2014-2015 Pre-Screen Thread- OPEN TO ALL THIS YEAR

Hi @bigbro96, yes, that’s the idea. If he got into one of the stand-alone colleges/universities, we would find a great music teacher so he could continue to study piano. Then he would try for conservatories for grad school. But he would prefer a dual program. He lives for music – it’s all he thinks about. In fact, he would have preferred a stand-alone conservatory over a dual program. What is your son’s top choice? Actually, don’t tell me. I’ve heard some of admissions counselors troll this site.

Hi Bluemeringue, Thanks for your helpful suggestion. Right now I’m just trying to get through the conservatory stage but if my son does end up at a university without a conservatory, I’m sure he’ll still be involved with the piano. At this point he has 8 auditions - yikes! He’s a little burnt out so my big concern is that he does his best at the conservatory auditions. I’m optimistic that he will get in to at least some of them - though whether it will line up with the universities for dual degrees is another issue. We’ll have to cross that bridge later. I just realized we have two more pre-screens to go - Juilliard and Bard, which actually requires all music students to do a dual major with academics. Anyhow, I’m sure all our kids will find a good match and do well. It’s just a very grueling process getting there.

I think he will wind up with 10 live auditions! You are going to be mighty busy, but I’m sure your son is up to the challenge. He must be incredibly talented. I hope I will someday hear him play. Maybe they’ll both go to Oberlin and be roommates. That would be sweet.

My son is auditioning for Boston U. for piano performance. Do any of you know if he could still get accepted into BU even if he is not admitted to piano?

That would be great if our sons could meet! I’m crossing my fingers for him at his Oberlin audition - this weekend, right? Do you think admissions officers are really trolling these sites and can identify us?

I know so. One of them asked someone here to retract a comment about their conservatory that was untrue. And a few have joined these threads from time to time, including a very friendly admissions officer from NEC. So you want to be somewhat more guarded about your information than I am. Don’t mention anything that would potentially identify your child, since they don’t want to waste their time making offers to students who are likely to go elsewhere.

Thanks for the tip. I can understand the schools don’t want people spreading false info, but on the other hand, we should have a safe haven to let off steam and share experiences.

This article might be helpful if you are struggling with prescreens: http://www.violinist.com/blog/karenrile/201312/15285/

So – Boston is in the can, as they say. They let him play most of the four pieces. No sight-reading, scales or interview questions.

Sounds promising - congratulations! When will they let you know?

We won’t hear until mid-March at the earliest. Kind of happy for the reprieve from potentially bad news at this point.

Hi @glassharmonica, that was the blog post that terrified me! I’m not sure whether to take it as a warning sign that my son passed only 2/3 of his pre-screenings. I am hoping that some of it has to do with his mediocre recordings, which could have been a lot better with more time and effort. At this point, all he can do is practice his fingers off and wait.

I’d never encourage anyone to go into music (knowing how tough it is) - but 2/3 isn’t a sign that he should give up. Also, I think the quality of the recording may not be a deciding factor but can maybe play a small role. See how it goes in the live auditions and then you’ll have a better sense (and so will he). Practicing is a good remedy for enduring the wait.

@iluvpiano-thanks for hunting up those dates and making the listing easy to work with!

While I know that it’s easy to get carried away in lengthy conversational posts, if you are including a pre-screen pass or a school acceptance in the details, please separate it out so that I can see it easily. Thank you.

10/27, iluvpiano, UW Madison, Piano Performance, GR (MM)
12/15/14, Violet4s’S, Univ. of Mich, Jazz Piano, UG
11/26/14 Anon, Univ of Mich, VP, UG
12/8/14 Anon,FSU, VP, Graduate
12/8/14 Anon, Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt U, Classical Piano Perf, UG
12/8/14 bluemeringue’s S,Blair School of Music, Vanderbuilt U,Classical Piano Perf,UG
12/9/14 MusicSpeaks,DePauw,VP,UG
12/9/14 Anon,DePauw, VP, UG
12/10/14 Anon, Northwestern, VP, Graduate
12/10/14 Jhk1365,Univ of Mich, VP,UG
12/11/14 Jhk1365,CCM, VP,UG
12/11/14 flute123, Illinois, Flute Performance, GR,
12/11/14 Intune’s D, CCM VP UG
12/12/14 missflutist, Univ of Texas at Austin, Flute Performance, UG
12/13/14 mezzomiss,CCM,VP,UG
12/14/14 FriscoFred’s D, UNT,VP, UG
12/15/14 Tshiknn, Oberlin, Composition, UG
12/15/14 SongandDanceMoms’ S Univ of Mich, Composition, UG
12/15/14 Anon, University of Miami, undecided, GR
12//16/14 hmh3515’s D, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana Univ, VP, GR
12/17/14 obsessivecollege’s D, Boston University, VP, GR
12/17/14 Anon, Univ of Maryland, Opera Performance, GR
12/17/14 Anon, Univ of Mich, VP, GR
12/17/14 hmh3515’s D, Univ of Mich, VP, GR
12/17/14 obsessivecollege’s D, U of Michigan, VP, GR
12/17, iluvpiano, Indiana/Jacobs, Piano Performance, GR (MM)
12/18/14 hseck1, CCM, Piano Performance, UG
12/18/14 kayleighpearl, Thornton School of Music, USC, Trumpet Performance, UG
12/18/14 2015Lalo, Shepherd School of Music, Rice Univ, Cello Performance, UG
12/19/14 hmh3515’s D, Shepard School of Music, Rice Univ, VP, GR
12/19/14 Jhk1365, Manhattan School of Music, VP,UG
12/18/14 missflutist,Shepherd School of Music Rice Univ, Flute Performance, UG
12/18/14 W2BeHome’s D, UNT (Univ. of North Texas), VP, UG
12/18/14 plrsd888’s D, Shepherd School of Music, Rice Univ, Piano Perf, UG
12/19/14 Violet4’s S, Oberlin, Jazz Piano, UG
12/19/14 bluemeringue’s S, Oberlin, Classical Piano Performance, UG
12/19/14 Anon, SFCM, VP, GR
12/19/14 bluemeringue’s S, Thornton School of Music, USC, Piano Perf, UG
12/19/14 bigbro96’s S, Oberlin, Piano Performance,UG
12/19/14 dblebassmom’s S, USC Thornton School of Music ,VP, UG
12/19/14 dblebassmom’s S, UCLA Herb Albert, VP, UG
12/19/14 Littlezhi, USC Thornton School of Music, Classical saxophone,UG
12/19/14 Music Speaks, Oberlin, VP,UG
12/19/14, Anon, USC Thornton School of Music, Classical Flute Performance, UG
12/19/14 steamco D, Oblerlin ,VP, UG
12/19/14 steamco D, USC Thornton School of Music ,VP, UG
12/19/14 steamco D, UCLA Herb Albert, VP, UG
12/19/14, Electra13’S, USC Thornton, Popular Music, Guitar, UG
12/19/14 MplsMom’s S, USC Thornton, Jazz Bass,UG19
12/19/14 OperaAdri, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, VP, UG
12/19/14 kestral44’s S, USC Thornton, Popular Music Guitar, UG
12/19/14 MulpyBass’s S, MSM, Classical Bass Performance, UG
12/19/14 Intune’s D, Oberlin VP UG
12/19/14 souven’s S, USC Thornton jazz bass UG
12/20/14 Jhk1365, Oberlin, VP, UG
12/20/14 Anon, USC, Classical Piano Performance, UG
12/20/14 Anon, Univ of Houston, VP grad
12/20/14 hmh3515’s D, MSM, VP, GR
12/20/14 drummergirl’s S, Oberlin, Jazz Guitar, UG
12/20/14 FriscoFred’s D, Oberlin, VP, UG
12/20/14 FriscoFred’s D, SUNY Fredonia, VP,UG
12/20/14, UmmaBlue3’s D, Oberlin, VP, UG
12/21/14 SteinwayandD Oberlin, Piano Performance,UG
12/22/14 SongandDanceMoms’ S, Boston Conservatory, Composition, UG
12/22/14 drummergirl’s S, UMiami Frost, Jazz Guitar, UG
12/22/14 missflutist, Univ of Colorado Boulder, Flute Performance, UG
12/23/14 musicisbae, New England Conservatory, Flute Performance, UG
12/23/14 hsheck1, Curtis, Piano Performance, UG
12/23/14 drummergirl’s S, Eastman, Jazz Guitar, UG
12/23/14 plrsd888’s D, Curtis, Piano Perf, UG
12/23/14, Anon, NEC, Flute, UG
12/23/14 steamco’s D, New England Conservatory, VP, UG
12/23/14 bigbro96’s S ,Curtis, Piano Performance
12/23/14, UmmaBlue3’s D, NEC, VP, UG
12/26/14 flute123, Eastman, Flute Performance, GR
12/27/14 JAMusicBox’s D, Eastman, VP, UG
12/27/14, UmmaBlue3’s D, Eastman, VP, UG
12/27/14 Intune’s D, Eastman VP UG
12/29/14 mceejay’s S, CIM, Comp, UG
12/29/14 kestral44’s S, Frost Comp/Commercial Music & Production, Contemporary Guitar
12/29/14 FriscoFred’s D, Ithaca College, VP,UG
12/29/14 FriscoFred’s D, Mannes, VP, UG
12/30/14 Anon, Mannes, Vocal Performance, GR
12/30/14 mcejay’S, Mannes, Composition, UG,
12/30/14 OperaAdri, Mannes, VP, UG
12/30/14 bigbro96’s S, Mannes, Piano Performance, UG
12/30/14 steamco’s D, Mannes, VP, UG
12/30/14, UmmaBlue3’s D, Boston University, VP, UG
1/1/15 mezzomiss, CIM, VP, UG
1/2, iluvpiano, Northwestern/Bienen, Piano Performance, GR (MM)
1/4/15 Violet4’s S, NYU Jazz Piano UG
1/5/15 bigbro96’s S, Eastman, Piano Performance,UG
1/5/15 steamco’s D, Northwestern Bienen, VP, UG
1/5/15 2015Lalo’s S Northwestern Bienen, Cello, UG
1/5/15 Jhk1365’s D, Northwestern Bienen VP UG
1/5/15 Intune’s D, Northwestern Bienen VP UG
1/5/15, UmmaBlue3’s D, Northwestern, VP, UG
1/5/15 missflutist, Northwestern Bienen, Flute Performance, UG
1/6/15 2015Lalo’s S, Eastman, Cello Performance, UG
1/6/15 souven’s S, NYU jazz bass UG
1/07/15 drummergirl’s S, NEC, Contemporary Improvisation, UG
1/7/15 Anon, CIM, Oboe Performance, GR
1/8/15 SteinwayandDs, NEC, Piano Performance, UG
1/8/15 Intune’s D, CMU, VP UG
1/8/15, BigBro96’s S, CMU, Piano Performance, UG
1/9/15, plrsd888’s D, Peabody, Piano Perf, UG
1/9/15 BigBro96’s S, Peabody, Piano Performance,UG

Thanks so much @bigbro. I think it’s wonderful that your son wants to be a musician, even though he’s seen how tough it is first-hand. I still believe there is nothing more fulfilling than creating music – it’s worth all the sacrifices.

1/9, mceejay’s S, Peabody, Composition, UG

confession: I find myself reading the ‘passed prescreen’ emails over and over again, and avoiding anything that may reference the schools that declined. :">

It’s been posted before, but I’d like to make another suggestion about reading all of Karen Rile’s Guide to Conservatory Auditions articles–they are excellent and so very helpful during this process. http://www.karenrile.com/a-parents-guide-to-conservatory-auditions/

Last but not least, my D passed her BU prescreening today. She found out after we returned to our hotel after our U of Cin. tour today. At dinner she was very practical about the reality that she will have to face rejection at some point in this process and seemed to accept it as the nature of the business. It is important to remind our kids that rejection does not necessarily mean that you are not talented enough but rather could be that you do not fit the needs of a particular program at that moment. What is important is that they know that they put forth their best and learn to move on from the outcome.

Sorry. Forgot to format.
1/9/15 Intune’s D, BU, VP UG