<p>–Found it!</p>
<p>My D has begun her senior year as a vocal performance major in a conservatory program. She has never been overly confident, but as classes began this week, her confidence hit rock bottom. She has been a member of their prestigious choral group since she was a freshman, but for the first time had to re-audition for the group. She complains that other seniors have been asked to mentor and perform for incoming freshman while she is overlooked. She works very hard. And while she has not been the standout in her class, she has done well up until this point. I just don’t understand why her senior year appears to be off to such a rough start. Nothing I say to her seems to help. Any thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Ohio Mom - I suggest you start a new thread to ask your question. We have lots of vocal studies parents on this board who might have insight, or at least comforting words, but not everyone looks up here.</p>
<p>(In case you don’t see it, the “New Thread” button is below the two bold topics, and above the rest of threads.)</p>
<p>Thanks Binx</p>
<p>I am the father of a 13 yr old (9th grade) bass player. He has played electric bass for 5 years (with a little double bass in there as well.) He plays guitar and ukulele and writes a bunch. He is currently taking piano to help broaden his understanding of music. He has attended Drury Jazz camp the past two summers and loved every minute of it. He is very serious about music but neither my wife nor I have a background in music so we are trying to learn on the fly how to give him the right opportunities. He currently goes to a very small, very progressive, independent high school. It is great because he is given an opportunity to advance at his own pace and follow his passions. But it is so small that he will miss out on the advantages of a decent sized music department. So we are actively looking for opportunities for him to grow as a musician outside of school. He wants to study music in college and is leaning towards jazz bass (one goal is to become a professor.) But it is still early enough that we haven’t thought conservatory vs. university, performance vs. composition, etc. To get him ready for when the time comes to start narrowing down the options, we are thinking about these things:</p>
<p>-Continue private lessons (Bass, Piano, possibly composition)
-Expand summer camps (Drury University is a local and inexpensive camp but is very small). We are thinking places like Eastman or Louisville. Recommendations are always welcome.
-Find a local combo or community Jazz band (since his school doesn’t have one.)
-Prepare to audition for things like Grammy Band, Vail, Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, NFAA. I’m not sure if this is realistic or not.
-Make connections at the two local Universities (Missouri State and Drury) and in the local music scene. He has already been doing some of this on his own. He has a indie pop band called The Scribbles and plays around town.</p>
<p>His school has a 3 year option for high school (graduate after junior year) We have thought about the idea of having him finish early (he would only be 16) and take a year to concentrate solely on music before heading to college. </p>
<p>Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>am the Mom of a 16 yr old junior, who has dreams of being an opera singer…she has taken singing lessons for a few years now, as well as piano (use to play violin, but when the voice came into play - gave up the strings). She takes from an excellent and well thought of teacher, who believes D has what it takes to be a professional …she entered a couple of competitions for the first time last year, and won both times, so others agree she has a talent.</p>
<p>This is the year to look into colleges, and I want to gather as much info as possible to aid her in making the very best choice…which is why I have found my way onto this page/thread…I have learned an awful lot about music, but am just starting to learn about the prep needed for finding the best match in schools for her.</p>
<p>From what I have read on this site, this year should include the following:
work on appropriate audition repertoire
keep up the good GPA/ take SATs
take part in local competitions for critical feedback
come up with a good college list - this is where we need help!
visit schools & take sample lessons</p>
<p>D thinks she wants to be in or near a city, and go to a college (save the conservatory for grad school) with a top notch music school for voice…that is as far as we have gotten!</p>
<p>any input is welcome</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Hi Misterovich and Badblonde—you might want to post the inquiries separately in the music forum. Possibly list where you might be instate, or what part of the country you might be looking.</p>
<p>thanks, I will when I can get some specific questions prepared!</p>
<p>badblonde: One thing you could add to your very good list for this year: Apply to some good summer programs for the summer before senior year. </p>
<p>A good summer program will give your daughter a better idea as to how she enjoys being immersed in music 24/7. That in turn helps make for an easier decision between a stand-alone music school and a music department in a liberal arts environment. </p>
<p>As well, I think that spending the summer in a high-level program helps ease the psychologcial transition into college; at a good summer program, your child will gain experience being a small fish in a large pond–those who go into college lacking this experience often have a painfully rude awakening in their first few months of college. </p>
<p>A good summer program gives a student the opportunity to work with some potential college teachers. Even if your child decides not to apply to any of the schools that their summer teachers are at, they will have gained experience in figuring out what kind of teacher they want to work with in college. </p>
<p>Obviously, the biggest advantage of a good summer program is the learning/improvement that occurs and that sets you up for a better performance at auditions.</p>
<p>Plus, everyone in college seems to know one another (or their friends) from various sumemr programs!</p>
<p>Violindad,</p>
<p>I agree, and forgot to mention just that. She almost went to Walnut’s Milan program…they really wanted her, but D just wasn’t sure about the whole ‘camp’ thing - she never did like going away to summer camp - but of course those youth programs had no music! She has agreed that this coming summer she would like to take part in a summer music program.</p>
<p>Would love her to take part in the Tanglewood thing as we have a close friend in Lenox, and plan on visiting the Berkshires anyways…and after the holidays seems like a good time to start investigating…</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Badblonde, if you’re planning at looking into Tanglewood, be advised the applications are due very early. I believe that the audition material will already be posted next month or November different deadlines for vocal vs instrumental), with the audition deadlines soon after. The winter holidays (if that’s what you meant by holidays) are too late to start exploring Tanglewood.</p>
<p>Badblonde:</p>
<p>My son didn’t like summer camps either, but enjoyed all of the summer music programs that he went to. Some summer music programs are very campy (i.e. live in a cabin in bunk beds with 12 other kids, two counsellors, 7 mice, and countless insects; execrable food like sloppy joes, rubber pancakes; have activities like canoeing or swimming or crafts for part of the afternoon; set in a beautiful wilderness location . . .), but many of the best ones are just like college except without the testing and marks: held on a beautiful college campus with students staying in a college dorm room usually with just one room mate; excellent food with a variety of selections including a fully stocked salad bar; no canoeing or bugs. </p>
<p>I think that for students planning to major in music, it is good for them to experience one of the college-campus programs, especially if they dislike the whole camp thing.</p>
<p>There are lots of posts about BUTI here, so check them out to get an idea if it is a good fit. It is music-intensive, but I’ve heard the food is terrible.</p>
<p>As a parent who has eaten at the student cafeteria at BUTI, I can verify that the food was terrible.</p>
<p>Misterovich: I second the motion. Post your question separately. Try calling it something like “Jazz electric bass options.” My son’s a freshman jazz bass student at Eastman, was in the Grammy band combo, was on From the Top, and won a Downbeat student music award, so been there, done that. I can tell you that most of the conservatories are looking for double bass players, not electric, and they run the gamut from Eastman, where they won’t take someone who isn’t also a very good classical player, too, to Berklee, where basically any instrument goes. You can find all that info on this website and the colleges’ websites, but it takes a lot of research. One thing I’d add to your list is music theory, either online, in high school or by taking a college course. The schools wary wildly in their focus and requirements, so it’s good you’re starting now. My son played the piano from the second grade, the violin from the fourth grade and the electric bass from sixth, but he didn’t switch from the violin to the upright until the middle of ninth grade. Everyone’s path is different, but I can also tell you that I wish he’d switched to the upright a year or two earlier. Oh, by the way, the Eastman summer program was great. It was also very enlightening because that’s where we found out that our kid was going to be in demand (their words) come college application time. You need that unbiased feedback from people in the know in order to get an honest appraisal of your kid’s talent and relative place in the pecking order. Make sure to ask for it wherever he goes. Until he went to Eastman, we thought he was really good, but we didn’t know for sure. We’re non-musical too, unfortunately. Feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>Woodwinds - thanks for the ‘heads up’ on the tanglewood program…the new apps will be out in Nov…I will check some threads for other good summer music/vocal camps!</p>
<p>…and I wouldn’t rush him through high school. If anything, I’d go the four years and then do a gap year. Those prescreen recordings are due in the fall of senior year, which means they have to be made early that fall or during the summer. Before that comes preparation. After that comes the auditions. The admissions process is completely different than the regular college admissions process and is much more expensive. It all comes at you fast and you’ll want your son to be in the best position possible for the greatest chance at admissions and scholarships.</p>
<p>Like Bassmom, my son (in his second year at Oberlin) found the Eastman summer jazz program invaluable for assessing his ability vis a vis others, whether or not he liked a conservatory environment, and made great friends/colleagues/contacts he still has relationships with. He did this between junior and senior year in HS.</p>
<p>Like Bassmom and SJTH, my son (a jr at Eastman) did the Eastman summer jazz program twice after sophomore and jr yrs of hs. He loved it. (He also did UNT summer jazz and like it less). A number of students from the two summer programs he did are now current Eastman students. </p>
<p>However, the best thing about it, and one of the reasons we supported him doing 2 programs between soph and jr yr, was to measure himself against others. I have a musical background but not the same instrument and not jazz, and H & I were ready to support his aiming for a conservatory if he was good enough. The local music scene was limited although instruction through the local university was excellent, and we thought he was remarkable but didn’t know how he would stack up against kids who had gone to arts high schools, for example.</p>
<p>After his 1st Eastman experience, S told me that the only difference between him and the better kids there was how much they practiced. He came home and proceeded to up his practice time to a min. of 4 hrs / day on school days and up to double that on weekends/holidays. </p>
<p>Eastman was his 1st choice, and he is thriving.</p>
<p>Hello musicians/parents!</p>
<p>I first introduced myself on post #363. For quick reference, I have a D who was trying to decide whether to try to double major in harp and piano- or choose one instrument. Finally, the decision was made this last spring and into the summer. She has decided to audition for harp performance. We will let you know how all of this progresses. She may try to minor in piano depending on where she matriculates. Right now she is finishing up the applications. I’ll let you know the final list when the apps are completed.</p>
<p>S is a freshman in college and chose to go for a double major in engineering and music composition (B.A. rather than B.M. in composition makes this possible). This past summer he attended Yellow Barn as a composer and had a BLAST!! He will return next June for sure!</p>
<p>I will have more info and questions in the coming months. I wanted to give a hearty “Thank you!” to all of the wonderful insights you musicians and/or parents share on CC!</p>