So I have been playing Cello for four years now (two with a teacher), and before you guffaw at the prospect of me submitting a supplement please consider that I am very adept. I have won a few competitions and I sit principal in a youth Orchestra and associate principal in an adult orchestra. I have worked very, very hard and while I still have a lot to learn I consider myself an accomplished musician. In light of my steep trajectory, should I submit an arts supplement? I feel that if I do not, and it just says that I have played for four years and my awards they may assume I am either “padding” or just really bad. On the other hand they caution sending sub par supplements and while I am confident that I am qualified I don’t know that I would call myself “prodigious”. I would be playing Haydn’s c major third movement and Dvorak Silent woods, if that helps at all.
On a side note, please don’t spam this post with your doubts about my playing experience… To be perfectly frank, I really don’t care whether or not you believe me 
You should submit one.
It seems you are all for it. Why bother to post here? If you think you can really impress the adcom (actually they usually sent it to someone more professional in music), go ahead. You may show it to your orchestra teacher for opinion before submitting. Anything that would not impress your teacher, it would not impress the school.
I guess I don’t want to spam them with stuff, I was advised not to send them too much material.
Haydn’s C major concerto is solid, but not virtuoso level (the Daily major is much more challenging).
Your progress has been rapid, but not prodigious. For comparison, junior @anxnymous has been playing for 3 years, and is performing the much harder Dvorak and Shostakovich concertos.
Yes you should submit a supplement, but be aware that you may be on the margin of what would impress.
Sure, submit a supplement but please keep this story in mind: Several years ago, a tippy-top student I know (96.5 unweighted GPA from a feeder high school with a 2300 SAT) applied to HYP. Ever since the age of 5 or 6, he had been playing the piano and had performed solo at Carnegie Hall during his high school years. When he sent in his college applications, he also submitted a top-notch music supplement, but to no avail. He was rejected from HYP – even though he was accepted to Juilliard, Oberlin and Curtis for music. Bottom line: No matter how wonderful your musical talents, if admissions doesn’t want you, your musical ability will not kick you over the fence. Best of luck to you!
^ Agree, the art supplement is not likely to do miracle but may potentially annoyed the adcom if it is not really impressive. My D started piano when she was 5 too. She completed level 10 in SATD and was nominated outstanding piano soloist in the state in 10th grade. And yet, she did not bother to submit an art supplement to a top reach school.
I am very competitive applicant otherwise. I have a 4.0 GPA (so far, lol), started my own non profit which fund raises for music for underprivileged kids, I have 99th percentile test scores and I’m a low income, first generation American and college student who had refugee status. I have won major international writing awards and I am a national merit scholar. I want to add some context to my playing ability but I also don’t want to shoot myself in the foot by doing it. My teacher, who I know VERY WELL would NEVER tell me to record if he did not think a performance to be exceptional has advised pieces that he says I own. Not necessarily the most difficult pieces of all I have played, but pieces that I have revealed the most of my musical intuition in playing.
No offense meant to anyone on here but the Shostokovich in particular, is according to my teacher and even my own self, not a piece acceptable for any non-conservatory high school student. Not technically (though it is a serious beast) but musically and while the first movement of the Haydn is relatively easy the third requires serious ability and since it is in the key of c major, it requires perfect intonation, no room for error. I think that whether or not a piece is prodigious only has a remote amount of weight placed on what is played compared to how it is played. Just about anything can be prodigious if played masterfully, not that I’m laying claim to that title
One suggestion: From your very first post on this thread through your most recent one, your writing comes across as someone with a chip on their shoulder, someone who thinks they are far better than anyone else. And while that may be true, Yale looks for students who are humble, who are nice, friendly, approachable, student’s who reach out to others, student’s who would be good roommates. None of that comes across in your writing. Truthfully, your writing reeks of privilege and entitlement, it screams out that you would be a horrible fit for the campus. When you submit your essays, you need to ratchet down the attitude, otherwise your application will hit the reject pile before Admissions even listens to your masterfully played supplement.
I apologize that’s not how I mean at all! I’m not anymore likely to get accepted or rejected than any one of the other 15,000 or so qualified applicants. Someone earlier made the point that a great supplement was not going to be enough on it’s own and I just wanted to make the point that I am as accomplished in academics as any one of the other applicants.
I’m entitled to all that I have worked for. I worked to pay for my instrument, my schooling and my citizenship fees. I have worked hard through all high school and I know that be it Yale or my safety I will go to a great school that I am a great fit for. I’m not entitled to an “Elite” education, and I don’t put a whole lot of value on the name of any institution. To be perfectly honest I hadn’t even heard of Yale until about 2 years ago. I did the global scholars program and despite my initial determination not to fall for a school that’s next to impossible to gain admission to, I did. I visited Harvard and was distinctly unimpressed. I visited Princeton and left with a bad taste in my mouth. Yale is also the only school my parents liked too, and even though they tried so hard to like Harvard (it was the only school they’d actually heard of before) when we left they told me that it’s not a good school for Russians? not sure what that’s about but it may have had something to do with the rudeness our guide showed to non English speaking parents,including several Chinese families.
I’ll be the first to say that I am not a perfect cellist, nor even the most talented but I would dare to say that I am among the most hardworking. I’ll be the first to say that I am not the perfect applicant. I’ll be the first to say that I will in all likelihood be rejected at Yale. I will also be the first to advocate for myself. I do get a little defensive about academics and awards especially on a site like this, being a low income immigrant puts many in a position to assume that I am less capable. I am not less than, please do not misinterpret this as arrogance.
This also could be a language issue. English is not my first language and I have learned that Americans often find Russian syntax and “bluntness” to be very rude. Through years of awkward fumbling I realized that English is a language of lies :). In Russia, when someone says oh we should hang out sometime, you immediately get out phone and calendar to get a date. In the US it’s said in passing, with no real commitment. When someone asks how you are doing, you go into detail. If someone looks bad, you can tell them without being absurdly rude. I could write an anthology of all the times “Russian honesty” has gotten me into trouble.
@cowtownbrown, I had actually wondered if your background was Russian I have a good number of Russian friends, and have often bumped into the differences.
I was also a low income immigrant, but that was almost 60 years ago, and my family was not from Russia. Things have gotten better, a lot better, but some reactions to non-English speaking people are still incredibly ignorant.
I’m glad that your parents liked Yale and I wish you luck with your application.
I agree with @gibby about the chip on the shoulder. It’s very apparent.
I studied 'cello with Aldo Parisot at Yale while I was in high school, a long time ago, and also toured with him in Brazil. I have some idea of the caliber of 'cello performance at Yale, and also what level of pieces would be likely to impress. Again, I think it’s ok to submit a supplement, and the OP deserves credit for her dedication and rapid progress, but I think she’s also a bit arrogant, and may overestimate the impact her supplement is likely to have.
@renaissancedad Everyone on this site assumes I am a girl, I am boy :). I really don’t mean to come off as arrogant I’m not in that way. I want to submit a supplement not to add to my application but to sort of prevent something being taken away from it due to my short playing time. In my experience, people often dismiss me as a cellist based solely on the amount of time playing and I fear that without “proof” of quality playing the assumption will be that I am not very good.
It must have been amazing to work with such a force of Cello like that! Do you still play?
Do you think that not having a supplement would detract from listed accomplishments when I list how long I have played?
My teacher has always encouraged me to say on applications that I have played for much longer, because he says that he wants people to hear me without comparing it to some other value, like years played. I have felt pressure to do that even now, but I’m not about to jeopardize my application over something so trivial.
FWIW: I thought you were a boy, as girls tend not to be so arrogant 
Admissions Officers will not discount your years of playing time – none of them. The average Yale admitted student who plays in their high school’s orchestra, my son included, have not been playing much longer than 4 years. It is the rare student, one of exceptional ability, who has played for longer.
Here’s something you should consider: When you submit an art supplement, music supplement or research project, your application is directly compared to all other student’s who have submitted a like-kind supplement. And, if your supplement is not one of the best-of-the-best that does not help your overall chances. In fact, it lessons them.
I think you are underestimating your competition – at least in terms of musical ability. There are other students who have played for ten or more years, who will have participated in summer high school programs at Juilliard, who will have played in world class venues and have won national musical competitions. Your supplement is going to go head-to-head with theirs. In all honesty, if your few years of experience is as good as their 10-12 years, then go for it. Otherwise, I would seriously reconsider submitting a musical supplement. Or at the very least, google “YouTube College Musical Supplements” and get a handle on what your competition is doing. Here I’ll get you started. This is the kid who was accepted to Juilliard, but rejected at HYP. All of these videos are 4 years old, when he was a senior in high school. Any one of these could have been submitted for a musical supplement. How do you compare?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfeoRJq4AxA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPZRE1VG0Zc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPZRE1VG0Zc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqVK3ugsaKI
@cowtownbrown, I apologize for the gender confusion.
Please understand, I’m not discouraging you from submitting a supplement. I just want you to be realistic about how much of an impact it will have. I applied ED to Yale (in the days when they had ED) with a letter from Mr. Parisot and got rejected, though I got into Stanford, Harvard, UChicago, Columbia and Penn. It may come down to something as simple as direct competition - are you going to be the strongest 'cellist applying? When I applied, there was a Brazilian student living with Mr. Parisot who also applied, and who got in (and who has since gone on to have a distinguished music career). It may have been as simple as the adcom making a direct choice, and if that was the case, I can’t fault them.
I applaud your commitment and zeal for the 'cello. Just be realistic about it.
@cowtownbrown, you should write an essay about “all the times ‘Russian honesty’ has gotten” you into trouble - it sounds like a really interesting topic.
Agree with others that you come across as too strident. You sound like an interesting applicant, so be careful to tone it down when packaging yourself. Best of luck -
Can you tell us a little about the qualifications of your teacher and some of the placements his (her) students has achieved to conservatories and top schools of music?
Many students who send music supplements to Yale are conservatory level performers. This is the level of quality your recording will be compared with–so it is up to you and your teacher to decide if it is. I think the number of years that you have studied will not even be a consideration, if you list those things on your application that you mentioned in your first post: that you are principal in your youth orchestra, have won a number of competitions, assistant principal in an adult orchestra, etc. That alone shows admissions that you are an accomplished musician. (And, it is my understanding that admissions will not even forward the recording over to the music department unless you are already considered to be a strong candidate based on your application). I would hesitate sending a music supplement unless it is of the very highest level of performance ability.
Since the OP is a cellist, let me give a cellist example. [url=http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~bachsoc/sasha.html]This[/url] guy was 2 years ahead of me in HS and is currently a junior at Harvard doing dual-degree with NEC. He used to have some solos on Youtube, but it looks like he’s taken them down. However there may be examples of his solos elsewhere. Anyway, if you’re at his level, you should certainly submit a supplement.
@skieurope How funny that you should mention Sasha!!! I met him in Boston
I don’t want to be too specific but my teacher studied in conservatory, he was a student of Rostropovich and later studied with Starker. He is currently the principal cellist of a relatively reputable orchestra and holds a teaching position at a University of some musical repute. Most of his students are conservatory students at his teaching position but he has some high school musicians, I was referred to him by one of his students who was teaching me. I know his graduating student last year went on to conservatory at Carnegie Mellon, which is pretty good! his teaching style is pretty brutal when it comes to honesty, but it is for this reason that I have some confidence in submitting. I know him, if he didn’t think it was good enough he would be very very very vocal about it :). I spent literally seven hours with him recording a single Bach suite…
On a side note, if future posts could not make the assertion that I am arrogant or rude that would that would be very appreciated. I don’t really know what you want me to say, I try to apologize or explain myself but apparently that is not accepted. I have posted a question and I wish to discuss it but let the record state that even though this is an online forum, I am sort of taken personally by this assertion. I find it rude from this point to continue to make a point that I have already tried to apologize for.