@pdxtigermom —congratulations, that’s amazing!
Congrats! But it’s not considered an acceptance until you have the official electronic or paper acceptance in hand. There is a 99.999% percent chance that this offer will be real, but there have been times in the past when a faculty offer was not followed up by the university or conservatory.
My son is not a strong minded person, especially when it comes to music. He likes all the teachers as long as they allow him to study CS and he told them specifically about this.
Eastman audition now in the bag. We had a great time here once we avoided the Polar Vortex. We were delayed or cancelled 4 times on the way here but arrived Thursday morning. I met we the awesome @akapiratequeen at the parent meeting and her amazing S. It was great to hear another person’s experience along the way and put a face to the names here. M D had a theory test then audition( just with the horn coach) then they had a groups audition ( with 4 kids and an admissions person) they asked general question of activities beyond music. Then we went to a masterclass which 4 out of the 8 were chosen to play. My D was not chosen but it gave us a good understanding how the professor taught. My D had a a few friends there from Tanglewood BUTI and one from her HS who gave her a tour of the campus. Over all better than expected and it rose in the list. Her audition went well per her own admission, but she is her worst critic.
@mperrine and @akapiratequeen - Congrats for having Eastman in the bag! That’s a tough one, I’m sure. Nice to have it behind you and wonderful that you got to meet. I hope to meet a few parents at SFCM and the New School. We have a nice little community forming here. I belong to a Ballet Boy forum and we all support each others boys - e.g. pick them up for auditions, help advocate for them (last year I got a housing scholarship for one of them). It’s so great to have a village along the way. So far, I’ve met SpartanDrew when she was in town - she helped us get a tour of the New School at 9pm at night! (amazing)
Syracuse now in the bag as well. Very civilized start — 10 am. Facilities are lovely. We enjoyed a concert and welcome by the Director, then S went off to a theory test, then we were walked to another building with the other jazz players for the actual audition. S warmed up and then spent about 20 minutes with a panel of three faculty members. He had a positive experience and reported that he really felt the love: one of the faculty said they thought he’d be a great fit for the program, and the director told him she’d been very impressed by his essays. The director also told me she felt S had shown “unusual maturity” in his essay and that they were “especially interested to get to know him.” Apparently his application was the first one they received in late summer, before the deluge began, and everyone seemed familiar with it!
Programatically Syracuse also seemed like a good fit — it’s the only program where he can finish in four years with certification in Music Ed and a jazz concentration, and if he opts for the five year program he’d leave with a masters.
Down sides: his sax teacher would be an adjunct and we did not meet him/her. In general the jazz program seems less developed then at the other schools where he’s applying. So better for music ed but maybe less ideal for the performance piece.
That said, they are clearly trying to build the jazz piece. S enjoyed the faculty interactions and felt he could see himself there. And we got the sense that they had significant financial resources.
@akapiratequeen - whew! I must admit, I admire you and your son’s stamina! I think you and dsinha deserve a medal for the most auditions in a month. Wowser! Our daughter has her first audition tomorrow and it feels like you already have so many in the bag. Any audition fatigue yet? What’s next week? Does your son have any favorites yet? Does it get easier the more you do?
Funny thing - our daughter has her first audition at NEC tomorrow. She practiced at NEC last night - but is practicing at Berklee today. She says she likes the vibe at Berklee a lot more. She forgot her dress shoes for her audition and said that she can’t wear her Doc Martins to NEC tomorrow. I said - well, then that’s not the school for you!! I wish the decision was that simple.
@leejay22 Thanks! And yes! I think 8 is a great number, but those who don’t have a child that’s majoring in music really don’t understand how competitive it is. Surprisingly, at my Ds audition today, I was speaking to another parent whose child was auditioning on bassoon as well, and he only applied to 2 schools. My first thought was that he must be amazing and is very confident, as during this process I haven’t known or read of anyone applying to 2 schools.
@tripletmama and @vistajay You are welcome and I hope your young musicians find the book just as timely and inspiring and encouraging as my D 
@tripletmama And hopefully I’ll get to visit the Magnolia store and their new restaurant some time soon. The several hour waits and out the door lines are unbelievable! Chip and Joanna has definitely made their mark on Waco.
@Propinquity4444 Thank you! So far so good with the auditions… The waiting is the killer!
This is so stressful, yet so exciting! I can’t wait to find out where all of our musicians will end up! Two auditions down, two more weekends of auditions to go
@pdxtigermom Congratulations!! That is great! My D auditioned at UT this morning. She really loved the campus and felt good about her audition. The teacher, however, cut her short on two of her pieces. I’m thinking it was because she was trying to make up time since they were running behind… or maybe she heard what she needed or wanted to hear. Either way, she felt good about it… No comments about admission though.
Congrats for all the good auditions! Thanks for all the news / reports.
@tripletmama good luck tomorrow at NEC. I am sure she can wear DocMartens there although no doubt it is a different vibe than Berklee. I can appreciate what she thinks though. NEC does have a more square vibe when compared with Berklee.
@tripletmama best of luck to your divine D! Can’t wait to hear how it went! She’ll crush it with those Doc Martens, no fear.
In answer to your questions, I don’t think we’ve got it unusually hard, at least compared to everyone flying all over the country/world for these things. I met a mom from Vancouver at Eastman along with @mperrine from CA and a dad from Hong Kong…this process isn’t for the faint of heart.
In retrospect, I think it was a little nuts doing these separate driving trips, especially without a second driver, in such a short time span…1,200 miles in a week. But we lucked out on the weather (cold but clear) and we made some happy memories. My S was happy to do this together and I got enough fist bumps (and even a stray hug) to make it all worthwhile.
I especially loved watching S gain confidence as the process went on. He’s a nerdy kid who wears his heart on his sleeve and he was scared to death for the first audition in December. To compare that chalk-white face and upset-stomach kid to the one who strolled into this morning’s audition, cracking jokes and charming the admissions director, was worth the price of admission on its own. He definitely felt he improved as the season went on, at least for these four. Not sure when he’ll hit fatigue…hoping he keeps something in the can for Rutgers on 2/16. The worst is definitely over, though, no more long trips and missed school.
Best of all, each of the last three schools moved up the list as the result of his audition experience. He now feels he could be happy at four of his original seven schools. In fact, he said he’s not sure which he would pick at this point (although I suspect he has a couple of favorites, he’s keeping mum). He’s still got two local trips in the next two weeks (his dad will take him) and then the waiting begins.
As for me, I’m so happy to have this community to keep me sane—and to be back at home! Safe travels and nothing but blue skies for everyone still in the thick of it!
@akapiratequeen I’m so happy for you, it seems like your son has some terrific choices ahead. And i totally relate to the feeling of relief and pride when they walk confidently into an audition at a very competitive school. So much anxiety and nerves are falling away to reveal a young artist who is proud to show what he has to say about this great music.
Hi all - it’s been forever since I’ve posted but I have been reading along and enjoying everyone else’s posts. I really love hearing about everyone’s experiences and about how terrific your young musicians are doing with this audition process. My D has completed 5 auditions so far with 3 more to go. We’ve been flying around like everyone else and finally got struck by the bad weather bug which led to a 6 hour flight delay and arrival at a hotel at 2 am. My D was a trooper and did the best she could. Hopefully now that the deep freeze has abated, we can avoid future travel problems. The one thing I’ve noticed is just how different these schools can be. A few of her schools have been rather cold - very impersonal audition process while others are warm and inviting. I think the colleges sometimes forget that these are 17-18 year old kids and not savvy veterans - at least not yet. @akapiratequeen - I agree about the process. The difference in my D’s nerves from the first audition to her 5th was incredible. Hopefully it just keeps getting better. Keep up the great work everyone - there is light at the end of the tunnel.
@BassoonMom2019 I wish your D the best! My son’s audition also got cut short. I was watching the time-he went in at 11:52 and came out at 11:59. He only got to play two of his three required pieces and got cut short on both of the pieces. My son told them that he hadn’t played the 3rd piece yet and they said they’d heard more than enough.
The campus was not exactly what I expected. It was kind of flat and lack of colors compare to UW. But I understand that’s not important. People were extremely friendly. My son told me that it was called southern hospitality. Whenever we looked puzzled looking for places, people would approach us and offer help.
@highnotes2018, I was encouraged to see what you said about your D’s nerves getting better with each audition. My S, a cellist, had his second audition (Cal State Fullerton) and said his nerves got the best of him and he didn’t play well on his hardest piece or on the etude. He played Bach well at least. The teacher likes him anyway and wants him to come back and take another trial lesson in March which he’ll probably do. He’s been admitted to the school and I’m guessing, barring some bizarre circumstance, he’ll get into the BM program. He was just disappointed in himself.
@HereWeGoAgain2018 I wouldn’t characterize NEC as square, even in comparison to Berklee. I’m pretty familiar with both and, if anything, NEC is actually more experimental. But I agree the vibe is different.
NEC has always been considered, by us Bostonians, as the top conservatory in Boston. It is not square at all, but is certainly rigorous. If an applicant wants a more commercial direction, Berklee is the better place for sure, and Berklee’s merger with BoCo was a smart move. At the time, I wrote that the merged entity might overshadow NEC in terms of applicant interest, and many disagreed. On this thread, anyway, that seems to be true.
Some of the top programs seemed to be intentionally cold and even intimidating, when we were going through this. I won’t name names, but the purpose of auditions and interviews seemed to be to test the strength of will and resiliency of the student. Some cried, some thrived.
@drummergirl & @compmom , apologies if my comment offended. Certainly was not meant to put down NEC which is indeed a top conservatory which my D has greatly enjoyed attending (Prep division) now in her 4th year. The commercial direction mentioned above and the student body this attracts IMHO create a different vibe and that’s all I was talking about.
My son auditioned at Ithaca yesterday and both he and his dad now have a clear favorite - too bad it might be son’s biggest reach. They were very transparent about how many students they will accept and the number was larger than expected, so fingers crossed.
It was very warm and welcoming. The studio instructor and some of his current students did a meet and greet and then the students stuck around to chat with prospects. The instructor made a point of telling them not to worry about mistakes - he wants to know what they need to work on and how he can help them.
Auditions started at a sane time (11:00 a.m.). The audition was one-on-one and the instructor was very laid back and made my son feel very comfortable. He played the three pieces he had prepared (he chose the order) and did not play the three octave scales that he didn’t want to play anyway.
I forgot to ask him about the sight-singing so I only know it was “good.” Husband and son really liked what they saw of the town but didn’t have much time to look around. It will be a long wait until mid-March.
This was audition number 3 of 6 but the last first two were very close to home, so this one was the first one that felt like an “event.” (8 hour drive up, 6 hour drive back). Next week’s is in-state (about 2.5 hours away) and then he’s off to NJ and Philly for the last weekend. It’s all going by so fast!