, it is good that they re-access why they chose one school over anotherâŠwhen they are inevitably miserableâŠ
And, lastly, she did recently get invited to perform for a gala at regional opera company this fall. It was in the vicinity of a different school. Another one that I possibly would have tried to pull the plug on. A long storyâŠbut she met (again) a faculty member at a summer festival and sang with her. My D realized that she had auditioned for her 5 years earlier. They got to talking and ⊠a few months later she invited her to sing at the gala (paid). She said she looked up her old file and liked her voice for Mozart so she reached out to her to sing. She had other choices but maybe the fact that my D had auditioned there made a difference.
Music is a small worldâŠyou do keep bumping into the same peopleâŠso another reason to consider going the distance.
These are such great perspectives!!!
Here is a nifty article from Eastman:
http://www.esm.rochester.edu/admissions/2014/09/how-many-colleges-should-music-students-apply-to/
We just got back home from the UNT audition for jazz bass. It was very nice.
There were invitations to sit in on classes on both Thursday and Friday. We got there late Thursday, so S attended about 5 classes on Friday. The Music Theory III class certainly kept him on his toes, but he felt if he had started the semester with them, he could have been OK. He noted that the music history class was not just âhistoryâ, but also looking at / reading older music notation, so that was neat. A vocal jazz forum had a speaker who gave many professional tips, and the trombone showcase (the only part I attended) was very great.
Saturday had an early start to it. I t was organized and easy to follow the flow. Food items were always available, but I did not try any since I ate at the hotel. There were warm-up rooms available, but it paid to arrive early and grab one, like S did. At some point they filled up, but one of the students who mentioned he couldnât find a room was given another small classroom in the music building. I think everyone could get what they needed if they looked around and/or asked.
S said the actual audition was as expected, as advertised. I wonât break it down into further detail, but it covered the usual topics - timing, sound, sight reading, and such. S said it seemed to go well.
My impression was that the place is extremely professional and can continue offering challenges and support throughout the studentâs development. None of us saw any drawbacks - I just now asked S to confirm that and he gave a loud and clear âNo!â Well, wait - there was something noted at one of the meetings that everyone thinks it is weird that the (academic) scholarships authorities have started issuing 2-year scholarships - it is a weird curveball to through at the applicants. So, there, 1 sticky point.
We are in state and my son was offered a four year academic scholarship (hasnât auditioned yet). Donât know if the two year thing is for out of state? Doing my best to not talk politics here, but the state legislature is considering massive funding cuts to Texas public universities. If this passes it will be bad. It may be that they are doing the two year thing because they canât be sure right now that the funding cuts wonât impact their ability to provide the scholarships past two years.
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/01/25/texas-university-leaders-warn-dire-consequences-if/
Iâd like to add a note that shows how I learned something important by going on the college visit that I could not detect merely through website browsing. I noticed on the bulletin board the lab band assignments. There are actually 2 sets of rhythm players per lab band in the 4 oâclock to 9 oâclock range (just one set for 1 thru 3 oâclock), so that 15 slots per rhythm player in the oâclock bands, rather than the 9 I had presumed before.
journal note: S has applied for housing at UNT on this day. When/if he receives acceptance to the School of Music, he would sign up for an orientation/registration day.
Owww good detective work! I used to love snooping around bulletin boards (yes they still exist) and finding little nuggets like this. And applying for housing!!! Itâs getting real.
So much road wear. Just got to Miami from Michigan. Typing on phone. Michigan was great. Their faculty and top students are top notch. Highway 94E was a minefield of pot holes. We saw a semi truck with 42 wheels. I heard Steve West sing. They mentioned double majoring is welcomed. Practice rooms were getting used like they should. We will have to wait for any offer, but it looked positive.
Watch out for those semis and have a safe trip!
I feel like I am at a waterpark resort or in the Caribean. So nice the weather and surroundings. No squirrels. Many fascinating birds. Music students practicing solo outside in the lawn. Friendly musicians say hi to us, and we find one from Chicagoland who knows people we know. Each place we visit brings positive surprise.
We will be there in April visiting with my D for commercial music and jazz voice.
We stay in the Holiday Inn across Highway 1 and walk over to here.
I got a free night at the Residence Inn. A little further but free LOL. Then heading up to miami beach area for a few nights on the beach. I think Miami will beat out Berklee for weather anyway in my book!