Thanks @irishmomof2! We are also experiencing a melt - through my dining room ceiling. I haven’t been at NEC since last weekend but the sidewalks then were manageable @happycello. Also, there’s a small parking garage right there near Jordan Hall called Gainsborough. Not sure if that fills up on weekdays. Colonnade’s in a great location near Back Bay/ Newbury St so you made a good move - Best of luck! (My son’s auditioning there on Wed)
Hi @HappyCello. Yes, staying right up the street at the Colonnade is probably a good idea (and there are more options listed at http://necmusic.edu/accommodations-boston). The sidewalks are mostly passable with the proper boots on – I spoke with one of our faculty members yesterday who successfully navigated the neighborhood sidewalks while carrying her Strad(!), so it is manageable.
In any event, take your time and stay safe. We look forward to having you on campus soon!
Best,
Alex Powell
Assistant Dean for Admissions, NEC
Thanks @drummergirl for the information. Good luck to your son on Wed. Let us know the details of your adventure. And @NECadmissions thank you for posting this. Will see you soon.
Had anyone auditioned for piano performance at Indiana University?
We stayed at the Colonnade (for an extra unexpected night also due to snow) for D3’s undergrad NEC audition. It’s an easy walk, even in the snow, and right across the street from restaurants, shops, etc. Frankly, given the hassles I’ve faced trying to park near NEC, leaving the car in the garage the Colonnade uses and walking the few blocks is a better choice all around! (and good luck!)
Midwest auditions will be COLD this weekend! Cleveland is supposed to have HIGHS in the low single digits (Yes, you read that correctly!), so bundle up if you’re heading to CIM, and Chicago and Ann Arbor will be hovering around 10-12 so when combined with the wind, it’s not going to be any picnic in those places either.
I am off to Chicago myself tomorrow- my daughter is having her final voice recital of graduate school on Sunday. If anyone is in the area, feel free to drop me a PM. I’ll be checking in several times a day.
Best of luck to everyone auditioning this weekend!
Enjoy your daughter’s recital on Sunday. You must be a very proud mom. Congrats to her. And stay warm…
Mezzo’sMama - End of grad school, but I’m sure many more recitals ahead! Young Artist Program next? Or perhaps you’ll be traveling abroad for the next recital?
@Mezzo’sMama ~ Been following your posts about your daughter’s successes. Thank you for sharing these and the immense amount of knowledge and support you give to everyone on this board.
Wishing your daughter the best. I’m sure exciting opportunities lie ahead. I’m looking forward to hearing all about them.
I hope you have a box of tissues with you tomorrow 
Congratulations, Mezzo’sMama! To both you and your daughter.
The collonade is very convenient. If you check on kayak, there often is deals where parking is included, the parking is pretty expensive if i recall correctly. You also may want to ask NEC admissions if they have any kind of deal with the hotel, usually schools have deals with local hotels. There is also the midtown hotel that is a couple of blocks closer to NEC that seemed to have parking as well, not as nice as the Colonnade, but another option.
Hi @musicprnt. Yes, the Midtown is very close and often the least expensive option in the area (http://www.midtownhotel.com/). We do have a special NEC rate at the Collonade (details at http://necmusic.edu/hotels); the rate is then quite reasonable for such a nice Boston hotel (although keep in mind that the definition of “reasonable” in the Boston hotel market may shock some people!). The Sheraton is also within walking distance (http://www.sheratonbostonhotel.com/music); if you book using that link, you receive a discounted rate. And, you might find a great deal on Kayak or other search sites.
Best,
Alex
My S and I had a very nice experience on Jan. 23 at UMiami (Frost) for jazz studies. It’s a full day – at least 9 to 3 or so. A warm welcome and nice breakfast spread in the morning. There was a presentation for all students and parents, as well as tours and different programs throughout the day for the various majors. My S’s audition was with 2 faculty members, and he said it was enjoyable and low-key. A highlight was a master class led by the dean, Shelly Berg. Another required element for all jazz studies majors was a jam session at which the students took turns playing in small groups formed by faculty members. There is also a required theory test that takes about an hour; my son said it was easy, although some other kids said it was hard. Warm-up rooms aren’t reserved so one has to find a vacant practice room. A nice security guard helped us find one after waiting about 5 minutes, but we had a brief moment of worry that a room wouldn’t open up. Lunch is on your own. Because of the way my S’s schedule worked out (i.e., back to back tour/meeting/audition/theory/master class/jam session), he didn’t have time for lunch. All the Frost administrators and faculty seemed friendly and welcoming, and the campus is beautiful. Once the new music buildings open (any day now), the facilities should be spectacular.
My daughter auditioned at College of Wooster yesterday. They had events the previous evening for the auditioners - a dinner, the vocal students participated in a rehearsal with the auditioned chorus, and then we attended a few sessions, one on composition, a performance by a guest faculty member on violin, and a music history/theory class on Rameau.
The students were incredibly nice - my daughter asked a question about music therapy and several current MT majors came up and gave her their phone numbers in case she had any other questions. When we first visited, it was her top choice school, and she’s very torn about going to a conservatory vs. Wooster, because she loves the campus at Wooster and she now feels strongly that she would love being there.
Her audition went well, in her opinion - she sang well, and she had two sight-reading exercises, one which she said was a piece of cake, the other was more challenging but she thinks she did okay. She is concerned that she didn’t wow them with her personality - she is fairly reserved when she first meets people, but I figure the music is what’s important, so I urged her to not stress about it.
Finally, our last trip across Pennsylvania in the winter - if she ends up at one of the schools in PA or OH, our next trip should be during better weather!
@convertedjazzdad I didn’t hear anything about new buildings opening up for the music school, but Im glad to hear it as I was a little disappointed in the quality of the facilities when I was there! - I must exempt the performance halls from that statement, because they were lovely; I was more referring to the very old practice rooms and classrooms buildings… they looked like my elementary school! Is all of this being redone, or moved, or what? Any info you have would be appreciated. I did see the construction but was unaware it was for the music school. Thanks for mentioning this.
Frost’s new building is depicted in that illustration on their website @paintbrush22. We were told at auditions that it would house around 80 studios for lessons/rehearsals/classes. But it sounded like practice rooms would remain in the older building - there’d just be more of them as teachers would be moving their offices into the new space.
Thank you @drummergirl ! I really had no idea.
@paintbrush22 yes, I live here in Miami and they’ve been building that for awhile now! Incoming freshmen will be the first class to use them (yay!!!) so don’t worry about it, they’ve noticed and did something about it
Had my second audition at Colburn yesterday (applied last year, was told to come back when I was older.) Check-in was ungodly early because I was staying at USC - I suggest you try to find housing close by, especially because if you’re waiting on a callback, you’ll be sitting around for ages. No theory or ear-training tests this year, which was very surprising. There was a very large general practice room for everybody where you could warm up - the only solo time you had was 30 minutes before your audition, when they’d bring you to your assigned room.
Everything was really efficiently run as usual. Colburn’s just so nice. The actual audition was in their big recital hall (Thayer?) and had 3 other faculty members besides my own prospective teacher. Chose my first piece (Bach), then they asked for my showpiece (Walton 2nd mvt) and I was really shocked. We went all the way through it, and then they asked for “a little” of my sonata (Brahms Eb, 2nd mvt) which ended up being the whole first section. Soon after my audition, the committee filed out of a different door that I’d been lounging near and complimented me separately on my audition. Very casual, but I was incredibly nervous.
I got a call for my callback 30 minutes later, despite us being told to check the check-in desk for callbacks. It was 10 minutes - we talked shortly and he demonstrated a fingering he preferred in my Walton. Others, for their callbacks, actually played; I understand that’s more normal.
It was a great experience - I do feel a lot happier than I did last year, even though I’m pretty certain I’m waitlisted at the most (there are only 3 spots open…) Colburn’s audition process is definitely the smoothest one I’ve been through.
Lots of luck, Averageviolist!