Music Supplement for Ivies

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I am a hispanic male from texas and i'm wondering if the piece "Csardas" by Monti is too easy a piece to submit as a music supplement for ivies and colleges of similar caliber (it's for the violin). I've never had a private instructor since my family can't afford it but i am in my school's orchestra. I'm not sure if i would (or if i should) mention that in my application, so if you could give me some insight on that as well i would appreciate it.</p>

<p>some extra info that could help you help me:
1)ive only played with a whole orchestra for three years thus far. senior year will be my fourth.
2)ive played independently for my church since 7th grade. i was like the "director" of our choir. i make up melodies and harmonies for guitars, electric bases, voices, and my violin to decorate our hymns. however, ive only been the "director" for the past three years.</p>

<p>thanks for any input!!</p>

2

<p>Are you kidding man? Csardas is definitely not too easy for <em>any</em> type of music audition. However, the admissions officers arn't looking for the song (although a crowd-pleaser like Csardas will definitely give them a smile); they are looking at your talents and abilities. Can you play the lyrical passage with gigantic waves of expression? Can you play the infamous sixteenths with crisp precision? Obviously, your answer to those questions is going to be your impression on the adcoms. </p>

<p>In fact, if you can "WOW" the listener with your recording, your application will really shine because it'll show that you can be amazing just by teaching yourself. </p>

<p>Your 2nd piece of info is a very good thing to put on your application. It shows that you have leadership skills and the dedication necessary to excel at music. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I'm not going to comment on the piece, other than to say you should only play a selection that showcases your talents rather than attempting something more challenging.</p>

<p>I've also posted numerous times about music supplements. A recent thread is here <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/610823-admissions-affected-music-maybe.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/610823-admissions-affected-music-maybe.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>A supplement is judged in comparison to the applicant pool. At many of the Ivys conservatory level ability (and above is the norm). You will be competeing against exceptional talent, ability and prior training. </p>

<p>Follow the links within my posts, and you'll have a good overview of supplements in general and the Ivys in particular. From the description of your experience and level of training, you may wish to reconsider or seek a professional assessment before sending. </p>

<p>Good luck to you.</p>

4

<p>Csardas is a fun piece, but from what I've seen over the last couple of years, I don't think it would make for the kind of supplement that would have an impact an an Ivy like Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, where there are conservatory-level students, students who appeared on From the Top, who were in Juilliard-prep and NEC prep programs, and who participated in well-known festivals. I heard from someone involved in Harvard admissions, for example, that he selected one CD out of the 50 he reviewed to make a case for a student's admission. Certainly your musical interest and accomplishments belong on your resume, but to make a big difference on your chances for admission, in and of itself, I think you would have to show regional or national-level accomplishments.</p>

5

<p>I have a son who had a music supplement for all his applications a couple years ago: Harvard (ED), Brown, Duke and others. He was deferred at Harvard--the old story--he had the stats but did not stand out enough. Duke and Amherst responded to his music supplement early--the music departments contacted him- and he subsequently got into those schools. Also Brown, which is where he ended up, and the admissions counselor who read his application made a comment about his passion for music. The point of this is that he was not a conservatory level musician, but a very creative and self-taught kid with a wide variety of quirky intersts: hand drumming, composing, producing shows at school, etc. </p>

<p>The point of our experience is that some schools are interested in these things that go into making you an interesting student. I don't know if Harvard, Yale, Princeton care unless you made some big international mark on the music scene! That's just what I think. We had a sense, with Duke, Amherst and Brown, that there was more of an individual process involved in their admissions. You need the grades of course, but those schools, for example, looked closely at your individuality.</p>

6

<p>dillbilly,</p>

<p>Although the ability to play Czardas speaks well for your progress without a teacher, the work is closer to a "student level" work than the sort of major composition that would normally indicate accomplishment impresive enough to be included on an Ivy supplement.</p>

<p>I've known several violinists submitting supplements to various Ivies. Their CDs/DVDs included performances of concertos such as Tchaikovsky - some performed with orchestra (not piano). Their playing levels included show pieces along the difficulty level of the Sarasate or Waxman Carmen Fantatsie - not Czardas. </p>

<p>I agree that your work with the choir shows more leadership, initiative and responsibility than you are giving yourself credit for! Can you include some programs showing yourself as arranger/diriector? A CD of you conducuting one of your arrangements?</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Your application will showcase what you have accomplished so far with the resources available to you -- it's fine to tell about your school orchestra accomplishments, your love for violin, your composer/arranger/director position with your church choir. </p>

<p>If you are able to produce a DVD or CD of the church choir performing your arrangement, I feel that would be a better supplement to send than one of you performing the Monti, (unless you are impossibly amazing at the Monti, which we CC-ers really have no way of knowing). I do not think it is uncommon for students to send in a supplement CD of a work such as the Monti - at some schools, for some applicants, it will make a difference.
That doesn't mean that all those CD's always have an effect on the applications - that is hard for us to measure.</p>

<p>Here's an idea - does your area have a non-school, audition-based Youth Orchestra? If yes, you should consider auditioning for a place there next year. Many Youth Orchestras have annual fees amounting to hundreds of dollars (the range varies) but they mostly offer scholarships to kids who have limited financial resources. Anyways, that would possibly put you in touch with private teachers and music directors who might be good resources for you. If you are exceptionally talented you might find a teacher willing to work with you for lower fees than usual.</p>

8

<p>I wouldn't stress too much about the CD. Do you have a music teacher at school? You could consult the music teacher or someone at your church, play the piece, and decide on submitting it. It really won't make that much difference though, and it can hurt your application if it is not really top notch.</p>

<p>Frankly,I think your resume already tells your story, and is interesting. A narrative somewhere, in your essay, or a supplemental essay, further describing what you have done musically, your lack of resources, and the way you have improvised opportunities, would be the most effective thing. The Ivies do like to admit people who have overcome obstacles. I believe that is one of the top criteria at Harvard, for admission, for instance.</p>

<p>One of our kids submitted a CD of a 15 minute classical composition for strings (she is a composer), to Harvard, but she also enclosed a note saying that if admissions wanted to save time, they could listen to minutes 2-4, something like that. It is good to be aware that admissions is very, very busy and any CD's submitted should be worth their time, just out of consideration really.</p>

<p>Are you interested in majoring in music? Our daughter was applying with that intention, which was another justification for submitting a CD. If you are submitting a CD just for a hook, rather than because that is your main interest, I would also rethink. Again, admissions can tell a lot about your music-and you- by reading your personal information and essays. </p>

<p>You could also have someone involved in the church's music program, or the school orchestra director, or both, write recommendations. Extra recommendations are definitely read (that is really what got our daughter in, I think) and are easier for the admissions folks to deal with than a CD. If the church music director wrote about how much you have contributed, your creativity, your work ethic etc. that would be really great.</p>

<p>Then, forget about the CD...</p>

<p>If you love music, then most important here is your progress with music-regardless of where you go to school. If music/violin is important enough to you to be such a big part of your application, then your progress needs to be a priority too. Playing is great, but studying with a private teacher is very, very important. Many conservatories and other music education centers have prep programs that are free for community members, or have substantial financial aid. Also, once you get involved with a teacher, they very often provide opportunities for you that you might not have imagined, without cost. I think it is crucial, if your violin is that important to you, that you find a teacher!</p>

<p>Our daughter found a piano teacher who taught theory and composition (her main interest, although she is also a classical guitarist) who then referred her to a professor of composition at a well-thought of college in our area. He took her under his wing, and gave her opportunities to have her music played, and recorded. The point is, if you can just make a connection to a teacher, they will look out for you as well as teach violin.</p>

<p>You sound like a creative, motivated, committed person. Overall, those qualities are probably more appealing to admissions right now, than a CD would be, although you could demonstrate natural talent that is not yet developed through a teacher.</p>

<p>I encourage you to focus on telling your story most of all. And find a teacher!</p>