<p>Thanks so much for the links to the old threads! I spent quite a lot of time reading them and they were very useful!</p>
<p>Glassharmonica - Great idea for a discussion thread! And the links to past postings have been really useful, as well.</p>
<p>In terms of Oberlin - I wanted to chime in about the Shurtleff Inn. My husband & son have stayed there twice and were very happy there each time. The inn keeper was happy to accommodate my son’s desire to practice.</p>
<p>In terms of McGill - does anyone have a recommendation for a moderately priced inn within walking distance of the Schulich School?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Two hotels that are very close to the Schulich School are the Hilton Garden Inn Centre-Ville (on the 300 block of Sherbrooke West) and the Holiday Inn Midtown (on the 400 block of Sherbrooke West). They are both within a couple minutes’ walk. The Holiday Inn is one of the McGill recommended hotels and offers a McGill rate (although I’m not sure that the McGill rate is better than other rates!). I think the Hilton Garden Inn has better reviews. </p>
<p>Both are priced around C$120 per night. Montreal generally has quite reasonable rates for hotels compared to many other major North American cities. You can get hotel rooms that are as nice or somewhat better for slightly under $100 which are a slightly longer walk to the Schulich. The whole area is very safe, but the temperature at the end of February might make a substantial more invigorating than you want! If you use the underground city and don’t get lost in it, you can do much of the winter walking inside.</p>
<p>Do you have a Schulich audition booked already?</p>
<p>About hotels, as I noted in another thread, I called the Hudson Hotel at 58th and 9th Avenue in midtown Manhattan and they have a $175 Juilliard rate. (Which you could probably use for any Manhattan audition, by the way, as the person taking our reservation did not seem to care too much and asked me how to spell “Juilliard”.)</p>
<p>For Peabody auditions, we booked 2 nights at the Peabody Inn, for the unbelievable rate of $65/night. I notice their caveat that they are “not a full service hotel” and do not provide “televisions, coffee makers, hair dryers, shower caps, or tissues”. My husband, who is sitting this one out, suggested we take along a roll of toilet paper. Still, they have WiFi throughout the building. :)</p>
<p>You might want to check out the Courtyard by Marriott and the Delta hotels that are also within about 5 minutes walk of the Schulich. They are around $130 per night in February. Be careful how you book. The Hilton Garden’s own site lists its best rate as $159, but on expedia and travelocity it is $119 (all figures CDN$).</p>
<p>I can add two cents about CIM as my daughter auditioned for voice on Monday. Everyone is expected to report at 8:30 to get their audition time. They are also given several times throughout the day to take a 20 minute ear training test and a theory test that they say should take 40 minutes. Tour times are also given–these are in blocks of several hours and run repeatedly–so everyone should get a chance to see something.</p>
<p>A short orientation is given at 9:00 by the director of admissions and then you are off! My daughter’s audtion time was one of the first. She got a half hour to warm up–about half way through, an accompanist arrived and that was tremendous as one of her pieces is not easily sight read. He was incredible and very helpful. She then went to the audition room where there were students and the opera coach in the hallway to answer questions–they were open and enthusiastic. The audition starts and they are there before the entire voice faculty (although Vinson Cole who is joining CIM next year was not there for the morning). They then interviewed the auditioner and that was it. You were free to finish out the day with the test.</p>
<p>There was a full voice department orientation at noon where they discussed philosophy of the department and each teacher explained where they were coming from. Questions were welcome and answered. Very informative and not to be missed! A couple of auditioners were asked to come back at the end of the day.</p>
<p>It was a cold and dreary day, but the Glidden House–as mentioned above–is wonderful and so close. I was very impressed with the organization and there was no frantic feeling amongst the auditioners. There were plenty of people around to answer questions!</p>
<p>Marriott also has a nice Residence Inn which is about a ten minute walk from Schulich. L’Appartement Hotel , spitting distance from Schulich, has suites. Both offer complimentary breakfast. The AAA rate might beat the McGill rate. You have to ask.</p>
<p>For rates, I always said we were in X,Y,Z city for an audition or music school visit and asked if there was a special rate. Nine times out of ten there was, and it was substantially cheaper than the posted rate on the website (there is always the <ahem> AARP or AAA rate, which can rival the audition one for hotels with no special deal with the school). Can’t beat Glassharmonica’s $65 rate in Baltimore (I think we paid $99, but we did have toilet paper and a hair dryer ;)), but I think the rate we paid in Ann Arbor was under $67, with breakfast and Wi-Fi; I thought that was a great bargain!</ahem></p>
<p>Re Audition Hotels on the Cheap – BTW if you don’t mind a bit of a drive/shuttle in Ann Arbor the Four Points Sheraton off of I94 gives a campus visit rate of $89 that includes an unlimited and decent breakfast brunch and shuttle service to campus. (It is on the southern part of State Street, while the music campus is on the North side of town.) But I like it a little better than the hotels closer to north campus, likely because of the full breakfast.</p>
<p>We will be staying at the Microtel in Ann Arbor next weekend, where we stayed last summer, for a AAA rate of $65/night; it is close to North Campus, and of course we’ve rented a car. Not a fabulous breakfast, though, as I recall.</p>
<p>I think we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Montreal and it was VERY close to Schulich (which was great because it was snowy and freezing during our audition.) The Peabody Inn was a wonderful old hotel, and that’s a great rate. We had a rather large corner room, so I think we lucked out. Their restaurant recommendations were very good too.</p>
<p>Soph14, that’s where we stayed too on the ‘pregame’ audition visit the year before his aud/intv. last year…and while convenient and a little cheaper, it was the lack of a hot breakfast that had me change. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ahhh…the memories of last year…</p>
<p>I encourage anybody using this thread to contribute whatever you can after your auditions. I remember dredging out bits of gold from last year’s thread.</p>
<p>Best of luck to all of you. A few have PMed me with specific questions about my D’s experiences and I want you to know that you’re all welcome to do the same. Both she and I are happy to help.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who offered advice about lodging near the McGill music school. </p>
<p>In terms of other advice - the only audition my son has done so far is Oberlin in December. He auditioned for the jazz program and was surprised by how much fun he had during the audition. It sounded as if they had a dozen or so kids in the room with a rhythm section and eveyone took turns jamming. The Oberlin folks seemed to go out of their way to make it pleasant.</p>
<p>The next auditions up are Northwestern, NEC, Peabody, and McGill.</p>
<p>My son auditioned (voice) at Indiana last weekend. All-in-all it was a good experience, but it was his first university audition so we don’t have much of a context. There were a LOT of aspiring musicians (voice, instruments, recording arts, etc.), but it was well organized. The staff and student guides were very friendly and helpful. On Friday, we sat in on a music theory class (impressive!) and a chorale group’s rehearsal (the students and professor were again very impressive!). Audition warm-up rooms were not hard to come by and they had students tracking and allocating rooms. He was told to be 20 minutes early for his early evening audition and since things were running ahead of schedule, he actually auditioned 15 minutes before his scheduled time. On Saturday morning he took his music theory/musicianship test. </p>
<p>I can’t give tips on accommodations because we stayed in a private residence. My son enjoyed pizza for lunch at Mama Bears which is a short walk from the MAC (Musical Arts Center) and I can report that the Copper Kettle (near Mama Bears) served a good cup of coffee. That’s it!</p>
<p>Reading this thread jogged a memory of audition week at Peabody last year. We stayed at the Peabody Court twice, once for auditions and then again for S to have a lesson with the teacher to whose studio he was assigned. I would recommend this hotel both for it’s convenience to the school and for the amenities that it provides. </p>
<p>While we were waiting for our room in the small hotel lobby there was a very sad and disturbed young lady who was traveling on her own. Her parents had booked her room using their credit card and the hotel would not accept her credit card for payment when she tried to check in because the number and name did not match. This was probably one detail that many people do not consider but I know that there are many places that require that you present the card that was used at booking. Just one aggravation that could have been avoided. I thought that this was worth a mention since there will be many students traveling alone.</p>
<p>This is a great thread- I wish it had existed last year when I auditioned. I’ll add my experiences to the list. </p>
<p>Oberlin: I auditioned EA and I agree the Oberlin Inn is not fantastic or cheap, but the convenience factor for me was a greater need. It was clean, and the dining room was ok. I could easily walk across to the con to practice, even the night before (I had no trouble finding a room either). I loved that Oberlin let us use practice rooms wherever we could find one, and we could all find one. Audition day was well organized and informative. </p>
<p>CIM: My accommodations were a nightmare. I stayed at the Intercontinental Suites. The room/suite was wonderful-it was big, clean, and had a mini kitchen. I could practice no problem…everyone was practicing the morning of the audition. The restaurant was good too. The cab ride there was sort of terrifying. Someone picked us up at the airport and said our driver couldn’t make it and they were taking us. Then they got lost in the city and the driver went through back alleys and we were sure we were being kidnapped. Their system of driving everyone over to CIM is a little bit un-organized and uncertain, but we did get there fine. But when we got back to the hotel, the heat had gone out and there was no heat anywhere in the hotel. The restaurant was closed and there is no where nearby to get something to eat. I thought CIM did a fantastic day of organizing the day even though it was intense. The lunch the parents provided was a nice touch, and there were a lot of people to ask questions of. I thought the warm-up time was quite limited and I didn’t like having to wait outside the door with no where to warm-up for such a long time before my audition. Review your theory/ear training-the test is hard for a theory novice. </p>
<p>Eastman: I’d love to hear suggestions on where to stay at Eastman. I’ve been there twice and stayed at the Hyatt and it was just awful both times. The first time I went for a lesson it was really noisy and there was a slumber party in the room next to us with 50 twelve year olds screaming all night. The room was night clean. The restaurant is not great and it’s more than a hike to Eastman. You need a cab, I got lost trying to walk. The second time I went for the audition the room we asked for wasn’t available so they ended up putting us in a different room. Then someone tried to break into our room. It was terrifying. I thought the Eastman day was unorganized. It wasn’t clear where to go and there was really no one around to ask questions of. I was glad I was familiar with the building/professor, otherwise I’m not sure I would’ve known where to go and what to do. </p>
<p>Peabody- Everything clicked here and the audition process went smoothly. We stayed at the Peabody Inn. </p>
<p>Northwestern- I stayed at the Hotel Orrington. It was nice. The audition was short and sweet. No frills. I felt comfortable. The campus is beautiful.</p>
<p>Hartt: We live nearby so don’t have hotel recommendations for anyone. The day was well organized. There was a checkin and various info sessions. D is familiar with the building, but some people seemed to be searching for rooms; student helpers in the checkin room were great, but perhaps more people spread throughout the building would have been helpful for some. Practice rooms were reserved for auditioning students (half an hour prior to the audition) and auditions took place in scattered rooms depending on instrument. For D (viola), it seemed as if the viola and violin faculty were all present, and they were very supportive. Dance auditions take place in the new Handel center, which is a short drive from the main music building. There was a theory/eartraining test, parts of which were apparently irritating to many of the auditioners. Although there was no specific room for parents, many of us ended up sitting either in the large checkin room (where they had coffee and doughnuts) or in the lobby outside the auditorium where the theory test was taking place. One definite plus is Hartt’s rolling admissions, so we heard results within a few weeks, rather than having to wait until April. D’s acceptance letter indicated that scholarship info would be coming later on, so we still don’t know the specifics of the financials here. Hartt gave us a coupon for a discounted lunch at the student cafeteria, which many auditioners seemed to take advantage of. The lunch wasn’t amazing but it was nice to be with the regular U Hartford students who were enjoying their brunch.</p>
<p>**Ithaca: **There are several hotel chains in town and a variety of restaurants. Moosewood is, of course, the best vegetarian option, but there are many other fine choices. Ithaca audition day was very well organized…but after two trips to campus this time (for a trial lesson and the audition the next day, plus previous familiarity with the college), we were never able to find the correct parking area (ambiguous signs), and just parked in “generic” visitor parking. Ended up dropping D off at the door for the registration and walking from the general admissions parking lot. Of course, it snowed, adding to the stress of the day!</p>
<p>The day started with coffee and doughnuts in a lobby with faculty and auditioners mingling. It seemed as if the Voice Department had some special events here. There was a coat check, although we chose not to take advantage of this option (Mom is the Walking Coat Rack at auditions). I caught up with D at the 9AM concert, which showcased a variety of Ithaca talents (the previous day had been the last day of classes, and one suspects some of the brass players in the band had enjoyed themselves way too late the night before). Each instrument group had a break-out meeting with faculty; ours was very helpful. (Room numbering in the building is a little tricky, but people were very helpful in directing lost souls.) Unlike some other schools, there appeared to be Community/Suzuki lessons going on during the auditions, so adorable little musicians were walking down the halls next to nervous college auditioners. </p>
<p>No theory test but there was sightsinging. Practice rooms were available but no specific room was assigned. D’s audition was with the teacher she had had a sample lesson with the day before plus a video camera, and very pleasant but a little stressful. D had worked on one piece with the teacher in the sample lesson the day before and the teacher asked her to play the other one for the audition - leading to some intense practicing in our hotel room. We were told in the info session that a few people would be contacted within a few weeks with either positive or negative results, but that most people would not hear until the spring. The audition is very important, but Ithaca also factors in academics. D’s acceptance letter included scholarship information, which was helpful. After the audition, we spent some time wandering around the Commons, which is a pedestrian mall downtown - there was some sort of holiday festival going on with music and ice sculptures etc.</p>
<p>[Mom and Dad attended Cornell for grad school, so there was a distinct sense of homecoming for the Ithaca audition!]</p>
<p>FLutegirl - We are stying at the Inn on Broadway when we go back to Eastman. We also stayed on the lower part of town on our last trip and we are looking for a better experience this time. Presumably, the Inn is only 4 min from Eastman.</p>
<p>Several years ago at Eastman audition, it was problematic that musicians were NOT allowed into any practice rooms prior to the opening meeting. S had been traveling all day the day before and we checked out of hotel early so he could spend some time practicing and getting out the kinks. We could have stayed at the hotel, and he could have practiced there, IF we had known about this (a situation he did not encounter anywhere else). No idea if this is still the situation, but it would be good to know.</p>
<p>flutegirl09, on our first trip to Cleveland we had similar problems with one of the Intercontinentals. We were stranded and could not get from the hotel to CIM, even though the extremely nice receptionist at the school spent half an hour trying to get us a cab. Finally a kind-hearted student drove us back to the hotel. On another visit, we stayed at a different Intercontinental (this time we drove, but valet parking at the hotel was awkward since we were going back and forth.) Since then we have been lucky enough to be able to book rooms at Glidden House.</p>