Anyone Miss Audition At Oberlin Due To Weather?

<p>The weather was nasty this weekend and we were unable to get to Oberlin for the audition. Anybody else? We called and were told there would be no makeup date. Did someone on this site say they did get another audition on Thursday? Was that for voice?</p>

<p>We were there. The weather was outrageously bad (right smack in the middle of a major blizzard) and it was amazing that they held auditions and that most kids did turn up. You can send a tape. If it makes you feel any better, my S felt he didn't play as well because he was tense from the stress of getting there. I'm sure others felt the same way. This was not an easy audition day. You might be better off with a recorded audition anyway!</p>

<p>Weather can literally change the course of a musician's life. We knew a musician who could not get to a well-known conservatory on the east coast for a graduate audition because of a major snowstorm. They would not reschedule so this person went an entirely different direction. Sometimes you have to accept that maybe it was all for the best. You've done your best and that's all you can do but there are always circumstances beyond your control. It doesn't hurt to try for some sort of accommodation, but that is the peril of the late audition dates; it's really the end of the road, and the schools need to be finalizing their choices, sending the files to financial, recruiting their incoming class and so forth.</p>

<p>my son's friend made it there on his own, then got stranded for an extra night. he is making his way back home to the east coast.</p>

<p>It seems to me that "act of God" audition problems deserve some accommodations. Parents are out lots of $$ for applications, travel, etc., and as such, I think they earn the privilege to be heard, if it can be within the next week or so. A faculty which would not make any effort to accommodate is not really all that congenial. IMHO. OTOH, a singer with a cold may be out of luck, because that is a potential of the instrument, like having a back-up set of strings. Singers should ALWAYS have prepared ahead of time a full audition recording for such circumstances.</p>

<p>"A faculty which would not make any effort to accommodate is not really all that congenial."</p>

<p>Agreed! An experience like that tells you more about the school than you can learn from a viewbook. But do others feel, although it is an audition date on the schedule, that it is better to audition at your top choices earlier?</p>

<p>When we ventured to Baltimore (and we went early BECAUSE of the weather forecast for a LOT of snow) during the snowstorm in 2003, Peabody actually had to postpone their auditions from Monday to Wednesday. The FACULTY was stranded and could not make it to the school. Once they rescheduled the date, they were most accommodating of folks who traveled from a distance, were stranded at hotels without power or food, etc. They were absolutely wonderful...fitting kids in when they arrived. This weekend, the governor in Ohio asked that all folks STAY off the roads. I can't believe these auditions at Oberlin weren't postponed for the safety of all. I can't imagine how many folks were stranded one way or another as both Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Columbus were both closed for much of the day on Saturday...and flights were delayed and roads a mess beginning on Friday. This was a WELL forecasted storm.</p>

<p>My S needed the time to prepare in Jan/Feb. for his top picks. Every audition was better than the one before. If he'd put his top picks first, I think the outcome would not have been as good as it looks like it will now be.</p>

<p>Thumper --</p>

<p>I agree with you. Thanks to Bassdad's sage advice, we made all our plane reservations with tons of time to spare before the audition. We were in the first and last plane that got into Cleveland from Baltimore/Washington on Friday. The roads were unbelieveably bad (I've done a lot of snow driving). On Saturday, almost all the other cars we saw were pickup trucks with plows. The highways were virtually impassable. We spent 1-3/4 hours getting there from our hotel in Cleveland out to Oberlin (a 25 minute drive normally and it was teeth-clenchingly scary driving on whited out roads with no lane markings and cars off the road everywhere! My S was in the car spotting both sides for me the whole time so that we would not run into a snow bank and be stuck (I talked to another mother who had exactly the same experience with her D). This was NOT relaxing for him!!! Returning to Cleveland, we took local roads only because the highways were unuseable. This took 2-1/2 hours. Oberlin's auditions were probably the ONLY event in the whole area which was not cancelled. There were actually counties (we might have driven through one for all I know) where they forbade anyone to drive if not in an emergency - we might have gone to jail. I am not exaggerating. Oberlin's admissions people were incredibly blase about the whole thing as though they really had no idea. They made a mistake not cancelling. They should admit this and accommodate anyone who tried and could not get there, especially the family who had an accident trying!!! I will be interested to see how they deal with the aftermath because, yes, it does affect how I feel about the school.</p>

<p>We have already contacted them twice, and I will try a third time tomorrow. We don't have the time or any more money to find someone to tape and get it to them by Friday. They need it by then.</p>

<p>Our son kept his Dec 2003 early audition at Hartt in Connecticut in the middle of a ridiculous snowstorm. He and his Dad drove up night before so he could make his early am time. Only those who also arrived the previous night could have been there that Sat to audition. Son did well and was offered acceptance and merit award. We wondered if it was a reward for braving the weather!
Hartt graciously offered rescheduled slots to those unable to get there.</p>

<p>We were going to leave the night before, as well. By the time my D got out of school, it was so bad out. The radio was telling people to stay off the roads. It never let up, accidents everywhere all day Saturday, too.</p>

<p>Also, I might be wrong, but I think Oberlin was one of the schools that gave us the date, we didn't get to pick it.</p>

<p>Having a backup recording ready to go is a really good idea, beside the fact that making the recording is a great way to rehearse. But people have multiple responsibilities and budget constraints and you can only do so much. Glad everyone made it back in one piece is all I can say. Winter travel is a bear.</p>

<p>I told my S it was a preview of what one of the worst things about being a performing musician can be - having to show up no matter what!!</p>

<p>So true. Cancelled flights, noisy hotels, filthy cabs, questionable food....</p>

<p>Sorry to hear about the audition problems. It is difficult all around when a storm for the record books occurs on the very last scheduled day for auditions. Given that a fair number of faculty members live near campus, and that there were probably a number of auditioners who managed to make it to the Oberlin Inn or one of a few B&B's within walking distance by Friday night, I am not surprised that they decided to soldier on.</p>

<p>The faculty and administration members that I have met seem to be reasonable people and have been quite helpful when we have needed them to be. I would be very surprised if they completely shut out anyone who simply could not get through the snow. It will be hard to schedule another all-hands audition date given the schedules of all involved, but I bet there will be a bunch of case-by-case accommodations being made over the next week or two. I would suggest contacting the appropriate faculty member for your instrument or voice as well as Dean Stull. Most of their email addresses can be found by clicking on their names off of the page Conservatory</a> Faculty and Departmental Information</p>

<p>Making a recording during the course of this week may be difficult, both in terms of time and finances but, under the circumstances, it may be the only option for some folks. I agree that having a backup recording going into the process is an excellent insurance policy, but that is not going to help those who did not think to do it ahead of time. A lot of colleges have the equipment needed to make such recordings plus students who are willing and able to help you make a CD that would be nearly as good and far less expensive than one produced at a professional studio. (My son is already planning to pick up some spending money by making recordings for other students with his Mac setup once he gets to college this fall. He has been recording his own songs on voice and guitar and has gotten quite good at it.) If there is a college near where you live, you could probably work out a two-hour recording session on Tuesday or Wednesday, then have a CD in hand before the Thursday overnight mail deadline. If I were in that situation, I would contact the music department office at one of the local colleges and start asking there. The end result may not be quite as good as a recording that was made under less time pressure, but it will certainly be better than nothing and need not cost more than $75 to $100.</p>

<p>BassDad: I think you are wrong about what it would cost and what the likelihood would be of being able to arrange to do a recording at a local college. Overhead is high, and the charges for outside students would take that into account. Most students I know go outside their school set-up to do recordings, because even for them, it is so pricey. Additionally, this is peak season for performances, use of facilities, recitals, etc., and/or it is spring break and no one is there. Someone might get lucky, but make no assumptions about this being a likely option.</p>

<p>It would be more expensive if one were to go through the official college channels, but I am suggesting trying to find a student who will do it off the books, so to speak. Some schools are on spring break but many are not this week. It may not get done in a recital hall; an empty classroom may have to do. It may involve one microphone going into someone's PC or a device like an Edirol R-09 or a Zoom H2, but I think a determined search could turn up a student who would be happy to put in a few hours of work for $75 to $100. If this is the only option left, it is worth a try even if there is the possibility that it may not succeed.</p>

<p>I am fairly well plugged into the local scene, having recorded with a lot of people in the area. It would take me between one and three phone calls to find someone to do a 2-hour recording session plus put in an hour to move the best takes of each of three or four pieces to a CD and run an extra copy or two at a cost of $100 or less. They would not be pros, but they would be pretty good.</p>

<p>bassdad--</p>

<p>i understand that there are a lot of local teachers. we were in town (we thought) by being in cleveland. there were many people staying at hotels in elyria. we all got there, but it was very treacherous just to be out in a car at all. they might have moved it to sunday after the snow stopped falling.....everyone flying out was forced to stay over saturday night anyway.</p>

<p>that IS a problem, the lack of hotels in oberlin</p>