BUTI vs. Interlochen

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Help! we need to make a fairly quick decision! D is a soprano and a junior in high school. She was accepted to Interlochen Choral and Operetta and she was also accepted to BUTI young artists vocal program. We want to choose the program that will be the best for her and the program that is the best for college/conservatory It looks like Interlochen choral program offers private voice but mainly choral. Buti looks like it offers more for the aspiring opera singer. D is considering majoring in vocal performance and needs to start getting prepared for auditions. D's voice teacher leans towards Interlochen.</p>

<p>College picks right now include:</p>

<p>Boston U
UM
Oberlin
Indiana</p>

<p>NEC
Peabody</p>

2

<p>Can't make a "wrong" decision here; both are excellent programs in helping young artists on the way to a conservatory. </p>

<p>Go with your gut instinct. If there's a financial advantage one way or the other, use that as a guide. If there's a geographical advantage so Mom and Dad can see some performances, consider that.</p>

3

<p>I have no direct experience with Interlochen since my daughter went to BUTI only. There were several kids there who studied during the year at Interlochen and came to BUTI over the summer. They liked BUTI because they had a bit more freedom to wander into Lenox and could attend the Tanglewood concerts that interested them in the evenings. Some of that is certainly that they did not want to spend all summer at the same place that they went to school for the rest of the year, but I think the general feeling was that Interlochen provided a bit more structure and treated their attendees more like students, while BUTI was a bit looser and relied on the kids to decide for themselves when to practice and when to go into Lenox for ice cream. You may want to think about which environment would better suit your daughter when deciding.</p>

4

<p>I can't give you any recommendations about the voice programs, but my son did spend one summer (after 10th grade) in the orchestra program at Interlochen, the next summer at the BUTI trumpet workshop and YAO, then returned to Interlochen for his senior year of high school.</p>

<p>BassDad's explanation above is exactly my perception of the significant difference between the 2 programs. Interlochen is in the middle of nowhere, very isolated, very structured, and kids only have the opportunity to leave camp if relatives visit. The program was 8 weeks when my son attended, and he certainly was ready to return to the real world. But overall, it was an amazing music experience with fantastic guest conductors and his first introduction to the somewhat intense competition of high level music.</p>

<p>During the year between Interlochen and BUTI, my son got his driver's license, a car, and a new taste of freedom that he never had before. BUTI was a much better fit for him the next year because of the proximity to Lenox, regular BSO concerts, and freedom to do what you want when you're not scheduled for rehearsals, lessons, or performances.</p>

<p>I agree with Zep that you can't go wrong with either program, but I would probably lean toward Interlochen for 14-15 yr.olds, and BUTI for 16-17 yr. olds. At Interlochen your daughter might make some important contacts from Oberlin, UM, and IU. If BU is a serious consideration for college, she will have the opportunity to do a videotaped BU audition while she is at BUTI. Good Luck!</p>

5

<p>D did her last two years of high school at Interlochen and went to BUTI the summer before senior year.
Both Interlochen summer and BUTI are great programs, but I think I would pick BUTI if I were you.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for your reply! Can you give me some specifics on why you think that?</p>

7

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>My daughter is very mature, however she does come from an small town and has lived a fairly sheltered life. She has not been away from home for more that 2 weeks at a time and never by herself. She has good values and an excellent work ethic. The opportunity to make more connections and possibly audition for more than one school at Interlochen might outweigh the opera exposure at Buti from a financial standpoint. We will have to travel to auditions in the fall/spring and the fewer we need to travel to the better.</p>

8

<p>Bassdad,</p>

<p>I will say that I do have reservations about the free time. I have heard that the college kids at tanglewood spend a lot of time drinking etc.. in the evenings. Do you know if the kids are monitored enough in the evenings to prevent high school kids from joining up with college kids? I am not worried about my D but rather am trying to get a feel for the environment there.</p>

9

<p>D is aspiring to sing opera, so our concern is that the choral and operetta program at Interlochen will not meet her needs as well as the program that is more opera related at BUTI. Had D gotten in to the Advanced Vocal at Interlochen I would not be asking questions. Does anyone have any specific information in regards to the different voice programs?</p>

10

<p>Singermom1, I think your daughter will be fine at BUTI in spite of any misbehavior that might occur if she steers clear of situations that involve the misbehavior. A resident advisor in the BUTI dorms who was my younger DS's clarinet teacher bemoaned some of this misbehavior to us during lessons a couple of years ago and reported that there were kids kicked out of the program for their behavior. I should think that expulsion would be a huge deterrent to most any kid, especially the merely curious who have not had any experience with drinking. My older DS, who is rather immune to peer-pressure, went on a school trip during which many of the kids misbehaved (probably some of the "cool" kids and all of the "cool" kid wannabes) but DS kept a safe distance and was even able to help minimize the damage to the misbehaving kids, e.g. stopping one of them from climbing out DS's 4th story hotel window, but, that's another story! That was not at Tanglewood! DS's strength of character and common sense was noted and much appreciated by his music director and may have contributed to the glowing personal and musical recommendations he received as well as other musical opportunities that were presented to him later. I don't think Tanglewood is nearly as bad as that field trip, though if there will be driving and drinking I would be extra alarmed for the safety of the kids and it should be brought to the attention of BUTI by any kid who knows about it.</p>

11

<p>The summer my son attended ('05) there was not alot of interaction among the Tanglewood Fellows (college kids) and the BUTI students. The BUTI campus is within walking distance of Tanglewood main grounds and the village of Lenox, and only BUTI kids stay there. I think I remember that my son told me the Tanglewood Fellows stay in Pittsfield, maybe in a hotel? I know my son watched their rehearsals and sat in on a few trumpet sectionals, but the leisure time entertainment was with the other BUTI kids.</p>

<p>Also, singermom1, I think my comment about auditions at camp was misleading. Yes, BU does audition at BUTI, but there are no formal college auditions at Interlochen. They have a college fair during the camp with admissions representatives from all the major conservatories and university programs, and , more importantly, the camp faculty consists of many faculty members from some great music programs that may be a welcome connection for your daughter.</p>

12

<p>Mommab,</p>

<p>Thank you, your information is very helpful!</p>

13

<p>We are in the same situation with a daughter who aspires to opera and applied for Interlochen's Advanced Vocal Program but was instead given a scholarship to the Advanced Choral and Operetta Program. She applied but was not admitted to BUTI. She is also a junior. She is intrigued by the Choral and Operetta program, but she really wanted to be in the vocal program since she has a friend who loved it last year, and who improved so much as a singer that she was accepted by many top conservatories for their vocal performance programs. D is hoping to work hard and see how much she can improve this summer, and she is now wondering if it would just be best to stay home and work with her teacher. To anyone who understands the Advanced Choral and Operetta Program at Interlochen, we would love your input here!</p>

14

<p>Back again to comment on BUTI. We have another opera child who is now in an opera program. He attended BUTI two summers ago, and he had the most wonderful time ever! He and his friends went to every concert open to students, and he participated in every possible performing opportunity. He was in a continual state of elation over the performers he got to hear. Of course, he is in contact with some of the friends he made even now, and one who is younger matriculated at the same university after hearing about the program from S. Whatever misbehavior occurred, and he said that there is opportunity, obviously it did not get in the way of a focused teen delighted to be in one of the best music environments available anywhere. </p>

<p>The only down side was that students are sometimes taught by graduate students from BU. This was the weak part of my son's experience, and this can be a significant consideration.</p>

15

<p>Thanks operamom!</p>

<p>I don't really like the idea of graduate teachers. One of the reasons we would consider BUTI would be to get better teachers :(</p>

<p>The audition process for Interlochen was a video tape made by ME:) Bad lighting, could hardly see d's face in video but couldn't redo because of scheduling. The tape for BUTI was professionally recorded at a studio but we all thought D sounded better in the bad video tape. Somewhat surprised she got in on it because I know BUTI does live auditions and they must have auditioned many people. Also d is still working on stage presence and I know that came through in the video . What are your experiences with this?</p>

16

<p>Singermom1--We had d record in a studio that was not equipped for video. They just video-taped her using a canon minicamcorder and then matched the audio with the video on a dvd. The sound was fine, but the video was so dark that all you could tell was that she was the one singing. Also, she is shy and just beginning to have some success with stage presence, and she felt (as she just told me four months after the fact) that she could have made her high notes ring clearer, but she did not want to take additional time especially when her teacher and accompanist were complimenting her performance. She has learned a lot about assertiveness from this experience. For BUTI, we sent just the audio, but she did not get accepted there.</p>

<p>Her friend who was accepted to the Interlochen Advanced Vocal Program used just a video recording with a mini camcorder done by her father who is not professional in this area, but who has been taping his children for years. She was not accepted at BUTI last summer, so she attended the Advanced Vocal Program and loved it. I liked the fact that it was only 4 weeks because D attends community college for mathematics in addition to high school, and college starts the third week in August.</p>

17

<p>As far as the interacting with TMC students (college students) while at Tanglewood goes, BUTI kids don't really see TMC students much at all. They stay at the dormitories that are part of a boarding school located a town over from Lenox (I can't recall the name of the school). I think they're bussed in from the school to Tanglewood everday. BUTI kids attend TMC concerts, but the two programs don't mix other than that -</p>

18

<p>Good to know!</p>

19

<p>We dropped off S at BUTI last year and I had an opportunity to speak with the kids, parents and the resident fellows. It was the first time S had been away from home as well so I was curious. The parents were all very friendly and the kids were really wonderful...they were responsible, hard-working, committed kids who shared an incredible passion for music. My S said he saw no drinking or drugs...they went into Lenox and had pizza or ice cream. There is a lot of practicing, ping pong, more practicing, performing, chatting and bonding. It really is a wonderful environment and I have no hesitation sending him again. If you have specific questions, please PM me..it's a wonderful program.</p>

20

<p>My daughter attended BUTI (YAO) in 2005 before her senior year. At almost every conservatory she went to visit on her college search, she ran into TMC kids she knew, getting their MMs in performance. She chose a conservatory where she knew 4 of the 6 people in her studio (all through TMC!) That was actually how she ended up with her teacher... from the TMC recommendations to go meet him.</p>

<p>Additionally, she received offers from NEC through the BSO members she met at Tanglewood. She set up lessons with each of the BSO members on her instrument while at Tanglewood. In that way, she had met them all, and knew what she liked (or didn't) about each one, and when she headed up to NEC to visit in the fall of senior year, they were all excited to see her again. One of the faculty members corresponded with her over senior year, giving her advice and answering questions regarding auditions, repertoire and teachers, etc. It takes a little courage to go up and ask them for lessons, but they were all nice and it was sooooo worth it.</p>

<p>I can't tell you much about Interlochen summer program, but between my college freshman wind player, and my high school sophmore brass player, we've experienced the summer programs at SMI/Kennedy Center, Kinhaven, NY Summer Music Festival, NYU Woodwind Festival and, of course BUTI. This year we add Brevard (adv div) to the list. I can tell you that with some effort on your child's part, BUTI can be an extraordinarily valuable place to make connections that will be used in college applications and decision making. (And the music is good too!) Additionally, although my D knew a few kids at BUTI to start with, she continues to run into the Tanglewood kids all the time, at school and summer auditions, NFAA, etc. </p>

<p>I have another child (15) faced with the same question this summer. Interlochen or BUTI, amongst others. He is choosing BUTI based on the recommendation of his sister and her many friends.</p>

<p>Regarding drugs, drinking etc. My daughter said that the kids there, as are the vast majority of her music friends, are totally opposed to anything of the kind. They don't believe anyone can play well or discuss music if they don't have complete command of their faculties. The big splurge was going into Lenox for Ice cream late at night. And by the way, the highlight of BUTI in her eyes, were all the like-minded kids that LOVE to discuss music 24-7. They all become little classical music intellectuals.</p>

<p>I hope this helps some. I'm sure my daughter's personality had something to do with her great experience. She didn't feel that there was enough music going on there for her, so in addition to what BUTI had organized, she also organized a woodwind octet and convinced some of the student composers to write music for the ensemble The octet played at a BUTI performance in Lenox before the end of the summer, premiering the work of one of the BUTI kids.</p>