Starting a 2017 Baldwin-Wallace Overtures summer program thread…
Our D got a call today inviting her to the program. She is thrilled. Anyone else hear from them?
Had she applied to the program or was it unsolicited?
Congratulations to her! That’s wonderful! Our daughter applied, but has not heard. We should probably assume she didn’t get in. They most likely contacted everyone on the same day your daughter heard from them.
Our S also got a call yesterday with an acceptance. We are all very excited!
My daughter did not get into Overtures, but was asked to participate in the Conservatory Summer Institute in the Musical Theatre Track. Does anyone have past experience with this program?
My son got the call last Friday and they wanted a response by today (Tuesday). He is also waiting to hear about a summer job that may or not allow him to go away for a week. Does anyone know more about the program? What kind of reputation does it have? It is only a week, do you think it will provide a good amount of training? How might it compare to other programs that are 2-3 weeks?
I’m sorry I didn’t see your post til this morning, and I’m not sure how much comparison I can do since we are pretty new to the summer program thing. What I’ve seen others post in other places is that this is a very strong program. BW seems to consistently be considered one of the best MT programs for undergrads, and this week is spent with the 3 leaders of the program. I think the difference between this and longer programs is the focus on college audition prep rather than general training though I’m sure they get some of that too. I saw one mom post that her D attended last year. They helped her put together a very nice audition package that she used in many of her auditions. She was accepted into a number of the top programs including BW and ultimately decided to take her offer to U of Michigan.
@BCR1111 my S attended the program a few years ago. He found the week very focused and insightful. It is important to go prepared and ready to work. He spent most of his “down time” in practice rooms working on new monologues and songs he was given on the first two days, that he needed to be ready to be coached on in next day or two, and ready to perform by the end of the week. He was challenged and well prepared for his audition season. He had a very talented MTO class, so he enjoyed learning from the high talent around him.
If one week is enough will be dependent on your S. Some students did it with other programs and others like my S did only this program (we also didn’t use a coach, so this was it for audition prep). My S took to heart the instruction that was given to every student (he had pages and pages of notes) and crafted his audition package from not only what was given to him, but what was given to others… He added material based on style of material given to him. He had a very successful audition season and he credits this week.
The reputation is good. It is taught by the program heads, not guests. There are only 15 students, which allows personal time for each person in that week. He had private voice during that time also.
Do you have more specific questions? You can always PM me if you want more detail.
Not in time for your Tuesday decision @BCR1111 but I’ll add some comments - let us know what you decided!
I agree with everything @IfYouOnlyKnew and @speezagmom mentioned above. I will just add a couple thoughts. My D became very close with the rising seniors who were ‘camp counselors/mentors’ for the week. Getting to know those students and having the opportunity to speak privately with them about the MT college experiences at BW and ask questions was invaluable. (These students are now both in NYC working)
The talent level was very high, the work challenging, and the faculty was hands-on…and very impressive. It was great preparation for auditions - D used material given successfully and still has it in her book.
My D also attended two multi-week intensives at big universities. Each intensive had exceptional training & instruction, they were all tons of fun, yet each experience was SO very different.
One was heavily scheduled and tightly chaperoned with long lectures & classes, guest ‘faculty’ from the business - just as you would experience at an academically challenging BFA. The other…exceptional training in mostly voice and dance, great broadway stars as guest artists, and freedom to explore the city for hours in the evening until curfew.
Not everyone is a fan of these intensives, but we did make a big investment in them, and I don’t regret it one bit - each was of great value - worth the price of admission!! My D grew significantly from each experience and I really couldn’t say one was better than the other, however, she fell in love with everything about BW at Overtures and she is there today.
Bottom line is if your child has a school at the top of their list, and they have the chance to go to a summer program at the school (especially if taught/run by program faculty) I would definitely recommend it.