<p>Yes - the Oberlin Inn was full.</p>
<p>Agreed, but I bet that the Oberlin Inn as well as the local B&B's were mostly filled with people who were there for auditions. Imagine how they would have felt if they had gone through all the trouble of getting there only to find that they could not audition. The conservatory certainly should have tried having some auditions on Sunday to accommodate those who could not get there on Saturday. I do not know what scheduling constraints they were under that made them think that was not possible, but canceling auditions on Saturday for those who were already in town the previous day was not a great choice either.</p>
<p>As a heads-up for future years, the local historical society in Oberlin has a fundraiser during check-in weekend at Oberlin in August. Recognizing the lack of hotel rooms in the area, the members of this organization rent out spare bedrooms for a night or two in members' homes at a reasonable rate to incoming students and their families with the proceeds going to support the activities of the group. If you wanted to stay within walking distance for auditions and the Oberlin Inn was already full, it might be worth asking them if they would consider running the same program on audition days. Their website is at Oberlin</a> Heritage Center and I have also enjoyed the tours of the local historical sites that they present.</p>
<p>This was an unfortunate damned if you do, damned if you don't situation for all parties involved.</p>
<p>I'm sure some made the decision to get there under all costs, some put travel/safety concerns above the audition. I'm sure the school took a number of factors into consideration when deciding to hold auditions as plannned.</p>
<p>It's important to look at this in a historical context as well. If the number of missed auditions is not drastically "out of whack" with Oberlin's norms over a long history of doing this, they may not see rescheduling as an issue. If the weather caused a significant percentage of no shows, it may well be that Oberlin may make some additional arrangements, even at this late date.</p>
<p>Give them a day or two to assess the impact. It would not surprise me if some or all are offered a make-up. </p>
<p>Depending on the instrument, department and ensemble needs there could well be a need for additional candidates.</p>
<p>I heard from Sis-in-law, whose flight Saturday from Cleveland to her Florida vacation was cancelled, that Saturday's Cleveland Orchestra concert was also cancelled. Because of the relatives, we followed the storm news. Theirs was one of those counties where driving became illegal except in emergencies. H grew up in the area - he doesn't remember driving bans - it must have been incredibly awful. </p>
<p>I can't imagine what that drive must have been like for Stringfollies and others! This was surely above and beyond the call for everyone - no matter if you made it to Oberlin or not.</p>
<p>Offering my condolences to those affected by the snowstorm in Ohio. We were fortunate in MI to have this one pass us by, but with travel needs ourselves I kept looking at the track of the storm and listening in on conversation about the snow emergency and official edicts to stay off the road. This was no ordinary snowstorm; it was horrible and affected travel the day before and the day of.</p>
<p>I really hope Oberlin will re-evaluate its initial response to those who couldn't get to the school in light of the fact that governmental bodies around the state were closing roads and forbidding travel until the snow emergency was lifted. Hopefully they will choose to offer a workable alternative that will allow those willing to go to some effort this week to salvage their audition opportunity.</p>
<p>Just as an fyi - from what was published in the local Cleveland paper only two events were open Sat. A Cavs game, and the sold out performance of Wicked (which the stated attendance was 50%). Everything else was closed...even the museums closed. People died in this storm. I've lived here nearly 18 years and it certainly was one of two worst storms, where I would not venture out with a vehicle due to the dangerous conditions.</p>
<p>violadad, i could be wrong but i doubt oberlin needs applicants at this point.</p>
<p>L. Fortissimo, to clarify my comment some schools limit specific instrument or program auditions to certain dates. It's been a number of years since I've looked at the Oberlin audition schedule and I can't say whether I recall Oberlin EVER having specific instrument/program dates.</p>
<p>My comment was meant to address the fact that the school may have individual needs that are yet unfilled and that may be more of a reason to allow some additional candidates to be accomodated.</p>
<p>I may well be wrong.</p>
<p>So it turns out that, in the entire Cleveland area, Oberlin auditions were one of the 3 or 4 things going on on Saturday which were not cancelled. I don't know, but I think they made a mistake if only by endangering the lives of those who were within striking distance and made the drive.</p>
<p>I agree that nobody should have been expected to drive to get to the auditions on Saturday. Doing so must have been incredibly stressful, was way above and beyond the call of duty and was even illegal from certain places. From what I hear of the conditions, I would not have tried it myself from as close as Elyria. Expecting anyone to risk life and limb for an audition is not at all reasonable.</p>
<p>On the other hand, what about those who were staying a few hundred yards away at the Oberlin Inn with teachers who needed to hear their auditions living within a few blocks of the school? Both parties could walk to the conservatory, particularly first thing in the morning before it really started to pile up. Why should the school not let those auditions proceed? There were likely some dozens of people in that situation.</p>
<p>Thanks, BassDad. That needed to be said.</p>
<p>Well it's done. We got there (but for the grace of God) and my S played his audition. Perhaps they recognize that many of the kids played less well because of the stress or maybe not. We'll see. They've sent out an email today saying that they would accept recordings until March 14th. I'm glad we don't have to try to make that deadline!</p>
<p>My goodness, what a mess! You can't win no matter what! It's only right that extended the deadline, but if they extended it much further, they couldn't get out acceptances on time and they would lose students to other schools. Even they are caught between a rock and a hard place. Nobody wins here.</p>
<p>Barbmaz, we had tremendous success recording in our house (higher ceiling) with a Zoom H2. We purchased it after reading a thread on this site. Everyone is surprised at how beautifully it records for the price. It is stopgap, but well worth considering in your situation. You can order it online and get it shipped overnight.</p>
<p>Good luck! So sorry about the stress...but trust me, if it hadn't been this, it would have been something else. A mess-up on the audition, a flat tire...the life of a parent of a musician is FILLED with stress-and joy and amazement of our children. Part of the package.</p>
<p>Stringfollies, did your son indicate if all the teachers got there to hear the auditions?</p>
<p>I remember when my son applied to NEC they required a CD with the application. The CD was not used for screening but was put away in case the auditions got cancelled due to weather. They stated at the outset that if they were cancelled, they would not be rescheduled and the evaluation would be made based on the CD on file. Not a great scenario for everyone, but at least they were up front about how it would be handled. I don't know how often NEC has had to cancel auditions. </p>
<p>I wonder if it might behoove other institutions to follow this practice. Ofcourse, that would necessitate everyone making a good CD in the fall. No easy answers here.</p>
<p>They have the initial CD we sent them a few months ago. I was under the impression they need a DVD. I got an email from them today, and they still want a recording by Friday.</p>
<p>stringfollies - I just saw the IU acceptance - if only that had come in last week, you could have cancelled the miserable Oberlin trip. Congrats!!</p>
<p>If you have not already asked, you might call and see whether they would be willing to use the initial CD under the circumstances. It would be very hard to produce a video from scratch in time to get it there on Friday.</p>
<p>cartera --</p>
<p>thank you! we considered cancelling it when we got an idea that IU might take him, but didn't dare. too bad! we love oberlin, but IU is really better for violin and he loves the teacher there.</p>