Thanks @WestOfPCH that really does sound ideal! Is S loving Frost?
@musiciseternal For those coming to Cincinnati - Friday night might get ice late, Saturday they are calling for snow in the afternoon but big stuff should stay north of town so you should be ok at CCM, Sunday might be messing in AM due to snow/ice but welcome to Cincinnati winter
Just saw your post, @WestOfPCH . Soooo helpful. We were wondering about the 8am report time since we will also be flying in from the west, and 8am in Miami feels like 5am to my teenage daughter.
Thanks, @HereWeGoAgain2018 and @akapiratequeen !
@akapiratequeen . . . Yes, he’s enjoying it. Very much looking forward to the jam session. Was very impressed by the forum he attended. He could definitely see himself here, and so could I.
That said, it’s the first in-person college audition AND the first East Coast school we’ve visited, so he’s keeping it in perspective. It’ll be good to get a variety. The other three on this side of the country (Peabody, New School, NYU) will be different from each other and very different setting than here. On top of that, he’s visited a bunch of California schools, so he has a good general idea of what he likes and doesn’t, so here’s to hoping that the rest of the schools meet or exceed his expectations too.
Totally! We had a long layover in Atlanta yesterday made even longer due to a weather delay, so we landed, ate a late dinner, and fell asleep at midnight-ish local time. The 5:45am EST alarm was a bummer to say the least – I rarely get up that early Pacific Time!! Luckily, a shower plus a grande half-caf drip for each of us, and we were good to go.
And, um, adrenaline helps too.
@WestOfPCH is spot on with the audition day. Could have taken the exact same page out of our notes and experience. We got there at the crack of 8, got D’s folder then literally sat around until we were let in for the big parent/student session at 9. My advice: arrive in time to park and get your kid’s folder by 8:45 or so.
Let us know what you think of the jam sesh! D (Jazz vocalist) was completely exhausted by the time that rolled around and it went late because of so many kids. She had 2 auditions that day, one for jazz voice and one for CAM so she was spent.
@WestOfPCH When are you hitting NYU? S is auditioning there 2/16…
Catching up after being off for a while. Very interesting to read people’s thoughts about safety schools and their kid’s Plan B. Our D wants to be in college next year. She has strong academics and likes to study, but more importantly a gap year would set her back musically. Currently she has to practice timpani at school and would have no place to practice next year. We already have a drumset in the basement and a marimba and snare in the living room and no money or space to add a set of timpani for her to practice on. Having enough ensemble opportunities might be tricky. And I’m pretty sure gigging opportunities for a classical percussionist are not as lucrative as for some of your jazz kids.
“And I’m pretty sure gigging opportunities for a classical percussionist are not as lucrative as for some of your jazz kids.” @percussionmama if only! I think S has earned a total of maybe $100 as a lifetime total for gigging? You know the old joke: What do you call a sax player without a girlfriend? Homeless!
At any rate, totally agree re wanting to be in school next year. But it’s fascinating to learn others’ stories.
@PercussionMama - S has earned a little bit of $ playing in some local symphonies- and there are a lot of opportunities once you play with one group others seem to find out…and percussionists are in high demand these days. What amuses me is he is paid “cartage” based on the number of instruments he brings…probably the ensemble’s way of not having employees or filing 1099 forms. Your house set up sounds like ours except S got a screaming deal on a set of timpani so our entire living room is the percussion studio. And carrying a couple of cello bows on the plane today was an adventure. Sitting in cold Philly waiting for tomorrow morning’s audition at Boyer (Temple). Glad we can take public transportation this trip. Doesn’t sound nearly as nice as the Frost weather report.
Good luck this weekend everyone!
Hope the audition went/is going well @WestofPCH!
Son’s first audition is tomorrow and he is oddly quiet today (and perhaps a little put out that he couldn’t do something fun with his friends tonight!) Hopefully he is capable of being pleasant and fully functional at 10:30 on a Saturday morning! (yes he is normally asleep at that time).
On Plan B - we haven’t really talked about it. S is admitted to a non-audition B.A. at Rutgers, so I guess that’s it unless he absolutely hates that school when he auditions there in Feb. A gap year might make sense for him musically if he doesn’t get accepted anywhere he auditions, but if I consider the whole person, it’s likely not the best thing for him. He would be miserable living with us while all of his friends are off at college, and he wouldn’t have enough structure.
My son has earned about $400 from three rock band gigs, about $450 from two jazz combo gigs, and he teaches one kid classical bass at $40/hr on a semi-regular basis. He has also rehearsed for a lot of gigs that never materialize (apparently he joined a grunge band today and rehearsed with them for a few hours). Now he is sleeping. I’m assuming he plans to go over his audition rep at some point!
If he had to be the one to arrange any of this stuff, the amount would be $0. I’m glad his friends are more enterprising than he is. He is versatile and always available, I’ll give him that.
Eager to hear about your Temple audition experience, @Lendlees. It’s on our current short list for this time next year. Really wish I could get D to switch over to something suitable for Frost. Lol. I know how envious I’m going to feel reading about sun and fun while contemplating our much colder NE and Midwest options! Good luck this weekend, everyone!
I’m interested to hear about the Temple audition, too @Landlees. That will be my son’s final one on 2/17. Have you heard anything back from the school on academic admissions yet?
Just wanted to chime in and wish everyone good luck this weekend! Our journey starts next weekend so all of this information and tips are so helpful. Here’s to great auditions and offers for these talented kids!
Yes, good luck to all. So exciting! My son doesn’t kick off his auditions until Feb 1 which is a good thing, since he was down with the flu all of this week. On Monday he lamented that getting the flu now was the worst possible timing and I responded that while being sick is awful, better now than in 2 weeks. He is feeling bad about the school, guitar lesson and practice time he missed this week, so hoping he can rally and get himself back on track to get through what is going to be a crazy February.
@lkbux64 : Too bad about the flu, but as you rightly said, better now than in two weeks.
A sports analogy : competitive swimmers (both D and S used to be in comp swimming), have this period before a big meet called tapering. About a week before a big competition, they stop practice for a couple of days, and then slowly ramp up back into full practice sessions over the following few. When S is forced to take time off like this, I tell him it’s good to get away from it for short periods and come back reenergized. Hope that’s true for your son.
Note for next year auditioners (and maybe not too late for this year) : Get the flu-shot around thanksgiving !
Good luck to all auditioning this weekend. And please be careful to you all going through the Midwest. Hubby already had to change a business flight to tomorrow because Sunday was being cancelled. The snow is supposed to hit us this evening and expecting 8 inches. Not looking forward to shoveling.
S has his first audition Monday. It’s for a scholarship to a local college he doesn’t want to attend but will if he has to. But I think it’s a perfect way to get the nerves out.
@lkbux64 - hope S is better quickly. I’ve been obsessively wiping down airline tables and such with anti bacterial wipes…S has a nice 3 week break after this audition. (his mom doesn’t have that luxury…)
@mom2clarinetobsessedkid and @eh1234 I confess that Temple is one of my favorite of S’ schools - the camaraderie of the percussion department is great and, as a parent, the focus on making the kids “as employable as possible” warms my heart. It’s a nice, diverse urban campus with professors who are symphony players. No word yet on academic admission - my guess is it comes from the Boyer School. I think it’s an under the radar kind of place with a lot going for it, The school also has a 4 year promise - basically if a student holds up their end (signing up for classes - working with advisors and such) and can’t get out in 4 years, Temple picks up the rest of the tuition. And there lots to do in Philly.
Best of luck to everyone auditioning this weekend and in the coming few weeks and thanks for all the updates. I hope the weather doesn’t cause too many headaches. I hope these kids can feel our collective cheers and positive vibes as they conquer each step of this process. I feel like I have a vested interest in the success of every one of your kids and I know they will all find the perfect college home, wirh or without a gap year. I love to see how the traffic and buzz here is increasing during this critical time (which-no surprise-mirrors last year’s thread.) Go Music Kids! You’ve got this!
We were at a Frost as well. I can’t add to the descriptions above as they are spot on. Best advice is to arrive at 8:45 for check in. The school did a nice job of getting people excited to be there. Having the pep band with some cheerleaders playing for the kids after their theory test was a nice touch. My D found the teachers and the students to be welcoming and extremely supportive of each other. That, and the fact that it was sunny and warm made for a lovely day at Frost.