<p>What are the youth orchestras that most appeal to colleges like Harvard, Princeton, Cornell.....?</p>
<p>I've noticed that many of your posts are solely dedicated to discover how you can make yourself a stand-out applicant, am I correct?</p>
<p>So you'll be doing an orchestra "just to appeal" to a college? I know you hear this a lot, but you hear it a LOT for a reason.</p>
<p>Okay, I'm going to change the topic of this thread.</p>
<p>New Question: How difficult do you think it is to get into the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra?</p>
<p>yeah. i want to know that too... btw, can i actually play the clarinet in the orchestra? i played that in the school orechestra and i'm wondering if i should buy a professional clarinet for harvard.</p>
<p>I was thinking of buying a professional flute (the ones with actual holes on the keys), but I dont' know how much of a difference it makes.</p>
<p>But my host, a freshman, plays the flute in the H-R Orchestra, so I don't think that there are even any spots to flutists to audition for.</p>
<p>there has to be more than one flute right? is it extremely competitive? </p>
<p>i'm not a pro, but i've been playing for 4 years... would that be good enough for any musical clubs at harvard?</p>
<p>"I was thinking of buying a professional flute (the ones with actual holes on the keys), but I dont' know how much of a difference it makes."</p>
<p>A lot. You might want to get corks to go with it at the start, if you've never played an open holed flute before - it takes a little getting used to, but the end result is better.</p>
<p>How hard it is to get into HRO depends a lot on the instrument and the year, but bear in mind that there are lots of other options if HRO doesn't pan out. The Bach Society Orchestra, Mozart Society Orchestra, Toscanini Chamber Orchestra, and smaller chamber and quartet groups provide plenty of performing opportunities.</p>
<p>HRO is the top orchestra of the many orchestras at Harvard and thus is probably difficult to get into unless you are very talented. But as Hanna says, there are many other orchestras at H and it's very likely you can find one to suit you.</p>
<p>... because I thought that it really only made a big difference for people who already have an excellent tone with the flute even without the open-holed keys...? </p>
<p>Wow, I didn't know there are so many orchestras at Harvard. Maybe most of them didn't show up to the EC fair during Pre-Frosh Weekend or maybe I skipped a lot of them because that section of the buidling was really crowded.</p>
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<p>Maybe most of them didn't show up to the EC fair during Pre-Frosh Weekend </p>
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<p>It's possible. They all have web pages, so you can check them out.</p>
<p>If your instrument is flute, you can also think about auditioning for opera and musical theater pits...these are a change of pace socially for instrumentalists because you'll be partying with actors and tech in addition to musicians. The Gilbert & Sullivan Players in particular is a very social company.</p>
<p>does anyone know anything about clarinet players? are their oppurtunities similar to those of flute players.</p>
<p>For music, Harvard's affiliation with Boston Conservatory is something to look at. This year, Harvard-Boston Conservatory killed Columbia-Julliard.</p>
<p>no harvard's affiliation is new england conservatory, tufts' affiliation is with boston conservatory</p>
<p>Sorry . . . guess I was misinformed.</p>
<p>I think Tufts is also affiliated with NEC. They're probably all inter-affiliated, I suspect. Same city, right?</p>
<p>HRO is very difficult to get into. My sister was a viola player for almost fourteen years, played first chair in the one of the best, if not the best youth orchestra in the country, and still didn't make it until the second semester. However, once she was in, she quit after that semester because she didn't like the music, and other time issues. So, she joined Bach-Soc and loved it! I went to a bunch of HRO and Bach-Soc concerts and I like Bach-Soc a lot more!</p>
<p>are there any music groups that's NOT for beginners but are also not for professional players? I'm an intermediate clarinet player.. it seems that everything here is for professional players.</p>
<p>Don't worry! There are a range of groups. Most people who play in the non-HRO groups aren't conservatory material -- especially TCO, which has a minimal time commitment, and pits for non-marquee musicals. You don't have to be a pro to find an outlet.</p>
<p>Hanna, thanks a lot for all your input on this board. They're very insightful.</p>