<p>S accepted to Brevard and EMF last week (around the 12th-14th). Waitlisted at Chautauqua yesterday.</p>
<p>Has anyone heard from Brevard yet? </p>
<p>Hornet, Can I ask what instrument. S accepted to EMF but told they were not done looking at college strings yet. </p>
<p>Hornet, Sorry. I did not mean to post that yet. Brevard told use they were not done looking at string yet. He got into EMF. Can I ask what your thoughts are on EMF over Brevard? I do not know much about either of these two programs. Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi Cellocompmom,
Congratulations on your son’s acceptance to EMF! Both programs are great (I seethem as comparable) and I know your son will grow musically at either. Both of my kids attended EMF for two years each and daughter went to Brevard the summer after college (was not a music major but continued to play in college). She had turned down Brevard in high school because she doesn’t care much for cabins and rural settings (Interlochen was not her thing). She attended Brevard after college as the offer was excellent. She seemed to handle the woods well-amazing what being four years older can do. </p>
<p>Cellocompmom, thank you for introducing the question of Brevard versus EMF. That is exactly the question I came here to ask!</p>
<p>DD (string player 15 y/o) was admitted to both Brevard and EMF in the last couple weeks. Both have offered comparable scholarships. We’re <em>really</em> torn on which camp we’d prefer this year.</p>
<p>Hornet, thank you for your feedback. I’d love to hear more!</p>
<p>Anyone else have specific feedback on these two camps? They both look fantastic and have been generous with the merit funds. I feel rather bad that we’ll be turning down one of the camps after they’ve offered DD a spot, yet I certainly recognize that this is a good “problem” to have. </p>
<p>Hi Tableforsix,
Congratulations on your daughter’s acceptances. My children (violin and double bass ) have attended both festivals. My older child attended EMF in high school for two years and attended Brevard the year after she graduated from college (she majored in neuroscience but continued to take lessons and perform in groups during college). She wanted a summer of music after having devoted the three previous summers to science fellowships. </p>
<p>D turned down Brevard in high school as, at Brevard, the high school and college students are separated. The two groups play in different orchestras and each have their own section of the camp. The HS students eat with the college students and have the same access to the overall campus. At EMF, the HS players are mixed with the college students for orchestra but live in a separate dorm. They also have a curfew. D chose EMF in HS as she wanted to play with college students as well as HS students. She is more of a “city girl” and the idea of living in a cabin with eight other HS girls also did not appeal to her. The decisioning between the two was mostly personal preference.</p>
<p>D worked as an RA at Brevard the summer she went (all RAs are festival participants who pay no tuition, receive no pay and are treated as the other students- very different model from places like Interlochen where RAs are paid counselors but not participants). D felt the musicians in HS at EMF might have been slightly stronger but overall the programs are similar. One difference is the number of teachers. At Brevard there are fewer teachers as the teachers play with the students in the orchestra (which does drive players to better playing). AT EMF, the faculty has their own orchestra. All of the EMF faculty teach so the faculty numbers are much larger. Thus there is a smaller student-teacher ratio at EMF (for example: two bass teachers at Brevard for 14 players, five bass teachers at EMF for 14 players). However, playing next to the member of a professional orchestra has its advantages, too.</p>
<p>Either experience will be life-changing and your D will make friends for life. My daughter is now in Baltimore and plays with Peabody groups on the side. She has reconnected with friends from both Brevard and EMF there -2-6 years later!</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me with specific questions.</p>
<p>Hornet, I can’t thank you enough for the time you’ve taken to allow us a detailed glimpse of each of the camps. That’s certainly helpful! I will certainly take you up on your offer to PM you with a few more questions.</p>
<p>S was awarded An RA position at Brevard today (in addition to his earlier acceptance and scholarship as a double bass student). He’s going to be very busy with participating in the festival and coordinating students this summer. No costs for a festival this summer-happy parents 
Now if someone would award him with an instrument upgrade…</p>
<p>Hornet, That is great news. Thanks for your help earlier on our decision. My older cello playing son ended up picking Brevard. </p>
<p>Cellocompmom,
Sounds like our sons will be playing together this summer. The music world is small! Thank you for the kind words.</p>
<p>Hornet, And your son had awesome grad. acceptances! Congrats.</p>
<p>Occasional lurker, first-time poster. I learned from visiting the web portal that our D has been accepted at Brevard for the high school voice program. But we’ve received no emails or snail mail from admissions. We are anxiously awaiting news about financial aid; without it, she will not be able to attend. Any idea what the timeline is on notifications? Trying to sit tight but it’s getting tough! Very excited for her and hope she will be able to attend.</p>
<p>My daughter received notification from brevard via email over a week ago – acceptance and aid – and from what I understand that was later than some other instruments (she is a violinist). That is the college group, though, so maybe high school is different. In any event, I recommend a phone call to brevard (they’re very nice) to see where things stand. I hope it all works out. They tend to be pretty generous with aid so I’m crossing my fingers. It’s a pretty cool place, and my daughter is looking forward to it-- she gets to study with her regular teacher plus orchestra and new music ensemble, which is her favorite thing. My only concern is how her instrument will fare in all that humidity. </p>
<p>Okay, now D has received an acceptance email. Still no word on aid. Maybe I’ll give it a day or so before inquiring. She would be a new student, if that makes a difference. </p>
<p>Hornet, And your son had awesome grad. acceptances! Congrats.</p>
<p>Thank-you cellocompmom. It is nice to have his choice settled and his summer in place. Now for another big adventure-securing his first apartment!</p>
<p>Hi StringPop,
The college students at Brevard do seem to be assessed first and the money gets shifted around as students decline or make other plans-true of all festivals. My son was accepted two weeks ago as a participant with a nice scholarship. He was awarded the RA two days ago so I imagine someone will be assigned his original scholarship.</p>
<p>For folks with younger musicians reading this thread, or those with a more limited “music camp” budget, take heart. There are many ways to become a good musician as many of these experienced posters have expressed here and on other threads. One way is to attend shorter festivals. Last summer my daughter attended Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire and loved it. As all music camps are, it is a special place.</p>
<p>It’s for ages “12-92” and is a very supportive atmosphere. Each session lasts for 10 days. Although there is no audition for acceptance, just a recording for placement, it still offers a high-quality experience. Musicians are placed into groups by ability, and often across ages. It was very inspiring to her to become friends with all sorts of folks, especially adults who were still keeping music in their lives even if they weren’t pursuing it professionally. There were quite a few international musicians as well, creating a true sense of crossing boundaries through music.</p>
<p>My 15 year old daughter became good friends with a marvelous young woman completing her MD/PhD program at Johns Hopkins who continues to play in a strong community orchestra in Baltimore. They still keep in touch by email, and my daughter is excited to find out where her friend will be going for her residency. She made friends with a young woman from Syria, and all of a sudden international news is important. Another friend was heading to Vassar, someone else to Harvard, two to University of Maryland. A retired physician was returning to his love of piano. </p>
<p>All of the teachers are professional musicans and most of the counselors the sessions she was there were in conservatory or just graduated. Oberlin and Boston Conservatory were well represented, so she got to talk to current students about their experiences. Strings dominated, but there were some woodwinds and a couple of brass players, quite a few pianists. </p>
<p>It would not suit a super-intense person, unless they specifically needed to work on learning to chill It is very rural, cabins grouped by age, bathhouse you walk through the grass to, etc. Not for the nature-adverse. It really helped my daughter grow musically. A spontaneous moment was bumping into a young Palestinian in the music library who asked, “Do you want to sight read something together?” So she went to fetch her viola, he played his cello, and they worked through a piece on their own. She said it made her feel like a musician!</p>
<p>For anyone needing a shorter music program, or someone who wants to get back into collaborative music making, it may be worth looking into. My daughter gained a lot of confidence last summer, both musically and socially. She is a quiet person, and it was delightful to arrive for the final concert and see her with her arms around two people chattering on with a circle of friends. </p>
<p>She really wanted to return, but her teacher urged her to challenge herself and apply to full summer programs. She is “amazed and happy” that she was accepted to Interlochen as an Emerson Scholar. She was also placed in the Advanced String Quartet program, and her acceptance letter said her placement and scholarship were due to her audition and experience. Each letter may say that, but I feel confident in saying that Apple Hill prepared her for this next step in her musical journey. I also feel confident in saying she’ll be back someday!</p>
<p>If anyone has any questions, especially parents with younger musicians, please feel free to send me a PM. </p>
<p>Best wishes!</p>
<p>Son accepted at interlochen and GMCMF. And a few other shorter camps. Waiting to hear on scholarships. Debating the benefits of longer camps versus shorter camps at universities. I like the idea of a longer camp so my son can gain maturity. Also. We’re experiencing some transportation issues just getting him to the green mountain camp.</p>