My D (rising junior in HS) auditioned for the musical theatre program at CCM, and did not get accepted. Then, she was accepted to their voice workshop (which is classically based, and not really her first choice). We thought it would help for her to get more of that pure voice training.
We just found out that she’s been accepted to Baldwin Wallace’s Music Theatre summer camp.
So, I’m looking for opinions on what to do.
She will get good experience at both, but different.
How competitive are they, comparatively? Should she stick with CCM, so that she meets those people, and perhaps that will help her in the future to get into their MT program? Should she go to BW, since MT is what she want to do, and it’s better to get the actual MT training?
We have no idea, and she gets very little experience where we are. Her school didn’t even do a play this year.
Thanks for your input!
Congrats on your acceptances!
I would pick the one that will give her more training in the skills she needs training in. The purpose of summer camps really is to for the student to learn and improve. Be aware there is virtually no correlation between attending a school’s camp and gaining acceptance to their school - particularly their MT program. So do not choose a camp in the hopes it will boost your chances for acceptance. Choose it because you like the program they offer and that you feel it will help you improve in the areas you hope to get more training in.
It appears that the Baldwin Wallace program is also focused on voice and music if it is the Conservatory Summer Institute you are talking about. Do you know if you get to take dance and acting in addition to all of the music and voice classes? If not, the CCM and BW camps you mention may be very similar in curriculum although the BW one seems to allow a musical theatre track within their voice summer camp. So I would probably lean that way if MT training is what you are seeking. Both are great schools.
I am guessing most summer camps are no longer accepting applications for this summer - I did see a week or two ago that the Savannah Summer Musical Theater Institute had added a few spaces. We have a friend whose son is returning there for his 2nd summer. She is very high on it. And they do a show at the end of their sessions if being in a show is a priority you might check into it. I think they are doing Big Fish this summer.
Also, someone here on CC posted information about a summer voice camp that sounded phenomenal with a number of leading MT professionals (including Gary Kline from Carnegie Mellon) who would be participating. I believe it was still taking applications but I don’t remember where the camp was. Hopefully someone else will remember and let you know.
Best of luck in your decision making!
Just based on what you wrote, I would choose the MT summer program at BW. I don’t think there is any advantage for your D to do the voice workshop at CCM in terms of meeting CCM people (and actually her interaction with the MT faculty likely will be minimal). Going to a summer program really is not a help to get into that school’s college program. I think your D should pick the program that suits her interests and needs. Since she wants to go into MT, BW seems like a much better option.
I would suggest looking carefully at the curricula of both programs – it looks like there is more solo work and acting in the CCM program, and more choral work at BW. Both are fine programs - I agree that you should choose the one that most closely aligns with your needs and interests.
I have heard great things about the BW Ovations program… Several of my D’s classmates attended. It’s great audition prep. All of last year’s participants that I know have ended up in great programs!
There are 2 different programs at BW - The Music Theatre Overtures program is for rising seniors only, and is dedicated Musical Theatre. Since the poster’s D is a rising junior, she must be referring to the Conservatory Summer Institute. They can choose a special Music Theatre track, but it is not the same as the Music Theatre Overtures program. Both are fine programs, but they are NOT the same. MTO is very specifically geared to MT; CSI students can add an MT component to a more general music program.
@gladrunner, there seems to be some confusion as to which BW program you are referring to. One is a two week program run by the conservatory with a MT option, but much of the focus is on other areas of music. The other is Overtures and is a one week program run by Vickie Bussert (and the students are hand selected by her). This is entirely focused on MT. It is difficult to compare to CCM without knowing which of these programs you are referring to.
Gotcha @MT4Life … I’m not familiar with the subtleties of the summer programs at BW… I didn’t realize there was something different than the MT Overtures.
Agree with @MT4Life. I think we posted at the same time, but I didn’t notice Glad’s D is a rising junior.
@kategrizz - no worries 
It seems there can be as many subtleties and variations of summer programs as there are in college programs! Just want any decision to be based on accurate information. I know students who have attended all 4 of the programs under discussion, and they can all be the right fit for the right person, but you just have to know what you want/need/expect, and how that lines up with what they offer.
Hi. Thanks very much for all the replies. The Baldwin Wallace program that she has been accepted to is the two week CSI, with the Music Theatre special track. It is NOT Overtures.
We are leaning toward leaving her at CCM. Even though at CCM, she has to prepare 4 art songs, it seems that she is allowed to bring along and work on a Music Theatre song while she is there. Plus, she will still have an acting class. There will also be music theory.
The BW program will also have music theory, chamber / large ensemble, an elective (like improvisation), and then the MT track.
So, it seems like they are fairly comparable.
I do note that for CCM, she has quite a bit of “homework” to prepare those four songs (one each in English, French, Italian and German), while it looks like she just has to show up at BW. This seems good to me.
However, I don’t know how she got admitted to CCM. She didn’t really apply until after they gave people results,since she only applied to their MT program, and was not accepted. We just asked if they’d consider her, and they did, and she was admitted. I know that for BW, they only admitted like 15 or 16 people to the CSI MT, including my D. So, is the BW one more competitive? Should I even care?
Long story short, I think the idea of the specifically MT one is what most appeals to her.
I know that acceptance into a camp does not equate with acceptance into a program. But I think that non-acceptance into a camp should probably let you know that you probably don’t have what it takes. So, we didn’t have much information from how things turned out at CCM. So we left the application at BW open. When she didn’t get accepted to the MT workshop at CCM, we figured that she probably didn’t have a shot at all this.
Do you mean that she doesn’t have a shot at CCM for college because she wasn’t accepted to the camp? Or do you mean that she doesn’t have a chance at the college process in general?
I think it’s important to take any rejection in stride and with a grain of salt. Let rejections motivate you - but don’t let one rejection serve as the deciding factor of your future (or lack of future) in the theatre.
I really don’t know. I meant in general, but again, I really don’t know anything about this process, other than that it’s highly competitive. She’s going for it. And we’ll see if this is something she wants ton dedicate herself to after this program. It was a boost to her confidence to get the acceptance to the BW program. But with our schedule, and the fact that they are fairly similar, I think we are going to stay with CCM this year. Who knows what will be next year. Thanks for your advice.
I would say go to BW without a doubt. CCM is of course incredible, but your daughter wants to do musical theatre not opera. Therefore she should start training with others who are pursuing the same career as her. The faculty at BW are incredible, they teach students to audition with the material and the style of presentation that the top MT schools are looking for. The reason they probably admitted her so quickly to the voice track at CCM is because there is significantly less competition for classical voice camps at the high school level. Learning to sing in four languages has absolutely no benefit to her musical theatre performing. In fact, it could potentially cause harm. Learning to sing in foreign languages requires a different set of muscles to coordinate the resonance and articulation necessary for each language (including “proper English” vs. colloquial English). This can easily tie a young singer’s voice in knots and lead to problems with getting them to sing with their natural speaking voice, which is what is required in musical theatre. The acting styles required for opera are rooted in pre-Stanislavsky traditions that rely heavily on gesture whereas musical theatre requires acting based in the Stanislavsky tradition to create accurate portrayals of real human beings on stage. When in doubt, always go with the program that leads your student towards their ultimate career goal.
~VT
The BW camp is taught by the voice faculty , not the MT faculty. The MT faculty will be busy teaching the MT Overtures camp. The CSI students get a MT workshop and all the rest of the training is voice, theory, choir, etc. According to BW, in the workshop the students will learn “to mix classical with musical theatre techniques”.
If you really want MT training with school faculty, you might want to look at places like OCU (which offers a 2, 3, or 5 week program) or ArtsBridge ( which is privately run but uses faculty from CMU, BW, NYU, etc). Both offer incredible training and the students get to know the faculty very well.
That said, there were many kids that were accepted and attended Michigan’s summer Mpulse program that were not accepted to Michigan (the majority were not accepted actually). And, there were some that were rejected twice to Mpulse but were admitted to the college program, so I would say acceptance/rejection to summer programs often means very little.
I am pretty sure that Vicky Bussert herself teaches during the Overtures summer program. Here is a recent interview with her from Huffington Post with a lot of info about the BM program. She sounds amazing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-anna-dennard/women-in-the-performing-arts-vicky-bussert-_b_7437006.html
Yes - Vicky Bussert teaches the BW Overtures program which is one week specifically geared to college audition prep. . But OP was asking about the CSI program which is more of a vocal camp with the conservatory voice faculty. It does have an MT track. Bussert is fantastic - but I do not think she teaches at the CSI program.
True. That article is pretty impressive.