<p>My son is a junior in high school. His orchestra teacher just announced he has accepted another position and will be leaving. Is it appropriate to request letters of recommendation at this time?</p>
<p>I would say “yes, definitely”! And have your son get contact information for him to follow up. My daughter is also a jr. and they are encouraged to ask their teachers for recommendation letters at this time of the year anyway so the teachers can have time to write them over the summer and not be swamped in the fall.</p>
<p>Yes, do it now!</p>
<p>So do we need to look at each of the schools he’s considering and see what they are asking for? Obviously, we haven’t applied to them yet. He is not doing a performance major but will likely try for a music scholarship.</p>
<p>No. You need to ask for the recommendation now based on musicianship talent and effort. Your GC will keep it on file and submit it with all college apps.</p>
<p>I definitely agree about seeing if you can keep in contact. My orchestra teacher left about the same time I did and eventually became a great help to me when I thought about transferring. Also he recommended me for a summer camp teaching position in my sophomore year at college. So besides being able to get letters of recommendation in the future, one’s HS teacher can be a lifelong networker!</p>