American High School Honors Performance Series

<p>Does anyone know anything about or participated in this? We got a letter in the mail stating that S has been nominated for this--it includes a concert in Carnegie Hall, several days of rehearsals with an Honors Orchestra, and a Juilliard seminar. Just wondering if it is worth the money or worth considering, or to just toss in trash. Thanks!</p>

<p>I think my daughter received one of those last year. The conductor, clarinet instructor, etc were not named, and I believe it required a bit of money up front. We didn’t want to commit her time or our resources without knowing specifics, so we passed.</p>

<p>It sounds suspiciously like the Who’s Who and Student Ambassador scams. The claim that kids are nominated is very likely made up on order to entice more participants. I took a look at the Facebook page and kids were commenting that they were nominated even though they didn’t play an instrument or sing. The moderator said kids could self nominate too. That suggests to me that the first goal is making money. That doesn’t mean it won’t be a good experience if the money or time spent is not an issue, but, without further research, I wouldn’t assume that it means anything to be nominated.</p>

<p>I checked their Web site and they do name the choral and orchestral conductors. It doesn’t appear to be strictly a vanity program since nominees still have to submit an application and screening CD.</p>

<p>They’re showing the cost as $1495 which is pretty steep for a 4-night program given that we paid about two large when my D did the Washington Opera’s 3-week program two years ago.</p>

<p>If it sounds like a cool and rewarding thing to do and you can afford it, I guess it can’t do much harm. Don’t think for a moment, though, that it will have anything at all to do with your S getting into a music school aside from what he may learn as a musician that will help him in auditions.</p>

<p>The American High School Honors Performance Series is Awesome! My Son was in the choir Feb, 2011. Yes they do need to send in an audition tape. If chosen the student will receive about 6 pieces of music to learn. It was incredible. Do take advantage of the family package if you can it is a chance of a life time event. Music is my Son’s life and he said that it was fantastic and he learned alot from the Conductor Dr. Ehly.</p>

<p>After reading several posts questioning the elite selection of participants for the Honors Performance Series, mainly due to the costly fees for participation, I had to post this response. All you need to do to realize that the students who participate are incredibly talented is listen to the performance in Carnegie Hall (or a recording of it). I attended the 2013 performance and was blown away by the professionalism of the student performers. And the sound.was.amazing. Dr. Ephe Elly, director, was fantastic. Having received my doctoral degree in music, I am aware of the intense effort required to get such an accurate performance of difficult music from high school students. The program is costly, but the chance to participate in such an event with such top notch directors as Dr. Elly leads me to believe that it is worth the price.</p>

<p>My son played in the series for the last two years. We took this year off to save money for college. He really enjoyed it. They work the kids very hard. They rehearse for 8-10 hours a day but it is worth it. The final concert is amazing. I think NYO-USA is the most elite high school orchestra in the country now but this is a close second. Oh and it very safe to send your kid alone. They have 24 hour supervision. I was shocked to see chaperones sitting in the hotel hallways at 2am :)</p>

<p>I am so happy to hear this! My son just found out a few days ago that he was accepted to the 2014 orchestra. We are so excited, but I realized that I never really checked them out, so before we pay more money, I figure better late than never!!</p>

<p>I just saw the opportunity to perform at carnegie hall and I was hooked! (He wasn’t nominated…I just found the website). I am glad he didn’t get one of the nomination letters because I probably would have passed on it thinking it was a hoax, too. I was also interested because their band director is my high school band director. I guess that helped with its credibility for me, too.
Anyway. For those of you who have participated, I’d love to hear more about this…including if the family packages are worth it, what the kids do, etc. any info is appreciated!</p>

<p>The two years my son attended I did not purchase the family package. I went on my own. I let Pierre do his own thing and when I wanted to hear him rehearse I listened outside the rehearsal door. The kids are so busy. They are up at 7am, rehearse 8am-6pm, dinner, Broadway show or tour of Time Square in the evening. Last year they went to Top of the Rock one evening. My recommendation is let him/her go on their own. You can see them when you want. The chaperones allow the parents to hang out with their kids during any free time. It is much cheaper and you are not bound to do what the group is doing. </p>

<p>BTW The concert will be amazing! Don’t forget to go to the Carnegie Hall gift shop on concert day and get a souvenir.</p>

<p>Prof1234, I am interested like user “mequonmom” for input on your opionion and experience with this opportunity. Thanks</p>