An older Berklee thread had been revived with some parents of kids attending the 5 week performance program this coming summer so I thought I would start a new thread for kids attending and parents of kids attending the 5 week. Or anyone considering attending. There has been a lot of discussion from people who either have attended and can answer questions as well as those like me that have a D who attended a shorter program last summer and plans to attend the 5 week this summer.
Jump on the thread if you are part of the upcoming Berklee 5 week group, student or parent. My D is a singer/songwriter and jazz vocalist. She plays guitar, piano and uke. She did the Berklee Stage Performance workshop last summer. She is a junior in HS and plans to audition for admission at the end of the 5 week.
For any parents of registered attendees that are interested in starting a FB parent group send me a pm and let me know and I’ll see if Berklee will set one up. The kids have a closed FB group they have been invited to. It might be fun to have a meet up in Boston at the beginning of the 5 week, the end or both.
Thank you, @SpartanDrew for starting this! My S is a junior in high school and studies jazz guitar. Looking forward to connecting with parents this summer!
any Berklee summer kids out there? Also my D received a letter from the Dean of admissions congratulating her on her YoungArts win and inviting her to apply for admission this year despite the deadline having passed. I had heard somewhere that a current rising junior (she will be a senior next year) can audition for admission and defer. I wonder if that’s what the letter was about or if it was just an automatically generated letter to all YA winners. Anyone have any idea?
Hi, My daughter is a junior in high school. She is a singer/songwriter and also plays guitar and some piano. Would love to connect with some other parents!
Oh and I did get an answer back from Berklee admissions. The letter was a standard letter to all YA winners. They only take auditions for rising seniors so my D will audition for admission at the end of the 5 week this summer as originally planned.
Berklee Five Week is very unstructured… so please know that your student will have lots of free time on their own. Also, there is no audition process for this program so skills levels vary greatly. Many students have very low skills and/or talent and just have the ability to pay. Many teachers for this program are not Berklee faculty. My D had a partial scholarship to Five Week, but learned very little. Very, very expensive for what you get.
@California20 I’m sorry your D didn’t have a great experience at the 5 week. Did your D take many of the electives offered? I would think that would keep a student very busy. My D is signed up for almost everything possible including all “optional” electives. To clarify your comments, there is no audition process to attend however there is an audition process when they arrive to sort out the talent and experience of the attendees. I know of many people who have told me the opposite with the experience their kids have gotten attending the 5 week so I think it can be a different experience for different kids. We are looking for experience in jazz voice and songwriting while D is there and I know she will also audition for ensembles in both when she arrives.
D did spend a long weekend there last summer in the Stage Performance workshop (which she loved and learned a lot) and it was very new to her to have unsupervised free time in the evenings. She and friends walked around the Newberry street area late at night and hung out until very late a lot. That is certainly something parents should be aware of. This is a college environment without the supervision many may be used to. Your kid will have to be responsible, smart, driven and self aware. All good things to learn and be coached on before they head to college for real.
Finally, one of the biggest checks in the plus column (for us anyway) is the opportunity to audition for scholarship and admission at the end of the 5 week for rising seniors. My D plans to do this. If they don’t feel they did well they get a rare second chance to go back and audition again in the fall/winter. It’s a big leg up over other students in my opinion.
My son will be attending the five-week. He plays tenor sax as well as alto, bari and some piano (also sings), and has been saying he wants to go to music school, so this seems like a great way of showing him what kind of work is really involved. He’s a rising Junior and if he loves it/does well, this will help direct the college search next year. He visited the campus and is beyond excited! He got a small scholarship, which helped and made him feel great. Looking forward to hearing about others’ experience!
I had two children attend the Five Week. My oldest son attended between his Freshman and Sophomore years. One thing I was not prepared for was how young he would be compared to so many attending the program. There is a huge difference between an immature 16 year old and a mature 19 year old. Imagine putting a 3 year old in a pre-K room with 4 and 5 year olds. That is what it felt like. On the positive side my son developed an understanding of what was involved in attending conservatory. It became clear to him he did not want to only study music. And the program gave him an opportunity to see he could excel (this child had major learning disabilities) in an academic setting because college classes are taught in a way that is better for how his brain works. But socially he was over his head and he did not connect with many of the other students and missed out on much of what the program is about.
My youngest child attended on a scholarship that was given to everyone in his HS Jazz band after winning at the Berklee Jazz Festival. He attended and roomed with his friends from HS. He was between his Junior and Senior year. He loved meeting other students from around the world. And took advantage of those connections by playing with them in his free time. He was more than ready for the college experience being older and also being there with his friends and said yes to any and all opportunities that came his way that summer. The result was increased confidence musically and also a strong sense of what he was looking for in a college program.
I think the key lesson from my two boys is that students get out of it what they put into it. It helps to not be shy and to be willing to reach out and make friends and push yourself to create music with as many people as possible. Be prepared for heat (not all dorms are air conditioned) and be prepared for dorm life…there will be partying, noise, and some people who will not be taking the program seriously. Also be prepared to not be the best. Students come from all over the world. Many international students are a bit older and have had more extensive training. You can not be intimidated by them but instead be prepared to learn from them.
HAVE FUN!!! It shouldn’t be a high stakes game just to get a scholarship. If you go in with that type of angst you are sure to fail. Instead go in and do your best and maybe just maybe you will be surprised and get a scholarship. AND ALWAYS SAY YES TO ANY OPPORTUNITY.
@akapiratequeen welcome to the group! I’m sure your son will have an amazing experience! @StacJip I agree with your sentiments 100%. My D has already been there for a shorter workshop last summer. She didn’t feel ready to be gone for the whole summer at that point. She is very ready this year and has Berklee on her short list for college choices so will have the great opportunity to audition at the end as a rising senior. The nice advantage to this opportunity at the end is if a scholarship isn’t offered during this process kids can go back and audition again later in the fall. So it’s a freebie audition which is great. Good way to dip your toes in the audition process to get a feel for what it’s like.
Thanks for the pointers on saying yes to any and all opportunities! I’ll be sure to share that with D. I know she will be auditioning at the beginning for quite a few of the ensembles so we will see where she lands. She loved her 5 day workshop there last summer and hated how short it was. She is very ready for her summer there this year!
Hi all, My son is finishing his second year as a Berklee student and can’t imagine himself anywhere else. He attended two summer programs at the school and one was a great experience as far as what he learned and the other not so much so I want to caution you that the summer programs are not always what to expect when actually attending Berklee for college. There is not the same rigor and there is a ton of down time in the summer programs. Just wanted to let parents know not to necessarily base attending Berklee as a college student based on what they learn or don’t learn at the summer programs as it is quite different. Your children, however, can truly get a feel of Boston and a city campus while there. It’s a great city with a lot to do. I also run a Berklee Parent page so if you are seeking info, please private message me if you are interested. I also agree 100% with @StacJip. The most important thing is for your child is to enjoy the experience of the summer program and they certainly get out of it what they put into it!
My son is a rising junior so now I am hoping it’s not too soon! He is pretty focused and really wants to apply to music schools so we thought this would give him a sense of a) the other kids he’d meet in that group and b) the level of work involved. He’s not super social, but he loves to play so would sign up for anything and everything if he could.
