<p>another positive note for NYSMF - DD has been there this summer and is currently in the IFI that they hold. She is having a wonderful time and does not want to leave. Note that some of their programs do require an audition CD. All in all worth every dime invested.
best
JD</p>
<p>My D is also at the NYSMF Flute Institute this week. (Just a DAD…I think our girls have met and are spending time together). She said that musically it has been very good. Our only complaint is how stifling the supervision is. Now keep in mind, that I’m speaking as the parent of a 17+ yr old who gets herself to and from the city for her pre-college program. The rules at NYSMF are that “you may never be out of the line of sight of a counselor”. I offered to sign something giving her permission to be on campus alone, but was told I couldn’t do that.
So she needs to get someone to walk with her for lessons (2 buildings away) or to get coffee at the student union building or even to go running on the track with her in the am.</p>
<p>Now, for parents of younger kids, I’d say this is a plus. You can rest easy knowing that your child is ALWAYS supervised. But for the older kids, and some in the IFI are college age, this is a bit much. Anyhow, she’s dealing with it, and it sounds like she’s learning much in the masterclasses.</p>
<p>One thing that I know for sure is that my D has lost about 15lbs so far while in Oneonta since she will not eat anything that she can not identify (“dad I think I’ve become a vegetarian”) and has developed “super-calves” from all the walking and stairs over the past few weeks (I think someone here stated that we could write about the food / housing etc). It is great that they are allowed to have cell phones and internet access as well to briefly keep in touch most days.
JD</p>
<p>flutemom –</p>
<p>The “line of sight” rule is law in NY state. My d’s a junior counselor there, and believe me, they and the admins find it just as onerous a policy! </p>
<p>Does either girl have Emma as their suite supervisor? That’s my daughter!</p>
<p>Love to see the great experiences at NYSMF!!! Daughter was in the IFI their first year! Wonderful experience, wonderful people! Just a dad…YAY!! So glad she is enjoying it! I do remember the food was bad, but she will say the summer program she went to last year had the absolute WORST food ever!!! I would recommend this program to anyone.</p>
<p>Just spent 10 hours in the car over two days picking up D3 from QP East at SUNY Fredonia. While I knew the program had a great reputation, I initially had some concerns because of what I perceived as limited information on their web site. Turns out the kid had a great experience, despite the tendonitis (overuse?) problem that derailed her for part of the time, and she would recommend it highly to others.</p>
<p>What looks to an outsider like limited info or casual organization apparently on the inside looks like a close-knit community where there’s no need for such a formal structure. They only accept 36 students per session, so a sheet of paper posted in the music building or the white board in the dorm suffices to organize the Wal-Mart trip etc. in a way that simply wouldn’t work for a larger group.</p>
<p>There are expectations, but reasonable and common sense ones. For example,there is no curfew, so if (like my kid), you want to stay up late talking to your friends in the lounge, it’s on your own head when your quartet has a 845 AM rehearsal the next morning. Much like life, or like college…but maybe a little rough for a younger student who might be having their first experience of this kind of freedom.</p>
<p>The food in the cafeteria didn’t get such rave reviews, but everything else did. Musically, she feels she grew a lot (rep-wise, it would have been more, but perhaps the life lesson about How To Practice Safely is worth it). Socially, she made some wonderful friendships that look like lasting a lifetime. Financially, I feel we got our money’s worth and more.</p>
<p>[Posted with Kid Seal of Approval. 
]</p>
<p>stradmom:</p>
<p>Took us 10 hours on Friday to get from Long Island to Fredonia to pick up D from the NYSSSA Art program. We then did the return trip yesterday with a stop in Niagra, so I feel your pain. </p>
<p>NYSSSA was running visual art and choral programs at Fredonia simultaneously. D attended a choir concert with her art friends which she said sounded good. (She did a choir program in Westminster last summer and said it was weird sitting quietly in the audience as an “artist.”) The Fredonia campus was very nice, and obviously used by several programs despite its remotish location.</p>
<p>S just returned from 6 weeks at BU Tanglewood Institute and LOVED it, and at the beginning of the summer spent a week in southern California as an accepted performer at the Pokorny Low Brass Seminar. I actually flew out to California with him and toured on my own in the area for a vacation while he participated in the seminar. I can’t say enough good things about the Pokorny Seminar and their performances (faculty is Chicago Symphony, University of Redlands and Detroit Symphony low brass folks).</p>
<p>Son is at Berklee’s Guitar Sessions this week. Loves it. Was told today that he is one of 80 (of 335) selected to audition tomorrow for a Berklee scholarship! Will have a fuller report next week after he is done. </p>
<p>It also appears that Berklee does use these summer programs to identify students they want to apply and that attendance does at least help get your foot in the door. The best part, though, is getting a feel for the faculty and facilities.</p>
<p>My D attended Boston Conservatory’s Vocal Choral Intensive this past summer and it changed her life.</p>
<p>She initially was drawn to it b/c it was 2 weeks and she did not want to go away for 4 or 6 weeks. Now she is ready for 6 weeks somewhere else next summer.</p>
<p>They accepted about 25% of the kids who applied, and there were kids from all over the world, literally. They lived in the BoCo dorms, ate at the Northeastern Univ cafeteria. The ridiculously hot weather for New England was a bummer, but they lived through it with a few fans.</p>
<p>They had classes from morning til night, she was even getting up early to practice for her sight reading classes. Vocal performance, yoga, music theory, sight singing, ear training, master classes, choral. She loved every exhausting moment of it. Patty Thom and Bill Cutter do an amazing job running this camp with a lot of help from others. My daughter’s voice changed so much and having the intense experience of a conservatory setting made her all the more confident that it is what she wants.</p>
<p>Plus, being in Boston was huge and she loved the city.</p>
<p>I was really wary about it b/c I felt like it was expensive and “oh my gosh, what are we going to get for our money”. It was so worth it.</p>
<p>attended heifetz institute this past summer. amazing, it was life-changing.</p>
<p>do you have any info about students experiences at Brevard? My son has just been accepted there, freshman bass player at IU. I can’t seem to find anyone who has gone there and commented. Thanks</p>
<p>My son was in the composition program at Brevard last summer, so I can’t tell too much about the instrumentalists’ experience, but he thought the quality of players was very high. It’s a camp-like setting, with the students in bunkhouses. If your son is under 21, he will be housed with other under-21s. The food was OK. It would be useful, but not essential, to have a car there. The evening concerts were quite good.</p>
<p>did accepted students get much in terms of merit aid generally?</p>
<p>music4 - I went to Brevard 2 summers ago, right after my senior year of high school. I had a great time! The college program alternates students between the the Brevard Sinfonia and the BMCO, which is also made up of faculty members. The College program has students play in the opera orchestra as well. The repertoire is fantastic this year and I really wish I was going but I’m going to be working this summer. In terms of merit aid, I had about half my tuition paid in merit. And I got a bit of need based aid as well. I had work study for that and it was really really easy. My only complaint was that sometimes it was hard to find practice rooms. As a bass player, it should be less of an issue though.</p>