<p>there are few real prodigies out there - and lots of parents standing outside the practice room doors at places like Aspen making sure their children practice all day…
on the other hand I know of several recent Juilliard piano admittees who were American kids who attended high school. On the other hand, most of them did not end up matriculating to Juilliard - instead choosing Harvard, Yale, Oberlin because they decided the education was too narrow.</p>
<p>mamenyu-
Pretty apt discussion, it is why I put ‘prodigy’ the way I did, I don’t think most are prodigies, they are kids who have been pushed by their parents into the spotlight, etc as you point out, they have rushed into playing high level pieces and such…what the parents don’t realize is that whatever fame the kid has is basically a performing circus act, that once they aren’t young any more the attention will wander away. </p>
<p>But the problem is these are the kids filling the system, and at least on violin it is crazy. There are kids out there who are getting lessons 4 or 5 days a week (and before someone tells me this is hearsay, I have heard this both from the parent’s mouth and from teachers), and have been doing so since very young, practicing long hours each day, etc, while being privately tutored and so forth. With that, the level of competition has flown through the clouds and from observation of who gets in and doesn’t to the top conservatories, it is more and more these kids getting in (whether they deserve to is a debatable point, but the fact is they are). Conservatories are obviously different then pre college programs, they aren’t totally the same, but take a look at their admissions on things like violin and piano, and you will see the same trend.</p>
<p>I think OP has gotten good advice from this forum vis a vis her particular S’s need for a high cost college counselor.
Our family faced with this dilemma and because of the nature of our partcular child (avoidant of academics in general and doing the work of applying to college plus disorganized) plus the level of difficulty of admission to Conservatories on his instrument (flute) we hired a trusted expert regarding the college application process. This person helped S find a range of schools to apply to ranging from a local university with an excellent music program all the way to the highly competitive conservatories. The college counselor had many years of experience in this role and had personally visited nearly all the schools she recommended. It is hard enough to make choices about Conservatories (visits, sample lessons, auditions, etc.) but also having to find the right LACs (and apply to both types of schools simultaneously) in case he was rejected at the Conservatories was overwhelming. This counselor preserved the parent’s sanity and provided important perspective on what was worth doing (or not) - such as whether to re-take the SATs. My S was willing to listen to her which was worth its weight in gold!<br>
In case other CCers have a child more like mine I wanted to add my 2 cents that sometimes getting extra help is invaluable.
My best wishes go out to all of you currently awaiting word on admission from schools. My S is attending his first choice school and loves it - dreams sometimes do come true!</p>
<p>Just joined this thread-- I have a junior and we’re looking for composition major or minor or double major, or a place where he can take good academics and have access to comp/music classes that the majors take without having to major in it. (He wants a backup plan!) We live in Northern CA and are looking at many of the UCs, but also considering faraway places if he can get scholarship help. It’s expensive to fly back and forth!!</p>
<p>I wanted to mention that I have heard jazz is quite good at University of the Pacific, in Stockton, CA (ironically, not on the ocean). Has anyone heard of that program and whether it might be good for composition too?</p>
<p>I’d love to hear your opinion of the different music camps. My son plays violin (classical, mostly, but jazz too) and drums-- but his passions are composition and improvisation. He’s focusing on composition when we look at summer or colleges. He did the composition intensive at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and we commute down there on Saturdays for comp lessons.
We have applied to the following summer programs: Tanglewood, Walden School, Yellow Barn, California Summer Music, and CalArts/InnerSpark.
Any opinions about these are welcome, as are opinions about good academic colleges where the good music/comp classes are accessible to non majors, or minors, in music (see above post). Or where they have double majors. And did I mention that we are not rich? : )
Thanks!! I love this blog!
Oh also and the person who started this thread-- with the jazz son-- might want to check out Walden, which emphasizes improvisation as well as musicianship and composition (so I read). They are still taking applications, though the first and second wave are done.</p>
<p>Musicmama, you should certainly check out USC’s Thornton School of music which has outstanding composition faculty, great classical program (I think Midori is on violin faculty) and also a stud violinist in their popular music performance program. And USC academics are top notch. They also provide good need based financial aid and great merit aid for top level students. My Son is a freshman there and loves it. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Stud violinist. Funny, raddad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen those two words together.</p>
<p>There are probably better descriptions, but mine is accurate :)</p>
<p>Thanks musicmama for the heads up on Walden. S is booked solid for this coming summer but will keep in the file for next!
Getting really good info from this thread…thanks everyone!</p>
<p>I love this message board, and like you all I am a parent of 2 musical kids. We’re looking at options for our 13 year old (violist) for high schools that could help prepare her for college in the event she wants to go on to study music. If she doesn’t end up studying music in college, so be it, but with music you HAVE to use every ounce of time to prepare EARLY. Worst case scenario is she gets an excellent music education, doesn’t end up “using it” as a college music major, but has gained all the transferable life skills that go along with studying music! And, my 10 year old is right behind her (harpist). Both her dad and I are musicians with degrees in music, and I am also a music teacher. I own a music school, in fact. So, I feel like we have somewhat of a “one up” as far as how to guide our child on this path, BUT it is all SO overwhelming, or can be. And I already WENT THROUGH this process myself (twice…bachelors AND masters in music), so I can only imagine how difficult this is for a parent who has never had to prepare for a music admissions. </p>
<p>The BEST advice I can give is to find a truly competent music teacher, who has EXPERIENCE (proven) in preparing kids for college auditions/admissions. You may end up paying more, BUT their advice and tutelage is critical to your child’s success. </p>
<p>I don’t agree with the college counseling route, as most college counselors are really just former guidance counselors OR admissions counselors, but perhaps didn’t go through the music major process themselves and/or are/were not music teachers. Therefore they just don’t have the right experience in audition repertoire selection, funneling through all the options for music majors (does my child to a BS? BMus? BA? and in what field of music? for instance). So, that is why some parents on this forum have reported that the college music counselors they heard of basically just helped with info they could obtain ANYwhere, and hand-held. Music is SO specialized, you really need someone who looks at just YOUR child, helps to choose SPECIFIC repertoire based on your child’s strengths AND the college requirements, and takes the time to talk with their public school music teachers AND the colleges of choice. It has to be tailored to your kid. I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t afford $3k to have someone hold my hand! Now, if they are going to give me information and guidance that I can’t get elsewhere, and this could save me thousands of $$$$ down the line by choosing the right school, the right financial aid, and point me towards scholarship opportunities–THAT I would pay for. </p>
<p>So I guess, basically, you’re best off hiring a REALLY good music teacher (with at least 15 years of experience–because then you can at least ask for references from students whom they’ve helped get into a music program, and those students may have already graduated–so you can SEE if it paid off!</p>