<p>It's been several years since I was in college, and I really know no one who's been recently, so I have no idea: is it a usual practice for a music professor to call a student based on one inquiry into the school?
Someone I know had this happen this week. Their child filled out an online interest request a few months ago and has received a couple of things in the mail and then this week, the jazz piano teacher called and sent a personal email.
I couldn't help her as I'd never heard of this. So we are asking here....
(BTW, this was a call from a very prestigious school, I believe. One that on CC has been called "Competitive" and seems to be on everyone's list)</p>
<p>No…a simple online interest request and then a personal email and call? Somehow I do not think you are getting the full story. It almost sounds like the sort of people who get brochures in the mail and now think they are being “recruited”. Perhaps the online inquiry had an option such as “would you like a teacher to contact you?” Or the teacher knew of this student from another source.</p>
<p>It does sound odd, but I heard the call and read the email. We were both dumbfounded. The professor said she was calling to answer any questions as this student had shown interest. We can’t figure out if somehow perhaps the teacher heard of this student – he is homeschooled like my son and has no real teacher. We wondered if sometimes the school “googles” any of the students who show interest… this student does have a significant amount of material online.</p>
<p>Has your friend’s son been involved in any of the highly competitive jazz programs for high school-aged kids and/or won national awards (e.g., NFAA, Grammy Band, NextGen, Brubeck, Downbeat, ASCAP)? My son tells me that there are definitely high school-aged kids who are “known” in jazz circles. The school and/or professor may have heard of him or found his online trail and been sufficiently impressed to reach out.</p>
<p>He hasn’t done any competitions or really anything, other than his soundclick and youtube pages. Definitely a mystery!</p>