My kid plans to apply for Juilliard pre-college program. This program provides 15-hour private lessons each semester.
We live in Boston and have 3 private lessons every week. My question is if my kid is finally accepted. Whether can we still keep the current teacher? or we can discuss with Juilliard teacher to provide extra lessons.
Thank you so much for any help!
No. You cannot continue lessons with anyone other than the assigned Juilliard precollege teacher. They’re very strict about that. If you live in Boston, studying at Juilliard precollege is inconvenient. It is a full day on Saturday, and with the drive from Boston to NYC being 4 hrs at least, it seems too much, to me. Depending upon what instrument your child plays, a better option might be Boston Youth Symphony or NEC’s precollege program, and continuing to study with the teacher in Boston.
As for extra lessons with the assigned Juilliard teacher, I doubt that would happen. The Juilliard precollege teachers are also Juilliard college and grad school teachers, have very full teaching and performing schedules. Usually, a one hour lesson a week is considered enough. The student of course needs a lot of practice time during the week to get the most out of that one hour lesson.
It was very difficult, timewise, for my kid to do Juilliard precollege, and we only live about a 2 hr drive from NYC, if no traffic. It was, however, worth it. Amazing experience.
Thank you so much for these helpful suggestion!
My kid is 10 year old and we usually take videos during the private class. Do you know whether patents can attend the private lesson in Juilliard pre college? Thanks!
No, you would not be allowed to sit in on lessons through Juilliard pre. Are you prepared to move to the NYC area for this? I cannot see inflicting an 8-10 hour roundtrip commute for an all day Saturday school on a ten year old child. It would leave no room or time for crucial normal child development. Most Juilliard pre students are high school aged, and live in the greater NYC area. It is extremely unusual for them to take a child as young as yours, although not unheard of.
Auditions are held in early May, I think. Contact them in March. Is your child currently involved with Boston Youth or NEC? If not, I’d reach out to them now. Their auditions are also in May, but if your child is highly accomplished, they might be willing to allow him to join in January, if you explain to them the situation, and the teacher gives a recommendation.
Three lessons a week is really unheard of. Most students, no matter how advanced, take a one hour lesson weekly, but do a lot of practice time to prepare for the lesson.
The appropriate level of musical training is most definitely available in Boston for any ten year old, no matter how prodigious, through private teachers and the BYS or NEC programs. Unless your family wants to move to NYC for other reasons, there is really no reason for you to seek out Juilliard pre at this point. However, I do feel that it might be warranted in 3 years time. The Juilliard pre program is very comprehensive, with small ensemble, orchestra, ear training, theory, and more, not to mention that the kids often can get reduced price tickets to performances at Lincoln Center, and of course at Juilliard.
There is a music major forum where you can also post.
New England Conservatory has an excellent preparatory program. Between NEC, Boston Conservatory, Berklee and many colleges and universities, I would think study in Boston would be best.
Be careful not to burn a young person out with too many lessons and too many hours practicing!
10 really does seem young for adding in a long commute to an intense day with high expectations. Your child will be one of the younger ones if accepted but not the youngest. Depending on instrument there is a prescreen due in March and then auditions in late May. I do know if kids that have taken extra lessons during the week when needed but they are all NYC based
My kid already involved in the BYSO and NEC program. but most of college level teachers are not in the pre college program. This is big difference between Juilliard and NEC. most of Juilliard pre college teachers also teach college students.
So what? The most important thing is for your student to have a private teacher who can move them forward in their music instruction. That is the key ingredient…not that the teacher teaches college students…
I personally don’t think that driving to NYC (potentially 6+ hours) from Boston for lessons is a good idea. NEC prep teachers may also teach at college level. Academic jobs are tough to get and there are excellent teachers in many locations and levels.
What is the end goal you have in mind? I have a kid with a PhD in music and always wonder what the end goal is for a scenario like yours. Solo career at a young age? As the parent of a dance prodigy, I know very well the issues of balancing a young person’s life.
I have spoken with musicians who credit their parents for pushing them through adolescence and others who have left music due to being too intensely involved when young. Only you know your son and what you think his future can be.
If your child is outgrowing their teachers then it is certainly a reasonable thing to consider Juilliard. We do know if people who moved to the nyc area to attend and others that travel a very long distance each weekend. My understanding is that in general most kids take 1 lesson a week but there are some very high level kids who take extra lessons with their teachers during the week. Good luck!
I do know one family who flew to NYC for lessons. Moving to NYC is indeed a possibility. Driving from Boston is extremely onerous!
Yeah. Not uncommon.
There are appropriate teachers for even the most talented child prodigy in the greater Boston area, because there are people who play in the Boston Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and people who teach at NEC, BU, Boston Conservatory, and NEC. Through this wealth of musicians, it definitely should be possible to find the right teacher, if your child is outgrowing their current teacher. In addition, the program at NEC or at BYSO would provide the right small and large ensembles. Another thing to consider is music camp - the right music camp can provide an excellent peer group setting for a young very advanced music student; for my kid, it was really the only place where they felt at that age that they could be completely themselves in a peer group. We didn’t find music camp until the kid was 11 or so I think, and it made a world of difference for them, being in a setting where all the other kids “got it”, how important and fun music was.
The reality is that no matter how good a musician the child is, the most important thing is to balance normal social development with the many hours of practice required to make a professional classical musician. Your child needs normal school, normal friendships, normal outdoor and indoor playtime with peers, unsupervised and unorchestrated by adults. This is tough to achieve with even the only 1-2 hours of practice a day required of, say, a brass player at that age; it is extremely difficult to achieve with the more like 2-4 hours a day of practice required of a strings player at that age. Add in having to travel 8-10 hours roundtrip for an all day Saturday program in NYC, and I’d say that that child would virtually never be able to play with friends or go to children’s birthday parties.
Bear in mind that someone who teaches at the college level may not be the right match for a young child; in fact, most who teach at the college level refuse to teach children, unless the child is an exceptionally mature, exceptionally motivated, obviously prodigiously talented musician.
I do not think that you need to move to NYC now for Juilliard pre unless you seriously have a child who is already a recognized prodigy, and even then, the appropriate teacher should still be available in the Greater Boston area. It is extremely unusual for any child to be having three lessons a week - to me, this is a red flag, unless the parent is willing and able to pay for what is essentially serving as accompanied practicing sessions (which I did myself for all my kids, kept them company while they practiced, less and less as they got older, completely stopped by about age 11, except for an occasional suggestion that “Now would be a great time to practice”.
Sure, if you feel that it is appropriate for your child, go ahead and audition for Juilliard pre this coming spring. They will tell you if it is the right setting for your child. But I wouldn’t commute to it from Boston, nor would I move there unless it is the right thing for your entire family to move to the Greater NYC area. If it is not, I’d focus now on finding the right setting in Boston for your musician.