<p>HI all,
I am typing this in the half dark as D is still trying to sleep. Eastman was good. We were impressed with all of the students we spoke to, the atmosphere was not as serious as I had expected. </p>
<p>I cannot believe I did not notice all of the coffee shops and restaurants when we were there before!! I must have been blinded by lack of caffeine that day!! We loved Java!!</p>
<p>Hard to say how the audition went, the interview went really well though which is good. There were plenty of students around to help us and all were wearing Eastman tshirts. The info session was great, I was both impressed and comforted by the friendly and humorous attitudes of the staff on the panel.</p>
<p>We are at our hotel in Fredonia right now, her audition is at 10:30. We called home yesterday and my youngest D had a message for oldest D saying the horn professor from Fredonia had called our house and said how much he looks forward to meeting D today for her audition!!! That really made D much more relaxed about today. </p>
<p>I never sleep on these trips either - luckily my S does! And the snow makes the driving very tense. It is very wearing and exhausting. I'm glad to be home from Michigan today! The audition (violin-performance) was only so-so. He learned on his way in the room that he would be asked to sight-read. This is his bug-a-boo and I think it knocked him off stride immediately. Oh well....he's got some more chances coming up. Eastman next week, the Rice, IU and Oberlin.</p>
<p>I look forward to hearing more about Rice. </p>
<p>The audition process yesterday was about as flawless and low stess as anyone could imagine. They do group interviews with the kids--so smart, because it helps them relax and meet a couple of other auditioning kids. Numbers wise: they said they were auditioning 182 kids yesterday; it looked evenly divided between undergraduates and graduate students. Not intimidating. And when we went for the audition itself, it didn't feel overwhelming--no long lines of hopefuls waiting their turns; just a couple of overlaps. The Middle Eastern restaurant around the corner was great. Every time we go to Eastman, we are reminded of what a friendly place it is, and impressed with the level of the program.</p>
<p>S called last evening to report. He said he played okay, but not his best. Auditions for horn were running about 45 minutes each, apparently a cross between an audition and a lesson. The person before him went long, and when he walked in, the teacher said, "Good, we've already met," and he had a shorter audition. He played everything - expositions of two concertos and 5 excerpts.</p>
<p>He asked to repeat one excerpt he didn't play well, and nailed it the second time, to which the teacher said, "Okay, you can walk out of here feeling good about that now." Teacher told him only that there were 4 openings, and he still had "a lot of people left" to audition. S had been hoping for more encouragement than that. But teacher did comment that if S comes there he would be a strong addition to the program.</p>
<p>After the audition, he had to take several tests - theory was relatively easy, music history was "ridiculous." (I think there was another test as well.) The tests are for placement or remedial work, but if scores are too low, can be a killing factor for admission. (This is for grad school, remember. I don't know how it works for undergrad.)</p>
<p>By the way, I slept fine. :) Grad school is so completely different!</p>
<p>A note about the atmosphere at Eastman - My son's experience was that it was a very supportive environment. He said people compete with themselves, not each other. When his instrument was in the shop for 4 days, other students let him know when their instruments would be available for him to use for practice. He didn't miss a single minute of practice or any rehearsals. Attendance was always good at student recitals. Of the school's 800 students, close to 75% are undergrads.</p>
<p>And binx, I agree, the grad auditions were a lot easier on the old mom than undergrad. I got to sit at home and worry, but much less stressful for me!</p>
<p>I have to say it's easier all around regarding angst and grad school auditions as well. Son is laid back about it, and wife and I aren't at all stressed like we were for undergrad.</p>
<p>I guess it's due to his level of confidence in his abilities, and being comfortable enough with auditions in general. Plus, he's funding it :)</p>
<p>D's interview at Eastman was one on one not group but I am guessing this is a Music Ed thing. Also, in her audition there were about 5 undergrads in the room listening as well. D was given the choice to have them in there or not, she said it seemed easier to have them there. The professor was not chatty at all with her but I found out from the girl that auditioned before D that he was not with her either. Both she and my D said it was hard to read him. It's ok though, Eastman is a HUGE longshot for D even though she said she played the best she has ever played (always a good thing just not always a sure thing).</p>
<p>SUNY Fredonia was awesome. D just fell in love with the school. We were not expecting this by any means. The facilities and campus there are really wonderful. It seems like they are constantly trying to make improvements to everything there. A good portion of their students go on to do their graduate work at Eastman and other top notch schools. The horn professor was really great, friendly and D said he seemed really excited about teaching. He is a graduate of JHU (D noticed his diploma).</p>
<p>We have NYU-Steinhardt in 2 weeks. That is our last one, if anyone has any experience there I would totally appreciate it.</p>
<p>My best friend is a Music Ed major at Steinhardt in vocal and piano and really loves it. I know her entire schedule is mostly music courses and she loves it, and is in University Singers and will be studying abroad next fall.</p>
<p>S auditioned yesterday. There were 300 kids auditioning (their biggest day, they said) and it was a bit of a well-managed zoo. He was able to get a practise room, but not without some scrambling around. Since they require you to be there at 9 AM (his audition was at 2:10), it was not possible to practise at the hotel before going so he HAD to have practise time. This made for some anxiety. I also think it's too bad that they schedule the theory tests before the audition because it also adds to stress level. My S is very strong in theory and says he did fine on it, but he always gets stressed by any kind of test. I wish they had timed it differently.</p>
<p>The audition (violin performance) was 10 minutes. All 6 violin teachers were there in a small studio. He was able to play part of each selection and did pretty well. The teachers did not interact and gave no feedback. </p>
<p>The interview was with 2 others and that was very easy to get through and went well.</p>
<p>In spite of obstacles, we both thought that the atmosphere of the school was very nice and friendly and the main building and performance spaces are outstanding.</p>
<p>What did you do between 9 and 2:10? Other than the theory test, do they have any tours or info sessions for parents and prospective students? My son and husband are going next week for piano audition. Then after the audition are you free to go or are there possible callbacks?</p>
<p>i think i read or heard that they ask pianists to be available until 9 PM for possible callbacks! For violin, you are free after you've auditioned and interviewed - if there are callbacks, my S didn't get one. Also the practise room situation may be better for pianists than for instrumentalists as there are quite a few of them that are reserved for pianists. Tell your S when looking for a practise room to get help from one of the students assigned to help out (they have identifiable t-shirts) because my S ran up and down stairs and halls looking for one (unsuccessfully) and got overheated and stressed. Later, we asked for help and found one with quite a bit less trouble. This may have been partly timing, but it doesn't help to calm nerves when running around frantic that you won't be able to practise comfortably (my S finds common practise areas completely incompatible).</p>
<p>The schedule starts with a "convocation" for parents and kids where they outline the plan of the day and tell you some things about the school. Prepare your son for discussion of selection process, etc so he isn't intimidated. They herd the undergrads off at about 9:45 to take the theory test all at the same time. It's about an hour. After the kids leave, they take questions from parents for about a half an hour. Then parents wait until kids are done with the theory and return to get their "schedules" for the day which will include an audition time and and interview time. They had three scheduled tours throughout the day one of which probably fits into the schedule of each family. The dormitory is really beautiful and well-designed for comfortable living and socializing - a plus for the school especially since most of the students live there for 4 years. We were out after the audition which was at 2:10, but I remember reading or hearing that it is different for pianists. </p>
<p>I was really sorry not to have been able to plan to leave that early because our flight home (based on being told to be available until 5 PM) got us home at almost 2 in the morning!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info! Their flight leaves the next morning at 6 am so I guess they can stay as long as needed. He is auditioning for jazz piano so may not be quite as involved as classical (although he does have to audition with classical pieces as well.) I am just glad I am not going--too cold for me!!
(We live in Florida so it will be a system shock!) He has already done 2 other auditions so isn't too nervous--yet.</p>
<p>This is my first post as I just discovered this great site. Stringfollies - we must be following much of the same violin audition path. My daughter just auditioned at Eastman about the same time. Rice was earlier and a different experience from some of the others. The audition was for one teacher's studio - we learned later each teacher accepts 2 perhaps 3 students. There was registration and a parent/student information meeting. Schedules were available if you wanted to attend classes and observe the orchestra practice. The audition itself was with only the requested teacher and lasted about five minutes (we were told by students that it would likely be that brief). Rice also has about 60% graduate students. It seemed to be a great deal of effort and expense for such a brief time and with only one teacher. The facilities were beautiful. Only two auditions left (one in Ann Arbor - any info or advice?).... I couldn't imagine going through this process when I was a high school senior.</p>
<p>Yes, we go to Rice on Weds. from the East Coast and have wondered if it's worth it! At least the weather should be nice there. Did your D audition for violin? If so, which teacher? You can private message me if you want.</p>
<p>U. Michigan was a lot easier than Eastman. They have no theory test and no interview and everything took place in one building. You go there and there's a registration desk when you walk in - no "convocation", but an information session for parents with or without kids which was informative and relaxed. It was easy to find and get a practise room (although we started very early because audition was at 9:12). One little surprise for us: for political reasons, we were very happy that the school normally doesn't ask for teacher requests until after you audition. However, when he got to the audition site, they had the teacher request forms out and asked that you bring them in with you. Because of his situation, he said he didn't have a preference (not really true) rather than indicate it for the teachers to see while grading him.</p>
<p>The audition was in a teacher's studio and my S said it was very small and tight. All four of the violin faculty were there. They heard him for about 8 minutes and gave no comments. He felt he didn't play his best at all there - too bad since he really likes the University. But, who knows? I hope your daughter has a good experience there. </p>
<p>Rice is a long shot, but if it works, the teacher is considered to be one of the best and the school is incredible. We decided it was worth the gamble although it would be nicer to be able to audition for more than one studio. We asked about doing two and were discouraged from doing so by the admissions people. One thing we like about Rice is that the undergrads (I've heard) play with first-class graduates all the time in orchestra, chamber groups, etc. I think this must be a very good experience for the few who make it into the school. I've heard that the orchestra is tremendous.</p>
<p>After Rice, we go to IU Jacobs and then Oberlin. Then the die is cast.....</p>
<p>Thanks for your help. I private messaged you with some additional info. The Houston weather was wonderful (70 in Feb - we ate lunch outside). The Rice orchestra has an incredible reputation. Enjoy the trip!</p>
<p>At least all the snow has melted off the sidewalks and driveways! However, just heard that we're in for another lake effect blast tonight- a mere 8-16"! Good thing our planned travel day to SUNY Purchase is THursday!</p>
<p>MusMom2: You think you are so funny!!! :P How about a quick audition trip to the University of Hawaii?!! I will pass you on your way back, we are heading to NYU on Friday (tour Friday, audition Saturday). Good luck to your D at Purchase!</p>
<p>Stringfollies et al
S is auditioning today at Eastman. First, there was a jazz piano audition, then after lunch a classical piano audition, then later, a combo audition. Whew! They got in yesterday and it was sunny and cold, today it is cloudy and cold. Guess those are about the only two options!<br>
My husband went to the parent q and a and he said a lot of the questions were about security. And he noticed there are a lot of security guards in various places. Is there a crime problem in Rochester???</p>