<p>Do any of you parents out there know if most large state publics with music schools expect their instrumental performance or Ed majors to do some kind of preparation in advance of attending their first fall semester as a music major? The reason I'm asking is because D is supposed to be out of the country for June and July next summer in band/orchestra related activities and therefore will be getting back in town only a few days prior to the start of the semester. Is it the case that some universities might expect their students to practice for chair auditions or other ensembles during the summer prior to college? We don't know where she is going yet because auditions are not finished. Would it put a student at a real disadvantage to be completely unavailable during the summer? Her summer activities will be intense enough I don't think there will be any opportunity to practice "other" music.</p>
<p>You should be getting at the minimum a packet of audition rep for orchestral auditions, or possibly the same for vocal students for ensemble placement, and quite possibly some studio/individual instruction prep as well. Once you have your acceptances, and have made a choice, I’d contact her advisor if known, or the department head or music department/musid ed administrator and see what arrangements can be made. I know back when they actually mailed paper copies, but I gather they’re providing links to materials online now. Maybe she can get this before she goes so she has a chance to work on it. Contact and follow-up will be key. If nothing else, she should work on the orchestral audition rep, as it typically dictates seating and/or ensemble assignment.</p>
<p>Will she have an international usage phone or an internet connection while abroad?</p>
<p>She’ll have an international capable cell phone but rare access to computer when abroad, but to be practical I don’t think she’ll have anything left at the end of her looooong days to practice other music. I don’t want to deny her the opportunity to participate in the band concert tour or the orchestra camp in Europe, but on the other hand at what point do you say that the next step is college and you need to be home at least half of the summer to get ready? A dilemma for sure.</p>
<p>I’d suggest contact as soon as you’ve made a decision. If she gets some music in early May, she’ll have a few weeks before she leaves. If she has the pieces, she may want to take them with her, and if she has private instruction at her summer program, and informs her instructor that she DOES need to work on that rep as well for her college orchestra audition/placement, most instructors will allow a time block for her to work on that as well. </p>
<p>Otherwise, she may have some pretty intense work to do come August.</p>
<p>At my school (and this is probobly highly irregular) audition repetoire for ensembles was not handed out until the first week of classes (one or two weeks before placement auditions, so they could see how you can quickly prepare a piece of music–the music was excerpts of literature the bands would be playing that year and was, for concert band and wind ensemble quite challenging). As far as lessons go, contact your teacher and if possible arrange a lesson so he or she can re-asses your playing and tell you what to work on, and what they’d like to see you begin to add to your playing.</p>
<p>Hi there. Don’t know what schools your D. is applying to but in my S’s case, he was not able to get the repertoire for university band/symphony auditions from U of M until he had returned in August (he had toured Europe with Blue Lake). As a result of the Europe tour, his playing level had been well maintained. But he was not good at sight reading in different keys/transposing at all so he took a different option to maintain his music scholarship because he could just not master the material quickly enough for the auditions (still playing in a concert band as well but at a less ‘elite’ level, which is fine for him as he is not performance stream.) </p>
<p>In other words, it will a) depend on the school, b) depend on whether there is an ensemble requirement related to a scholarship and audition situation and c) you d’s general skill level and selected program.</p>
<p>Also, depending on the school, if your daughter has not had extensive theory in the past, it would really really be advisable to cart something like Clendenning’s book off to Europe with her to avoid a brutal “catch up” situation come fall. Or do an online AP theory course (if she hasn’t already had same.) Again, my s. may be rare in that as a trumpet player without theory avail at his school OR a private instructor he was especially deficient in this department. Just my .02. Really depends on the skill profile of your daughter and the school she selects. U of Mich is known to be a little brutal in the theory depth dept so it may not be the same elsewhere (eg. s. was dual enrolled at a regional U. during HS and took intro theory and had an A but has to retake U of M’s equivalent…all theory is not equal, it would appear ; )</p>
<p>If your child’s two-month summer program is intense enough that she will have no time for practice of audition rep, then she will probably have her playing chops in excellent shape at the end of the two months. It will probably be fairly easy for her to work efficiently on any audition rep if she is in excellent shape. </p>
<p>At many large state/public schools, many auditioning students will not have had the advantage of two months doing music intensively. Many will have been working full time or just not have had the self-discpline to practice regularly or not have had the money to afford or skills to get into intense programs. Therefore their fingers, brains, and mouths will not be at their optimum for producing gorgeous sounds fluently, whereas your daughter will probably be playing better than she ever has before in her life. </p>
<p>As others have recommended, encourage your daughter to use her private practice/lesson time to work on audition stuff if it is available prior to school startup. She can also do a lot of listening to recordings of the works from which the excerpts are taken and do some score study when she is away from her instrument (like on the long plane ride home or any other bus/train/car rides).</p>
<p>I doubt that she will be at a disadvantage. Rather, it is more likely she will be at an advantage.</p>
<p>Oh, good. Something else to worry about once we get past auditions.</p>
<p>It never ends, does it?</p>
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<p>Yes…that is the case at some schools. It is not the case at ALL schools. DS (in both grad and undergrad) had his auditions the week BEFORE classes began. He is an instrumentalist and the audition rep was emailed to the students in August.</p>
<p>DD (not a music major) has her seating auditions every term…the first or second day of the term. Again…audition repertoire is given out about a month before the date of the seating audition.</p>
<p>YMMV depending on the school. The reality is that most school ensembles need to be seated with rehearsals started just about when school starts. There is no way to do this well without having some kind of seating audition.</p>
<p>Both my kiddos got their seat audition excerpts at least a month in advance of the fall semester. (By September, I could sing those lines in my sleep.) Seating auditions were the first week of school. </p>
<p>S2 had auditions every semester, he’d get the spring excerpts on break; S4 has auditions only in the fall.</p>
<p>Playing in summer programs will definitely keep your playing chops in shape, but your D definitely needs to be familiar with the upcoming performance repertoire to do well at seating auditions.</p>