I forgot to say that at some point, spending the money is prudent because it may mean more merit money or admission to a school with good aid. So short term cost may reduce longer term cost, if you see what I mean 
Hi InfoQuestMom- sorry Iām just now reading this thread. Your D already has a great start with music thanks to her background in piano! And now bassoon? Wow. I can only share my Sās experience as a bassoonist. Heās now a HS junior. Heās one of those musicians whose dream is to be able to play all instruments and to own at least one of each. Heās played flute, tenor sax and bass guitar in jazz band, trumpet and melodica for pep and now teaches clarinet to elementary students. What I always remember is what his 8th grade band teacher told me- no matter what, stay with bassoon. I think itās because itās one of those endangered instruments with great scholarship potential.
He has been in our local youth symphony and had done a couple of regional summer music festivals. He never wanted to be boxed in as a musician because he has so many interests and insistent on doing IB to be well rounded. Well, his 7-wks at Interlochen this past summer changed that. Yes, it was a lot of money even with a partial scholarship, but as other posters have said, the time there was invaluable in that it showed him that he wanted to be a musician, that he wouldnāt get bored doing it full time, as he had feared, and that it provided a basis of comparison among peers on where his level of playing was.
What weāve been discovering through this journey is that we shouldāve started piano lessons awhile ago. It helps with sight reading and musicality. It also seems to give the student an edge in that many of the schools weāve looked at has a piano course in their first semester. His one peer who was really good in both piano and bassoon got accepted to the best schools for bassoon that he applied to, and yes, including Curtis.
What I myself have discovered is that I have to let S find his own path. Heās still not as laser focused on bassoon (e.g.,
BUTI audition tape due soon, but he seems to play all his other instruments except bassoon when he has down time from studies). Iāve learned to respect his process because itās clearly worked for him. Weāve talked about the busy lives of the adult musicians around him. Heās okay with that way of life being his even though he knows it likely means that heās never going to fulfill his other dream of being super rich.
I think these talented kids are fortunate to have found their passion in life and to have such great parents who guide and support them in every possible way. Lastly, the CC community has been amazing resource with their willingness to share their wealth of information and experience. Good luck with your journey!
It looks like the sector where being a doubler or more is a positive is that of a Broadway pit musician. I have been reading up on this already, but if anybody has any experience to share, that would be great!
@Violinmomaz Wow! Clarinet and bassoon, you clearly have excellent taste, ?!
@Busy_Momma, so good to hear from another multiple instrument enthusiast!
I will bear in mind the possibility of scholarships for summer institutes. I am not excluding anything at this point, although I think this summer we will focus on exploring careers in both music and science first and proceed from there in whichever direction. If she is still interested in pursuing music as a major, a summer institute or youth symphony orchestra sound like smart choices in a year or two.
Pursuing both options until the very last minute works well (and if options change, same thing). Major decisions are sometimes made in late April of senior year, in terms of where to go and what path to take
@InfoQuestMom I know that if you child did Honor Band then you automatically get a scholarship to Idyllwild. Since you are in CA, I think that this would be a good and close place to start. My D did this in 9th grade and did a 2 week programā¦ wind ensemble. She plays the French Horn. It was from this that her USC Professor coach suggested a longer program like Tanglewood BUTI and Interlochen. She chose BUTI and received $$ from them for the last 2 years that she attended there. I cannot recommend summer programs enoughā¦ the improvement in their playing is astounding. good luck
This is all so helpful and Iām glad I found it now, when my DS is a HS sophomore! He is passionate about music and just made 1st Chair in our All State HS Band (AR) in trombone, and is teaching himself other instruments on the side. Heās involved with our HS concert band, jazz band and marching band and plays with a local youth symphonic orchestra. Heās spent the past 4 summers at a local band camp and just submitted auditions for some of the big summer programs out of state. He also takes private lessons.
Hereās my question for those of you who have been here before - heās wanting to double up on Fine Arts and take either band and choir or 2 band classes (on 2 different instruments) his junior year, which would take away one of his academic classes. He does very well in math and science but struggles a little with English/History classes. He is thinking at this point he might want to study music and computer science in college. Is it better to take more academic classes junior year - or should I let him double up on fine arts (plus all of his music extra curriculars)?
It is fairly common for kids considering BM degrees to increase music study junior year. You may or may not know that at most schools (even top schools like Northwestern or USC) that the academic scores for music applicants can be lower. Music schools are competitive so to gain entry a lot of time must be spent in music. Schools understand that music study is very time intensive (you canāt just be smartā¦you need to practice a lot). So often this is reflected in class selection in high schoolā¦fewer academic classes and more music study.
Of course you need to keep an eye on basic requirements for admittance into college (music and CS). But exchanging an academic course of middling interest for music seems to make sense. And fwiw my D (classical vocalist) was better in math and science in high school tooā¦which I always found odd as she did a lot of theater so she certainly read and did character development, story analysis etc. Honestly some of her papers would make me thinkā¦oh boyā¦what the heckās going on here? That finally changed in college. I think it was a maturity/confidence āthingā. She felt more comfortable with the certitude in math (which may make him like theory in collegeā¦my D did). It took her longer to feel certain about opinions in writingā¦a problem her mother has never had!
Good luck to him in whatever direction he takes.
lisalisae, if he meets graduation requirements and requirements for applications, he is fine. Schools really do understand the commitment it takes to progress in music. If he ends up applying to very selective academic programs, the family or guidance counselor can write a brief note stating that certain classes were or werenāt taken and why, and also mention music outside of school as being a priority.
Arts prep schools on the high school level emphasize music more than academics and those kids do fine with admission to BM programs. So if that is his goal, he is clearly free to pursue music versus academics.
But my point is that even if he changes his mind and wants to go to a highly selective school this choice of focus can be respected by admissions.
Itās a tough call. Getting into highly competitive BM programs was just the first hurdle for my musicianāand yes, I think that probably could/would have happened had he taken a much lighter high school academic load. But he needed big-time merit dollars to then be able to attend them, because each of his targeted programs was well out of his price range. His offers materialized in interesting combinations of talent merit money and academic merit money. I truly donāt think heād have landed the generous scholarships he did without the academically-intense load he took all the way through. Thereās no question that his academics set him apart from some other music candidates and opened doors to the otherwise unaffordable. That said, the music courses available to him in his high school were fun but not terribly enriching to his musicianship; the good stuff happened outside of school. It sounds to me like your son has plenty enriching musical experiences outside of school, and with his current desire to potentially study computer science as well as music, Iād be leery of taking fewer traditionally academic classes. Itās a very individual decision, and hopefully your kid knows himself and his goals and needs well enough to make the wisest and most well-informed choice.
I know from personal experience that some of the most selective colleges in the country value applicants who show focus on music outside of school at a level that results in fewer āmost rigorousā classes in high school. That said, high school should not be about getting into schools. A young person should follow their interests and things work out.