@coloraturakid - Any recommendations for Hartt? We are about to arrange a visit there for early April. Where did you stay? If you have some recommendations for teachers to set up lessons with (my daughter is also a soprano), can you please private message me? Thanks!!
@RKopera - We are based in NYC so we just drove up for the day.
She sang for a professor ( I will pm you!) and we drove home after a short tour and chat with admissions.
She received some lovely feedback and he said he’d love to have her in his studio.Who knows how many young ladies he says that to 
The student who had the lesson prior to my daughters was a Laguardia graduate ( my daughters HA) and she gave me a lot of good info, too.
For all involved, be prepared for ANYTHING. My D did all the college visits and lessons over the previous year leading up to auditions. Most professors loved her and encouraged her to apply. Two professors told her she would get in easily. Most of her auditions were live. She played her audition for memory to reactions of applause at one school, “You’re not going to hear an audition better than that” said by professor to audition committee at another school, to “Thank you, next” at another to other more average reactions. In the end, the conservatory where she is at is a top conservatory where she took NO PRIOR LESSON, WAS TOLD THAT THERE WOULD LIKELY BE NO OPENINGS, and she auditioned for a CAMCORDER at a SATELLITE LOCATION. The two professors who told her she’d get in their schools, no problem rejected her outright, and the professor who applauded her waitlisted her. So travel all you like, play the game (I’d do the same thing over again because I think my D’s experience is the anomaly) but BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING and don’t put too much stock into anything said during the visits. One guarantee - you are embarking on an incredibly emotionally draining and stressful experience. Easily the hardest thing I had to witness since my D’s 2-month premature birth! GOOD LUCK, it’s actually a rewarding experience!
^^This is so true. And these experiences continue and continue. Summer program auditions, grad school auditions, and professional auditions, too. Be prepared for anything.
And one more thing. DO REMEMBER that the people you are visiting and auditioning for are human beings just like you and I. They have the daunting task of picking kids for their studios while having the task of getting enough applicants to justify their own existence. They want a LOT of kids to come and audition so they have full studios year after year. In the end, it’s just business. I don’t say that with any resentment or being jaded, simply with an understanding. Because in the end it critically important that our children understand that they are ALREADY musicians and that it’s ok to let go of the “race to the top of the mountain” and to just find their creative and musical voice, nurture it and find happiness with their venue of expression. In the end, the truest Carnegie Hall is in your heart and soul. Fill it with sound! (sorry for the cheesiness, I recently lost a 19 year old private horn student in a car accident and I have to write something for a memorial…so there’s some perspective for your kids!)
I agree with the cautionary comments above. Still I think you should feel good when a teacher says you would fit into a studio or they would like to have you in a studio. It’s a good indication that you are shooting for the right level of school. Also there is now a connection with the school. BUT be aware that the teachers are all recruiters to a degree. There are too many variables over a year for there to be a guarantee. My daughters teacher had to have back surgery one semester. So… That could mess up an acceptance. Still I woukd use the positives to refine and focus your search. And btw my daughter had no lessons at any of the schools she got accepted at. We didn’t know you could do that. So if you don’t have funds to travel and make connections don’t think your chances are less. Just be sure you are preparing well in advance.
Perfectly stated, @bridgenail! That said, my S has had lessons with all of his potential college private teachers off and on since 5th grade (more serendipitous than planned!) He’s got one remaining and that would be Colburn. And yes, he can just show up and audition when the time comes but do I really want to pass up a boys’ weekend in LA??? Final thoughts: “Just be sure you are preparing well in advance!” Best advice, bridgenail!
The other good thing about the exploratory lesson is that if you prepare your kid with some important questions, they can have the teacher break down what needs improvement before the audition process. A sobering reality check is always encouraged! I had one private student of mine get completely hammered by a professor from Curtis (which he would never stand a chance getting in anyway nor was he planning on it) and he was so humbled and motivated that he powered through the next month preparing and literally got accepted on the spot to every single school for which he auditioned. Best of luck! As one professor told my D before ultimately rejecting her: “Where you end up is where you belong…” Thanks, Yoda!
Hello! I was just accepted to BW’s Music Program in VP and was curious if anyone knows anything about the music program there. It will be hard choosing between music theater somewhere else or vocal performance at BW. Any info or insight would help!
We just finished our two week U.S. tour! (in pieces, not all at once) I’m hesitant to say too much about one school vs another for fear of saying something negative about a school in a public forum. I will offer any particular insights I can in the future, either in a discussion or via PM, but these are the schools we visited in no particular order: Rice, ASU, Indiana, CIM, Eastman, Oberlin, Michigan. My daughter had lessons at all but one. All in all, I’m exhausted and feel more confused than ever but she seemed to get a little more clarity. She ruled one out where she felt the teacher wasn’t a fit, really liked several, has identified a couple as needing possible follow up visits, and has identified what she feels she’s missing and wants to target next. Frankly, she’s amazed me with her mature, rational thought process through this whole thing and how open minded she’s been, not really going into any visit with any preconceptions.
I will offer up a few general observations about the visit process:
1 - Learn to “read between the lines”. The tour guide can make a huge difference in how well the school comes across. To a large extent you have to try to see pass this. While it seemed that very organized schools tended to have very good (well trained?) student tour guides, and this does tell you something about the school, it’s entirely possible that the school is fantastic, the professor is a great fit, and you just happened to get a kid who pulled an all-nighter as your guide. This also applies to the tour itself. Some tours were more in depth than others (to a WIDE degree) and, like the tour guides, you sort of need to try to see past this. If you feel the tour is lacking just ask more questions or ask to see an area you weren’t shown. The tour is great but don’t take it as a literal image of the school.
2 - The students wandering the halls are a wealth of information. Don’t hesitate to strike up a conversation with them and ask them things like how they chose that school over others.
3 - I was not expecting this, but several professors literally told my daughter that they pay attention when kids come back for auditions to see if they’ve applied what the prof told them. We discussed this with my daughter on the final drive home and she correctly assessed that’s that all well and good, but if different professors have conflicting things they suggested, you can’t tweak who you are as a musician from one audition to another. You have to be you.
4 - We all (parents and daughter) seemed to get “better” at this as we went along, knowing more what we were looking for, what questions to ask, etc. This makes a case for saving the schools your most interested in for later in the process. I wish we could go back to the first school we visited knowing what we now know.
5 - We made mental notes about the hotel in each city. If the beds were such that my daughter didn’t get a good nights sleep we’ll be sure to book a different hotel for auditions.
6 – Problems, problems, problems. I think we got a glimpse of everything that could go wrong and have a better idea of how to brace ourselves during audition season.
– terrible beds
– a teacher forgot they had even scheduled a lesson with my daughter
– another teacher was sick so we had to push the lesson back a couple of days
– car wouldn’t start one morning
– hotel gave our room away and we spent a late evening traveling around trying to find a new hotel
– took a hotel shuttle to dinner and then had no way to get back to the hotel
All in all, be flexible and be ready to react to chaos! All of the above got worked out in the end, but it became apparent on this trip that my primary role was that of problem solver. I can only imagine how stressful this would have been if it was auditions.
Good times . . . . (sigh)
Sounds like a success @DesignDad! I’ll also add to be sure you have a campus map and that you know exactly where you’re heading for auditions. It can be confusing, and the music buildings are often not as well marked as the general Admissions Building on the campus signage.
Just a quick expansion to my point #2 above. The more I think about it, the current students became an important barometer to us as we went from school to school. Talking to them as I mentioned above, but also watching them and, yes, eavesdropping on their conversations. What sort of discussions are going on between classes? How do the kids carry themselves? Do they look excited or like they’re just going through the motions? How do they interact with each other? Do they interact with faculty just passing by in the halls? We found that all these observations really helped us get a sense of the “vibe” at each school.
DesignDad, that brought back memories! When my D was doing the undergrad visiting rounds, we arrived at one school only to have the teacher vigorously deny that she had scheduled a lesson with my daughter! We produced a copy of the emails in which she had not only originally scheduled the lesson, but the one she had sent 48 hours before confirming it! Despite these, she continued to argue, finally agreeing to “let” my daughter sing for a few minutes, but not even giving her time to warm up. I spoke to the department chair afterward, showing her the emails and didn’t even receive so much as an apology from her! I certainly understand that mistakes happen, but this was clearly an error on the part of the teacher and she handled it very badly- but evidently, manners weren’t high on the list anywhere given the behavior of the department head. The admissions department was very kind and helpful, but my daughter crossed this school off of her list before we got back into the car.
can someone point me in the right direction, does anyone have knowledge of BW’s Vocal Performance program? Or know of someone who studies or has studied there for voice? Thank you!
Addressing #3 from DesignDad - You are correct about teachers remembering what they told a student to work on. Regard even the most off-handed comment as a mandate. You never know.
Thought I’d give this thread a small bump. S and I are at Oberlin for a last-minute visit. Couldn’t have picked a nicer day; really shows off the campus nicely! Bright airy classrooms. S has a few friends here, so sitting in some classes, and will meet his instrument prof later.
It’s interesting how some schools exceed expectations while others disappoint… It’s like going on a blind date.
Please do tell us how Oberlin is. My son will be applying soon, and would love to hear about your visit. What is your son majoring in?
@Apso555, my S will be a jazz studies major, plays saxophone. I think the advice I’ve read here, over and over again, that the rapport established (or not) with the instrument teacher is a key aspect of a visit, has consistently been spot on for us. When my S has liked the teacher, he has come away from the visit with a really positive attitude.
At Oberlin, we met with the jazz sax professor and attended two classes, watched 3 different ensemble rehearsals, sitting in one of them. It’s a nice campus though remote and isolated. Oberlin obviously has a venerated history of inclusion but, to be honest, we didn’t find it to be quite as diverse as we’d hoped. In the end though, he really liked the teacher and came away with “I can see myself here.” It helps that he knows two jazz students there and they love the school.
I had assumed that we would visit schools and have trial lessons during senior year, but my eleventh-grader wants to make initial visits this year. Will faculty be willing to see a student who would not be applying for another year? Is it too early or is this a good time to make the grand tour? Our first child, not a musician, visited many schools before senior year, but for some reason I thought it would be different this time around. Any advice?
My DD took quite a few sample lessons at conservatories and UNIs last year as a juniour, and a few last month.
If you can make a connection with a teacher, I think it’s great to visit early.
My DD now has some of these teachers emailing her and asking her to audition for their studios.
@unscripted It is not too soon. My S visited with music professors and had lessons with them his junior year of high school. This worked out really well for him, as he was able to concentrate on his playing, applications and auditions senior year and was already known by those he worked with junior year.