<p>Thanks musicamusica....why didn't I think of that :)</p>
<p>."...why didn't I think of that "</p>
<p>Because you are in the daunting "belly of the beast" of freshman auditions and you have too much on your plate. Enjoy.</p>
<p>I am so glad you articulated the fact that only those who are accepted feel the overwhelming desire to post. My D has done 5 regional State U of New York and Western New York auditons within 5 weeks and now must wait until March 1st in some cases to hear. So hard to be happy about being "academically accepted" to schools when it's the music ed program that really matters. Good luck to all.</p>
<p>guitarist's mom: thx for the advice; i went to school in boston, providence and nyc and know that train ride better than my credit card no. we were thinking of taking the overnight train and getting a sleeper which sounds crazy but might make the most sense. we're going up to boston next week to meet with teachers since there won't be a chance on the audition date, and will drive.</p>
<p>music4us; congratulations on passing prescreening at juilliard on piano! i heard they were taking fewer through the prescreening than in previous years.</p>
<p>Thank you, stringkeymom. I heard the same thing about Juilliard and that, perhaps, they are looking more now for those who have already "arrived" and could already have performance careers versus those with just super potential who are gifted musicians. If this is true, what's going on? Unfortunately, my son's performing experience is limited compared to what I've seen from some top pianists his age living in our area. He had the same piano teacher for 11 years, and we just switched this past July to one of the best around. This has opened my eyes to a lot of the things that he has been missing out on, and I hope it's not too late. Anyway, he's a great player--extremely musical, absolutely amazing stage presence, and technically very good but technical needs tightening, unfortunately. When he performs, he sometimes makes one too many mistakes, though a general audience wouldn't notice in most cases. I hear that if he makes a mistake at the Juilliard audition, then he can forget it. Focusing problems? I don't know, but his teacher thinks maybe so and wants him to have caffeine before he plays. Anyone ever hear of anything like that? Anyway, S has still so much to learn and to grow. I have a good feeling about Juilliard, though, and I don't know why. I could be completely offbase, but are they looking for a more diverse and "well-rounded" person than, say, Eastman? My S is for them, then. He spends hours learning languages, reading, and he loves people so much. Anyway, I'm brand new to all of this audition stuff. The amount of work and stress involved has definitely taken me by surprise, and I still have all of the financial aid apps to do. The next seven weeks will be the most stressful in my entire life, I think, but my S is taking it all in stride. He's so easygoing. I worry, but he doesn't! If anyone here has had any experience with the Juilliard auditioning process, please post. Thanks! (By the way, still haven't heard from Eastman yet, but our requested date is Feb. 27th.)</p>
<p>Music4us</p>
<p>I wouldn't say that one mistake would blow the audition. They are looking for ability and potential. At IU, we interviewed a teacher before my son's audition. He had him do some vocalizing. He said he could tell more from that than listening to him sing his songs.</p>
<p>"Focusing problems? I don't know, but his teacher thinks maybe so and wants him to have caffeine before he plays." Can't hurt to try it once. Just don't do anything new for the audition itself.</p>
<p>Ordinarily one hears the opposite-- no refined sugar, caffeine, or other strong stimulants for a few weeks before an audition.</p>
<p>Music4us I know it is hard, but relax. If Julliard is not for him then there are many other fine places where musicians have studied in their early career. It is important for him to find a good teacher that will develop his potential. It may or may not be at Julliard. I am not familiar with piano, but it is definitely so in voice. </p>
<p>The audition process does seem to be more stressful for us parents, but we need to take the cue from our fine musicians and let them manage it. Auditions will be their life. Results are not always an indicator of their talent but of the needs of the organization doing the auditions. Let his teacher manage the process with him and you be there for support and logistics. Good luck.</p>
<p>I have heard that some people use caffeine as a folk remedy with similar effects to Ritalin for ADD/focus type issues. No idea what validity it has, but I certainly wouldn't try it for the first time at an audition.</p>
<p>Music4us - I actually think that Eastman looks a bit more for well-rounded than Juilliard. I have heard folks say that Eastman is the most academic of the major conservatories. They also have a much higher proportion of undergrads to grads.</p>
<p>Maybe it is different for piano, but I can't believe that some mistakes will take you out of the running. My oldest is a cellist. He auditioned at Juilliard for grad school. He freely admits that he did not have one movement of Bach suite memorized very well. Of course, that is the movement they asked him to play. He had a whole bunch of memory slips. One of the committee (he has no idea of who it was) said to him, "Hey, don't worry about it." That helped him calm down and he played the rest of the audition quite well. He was accepted with a nice scholarship.</p>
<p>I still haven't heard from NEC or Curtis for composition. Anyone hear any news?</p>
<p>My ds just heard from Curtis today about his grad school audition..VP tenor..so, far thankfully he has an audition everywhere he applied. His first audition was today..my fingers are crossed, lol. Even though, he's handling all the details for the most part (i'm still the travel agent)......I still can't help fretting over how he's doing!! Guess that will never change...he has such a laid back attitude....."Mom, this is how it is..trust me, I'm fine. I'll be audtioning for the rest of my career..I'm fine"....lol, and I can simply reply..uh.......are you dressed warmly enough? lol. Geez, this is so much harder hoping he can progress, then it is for my DD, who is in "regular" college..lol. She's a bio/geo major...who would have ever known that his journey would be so much more complicated!!</p>
<p>I am glad to have gotten the performance major through the process first. It made the job seem so much easier with my son, the psychology major. Had the two been reversed, we could have easily been blindsided by how much more there is to do when auditions and trial lessons are involved.</p>
<p>I'm with you there BassDad...Just finished arranging consultative lessons at 2 different
schools and set up a pianist for DD regional audition.......had to send multiple emails to one teacher because she has so many auditions coming up I accidentally gave her the wrong date!! Glad she caught it (they didn't have auditions on the day I gave her)...Anyways..details details...somebody has to do it.</p>
<p>Well, I keep thinking that when I retire maybe I can be my son's business manager -- it is clear that people in music need help!!!</p>
<p>I'm with you guys! I'm trying to wean my son with his summer program applications (only 2) and he's not doing too well....</p>
<p>lol, bassdad...i think ur dd is also a senior at oberlin, if i'm not mistaken:)</p>
<p>only 2!! ur doing great, lol......ok, lets face it..he will probably need a manager..like my son will......not me though! He needs a disintrested party!! :)</p>
<p>Yes indeed papengena, she should be graduating in May.</p>