thank you @musicprnt and @musicamusica. all so thoughtful and well said.
I feel like Juilliard pre college is worth the time. expense and effort for my D.
she wants this. she earned it. she is committed to it. these young people learn very early on that the high stakes they face and the sacrifices they make are never ending in the classical music world.
it’s not the life of a regular teenaged at all.
and now we face fitting in college/conservatory auditions around pre college.
any ideas on that? thanks again
Only one idea:
Understand the relative earning power of a young singer today vs the ungodly amount of debt that your D might incur. Your D sounds as if she has “the goods”, search for a school with a good teacher and the ability to offer her an affordable education. Take it from me , it’s a long haul.
And enjoy the process. After your D is all grown up…you will think of those audition trips fondly.
Absolutely @musicamusica! Absolutely. She has been told over and over again that she’ll have to go where she gets the $$$. Undergrad is not the place to go into deep debt. She has a huge, costly journey ahead of her and we are not wealthy.
I’m excited for senior year!
I have an 11 year old D starting middle school…no that scares me 
@colaturakid:
I don’t know how much trouble you would have fitting auditions in around pre college, but everyone’s story is different. Given that pre college is on a Saturday, I don’t know how many conflicts you would have (do they even do auditions on the weekend???). My S did have a conflict, one of his auditions was scheduled the day of a mandatory orchestra rehearsal on a Friday night, but the school was very good about rescheduling his audition. I can’t speak for all schools, but most were pretty good about resolving conflicts, and the pre college is very experienced with this, too, as you can imagine, so if you had a conflict where for example your D was doing an audition on a saturday (if they exist) or for example had an audition that ran late into Friday night in California,l I suspect they would be very glad to give her an excused absence. Given that Juilliard Pre College is based around music training, and that many of the kids go on to music in college, kind of makes sense, plus the administration of Pre College are really good people.
I think your D is in for a great time and I do agree that being exposed to music the way it is done at Juilliard pre college is very valuable. That level of program shows the level of playing that is out there and the realities of music in many ways and that both spurs kids forwards and also gives them something of a reality check, too.
The one thing I can tell you is not to listen to some of the stuff that is out there about the pre college program. I have heard descriptions (heard them before my S went there), about how it was full of cutthroat kids who think they are the best thing since sliced bread, how it is uber competitive and not a lot of fun, that it is the breeding ground of arrogance and elitism and such, and that isn’t the true picture. Are there jerky kids? Yep, but they also are in a minority, most of the kids there realize that they aren’t the only good musician around, and more importantly, they are looking to make friends too. The attitude being described fits a larger percentage of the parents then it does the kids, the parents who like sports parents and stuff who think it is reflected glory, but the kids are not like that for the most part (and the ones who are are definitely reflections of their parents). For more than a few of the kids it often reflects a place where they actually have some space to be themselves, the rest of the week they often are driven by the demands of hyper academic schedules and so forth and by the parents who demand it, so that one day is also a pressure valve for them IME, and as a result they also want to hang out and have friends, as well as do music.
I can tell you that my son made some good friends there and heading into his third year in conservatory he still says that those 4 years were some of the best times of his life, he still feels very close to the program in many ways.
The point was that not everyone has the ability or resources to foster talent in that way. That is one of the main reasons that minorities and those without financial means are at a distinct disadvantage regardless of talent or a parents desire to foster said talent.
Many would maintain that the arts and certain sports (ie tennis, lacrosse ,etc) are reserved for the financial and social elite. Those whose parents can afford lessons with the renowned instructors or afford to send them to a boarding school in another country or do not have to hold down three jobs just to feed their family; those individuals have a distinct advantage over those who do not.
My Ds applications and auditioning for colleges cost at least $3000. That excludes a lot of people regardless of talent level. There are many other factors at play including opportunity, ability, perserverance, and resources just to name a few. To fly across the country weekly is conservatively $15000 per year plus the cost of attendance. That eliminates a lot of potential candidates.
In all fairness, I did/do my share of what others thought was extreme. Fortunately I have many of the resources necessary to make it happen and I don’t mind exerting the effort. In fact this summer she is spending 2 months in Austria learning German and participating in a lieder/opera program… another expensive venture. Many of my friends consider it to be pretentious (not characterizing your situation…just mine). But I also wonder how many of her peers would be where she was, if they had the same resources.
Bottom line, @coloraturakid you should be very proud of your d and her acceptance in both programs and I wish her the best. Keep us updated on her college auditions!
@ sguti40:
You won’t get any arguments from me, and quite honestly I question some of the parents who do things like drive 10 hours to get their kids to Juilliard, when there are quality programs closer to where they live (for example, the family that GlassHarmonic drove from Michigan to Juilliard every weekend,could have gone to cleveland prep or chicago has some great programs, lot closer)…and yes, it does take resources, in that sense it can be elitist. If someone is of modest means, unless they can hook up with mentors and the like, or navigate a system to get scholarships and such (one family we know is very, very musical, but the family income is limited, but the kids were heavily involved in music, got into juilliard pre college, had instruments borrowed from foundations, though they were fortunate to live in NYC, and have access to stuff, and the mom was really good at finding things. Put it this way, you aren’t going to get into Juilliard pre college or into a conservatory as a public school music student alone, or if it does happen it is going to be really rare (I am not talking where the kid has a private teacher outside school)…
Sports are the same way, the number of black kids in baseball is declining and it has MLB worried, and part of that is to make it to the big leagues these days, you need to have coaches and belong to travelling teams and so forth, takes resources a lot of kids, especially black kids, don’t have. Gymnastics is like that, as is tennis and swimming and hockey and ballet.
thank you so much @musicprnt . I’ve been told that many conservatory auditions are on the weekend for seniors.
I’m hoping we can do other days!
Thank you @Sguti40. I am over the moon with pride for my D. I’m trying to remain a restrained opera/stage mummy these days. HA!
We are very fortunate to be able to help her in anyway we can; which is probably more than many talented teens families do but being in the NYC public school system I see so many fabulous opportunities for musicians faced by inequalities. There is a MET program for HS students ( over presidents week) that is highly subsidised. There is YoungArts which opens doors wide for a $30 entrance fee. Every program that my D applied to this Summer ( except one) offered scholarships and/or FA.
I know the life of a classical musician really needs a benefactor. I’m looking for one
I just feel very strongly that this is something I must help her with and I’ve researched and educated myself in order to hopefully find a means to an end.
So living in a tiny apartment in NYC on a tighter than tight budget is what we decided to do for 4 years. We are privileged. I get it. I really do.
I just hope some wonderful school wants to give her a great big package come April!