<p>It's a great opportunity for your child to shine-</p>
<p>BUT, you should know, the early bird gets the worm.</p>
<p>Don't wait too long to apply. My child applied mid-year, senior year. It took until May for them to get around to reviewing the application/audition, at which time D was told she would have been accepted but was no longer eligible because now she had been accepted into college.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>was told she would have been accepted but was no longer eligible because now she had been accepted into college.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>I'm afraid I don't understand this post at all. Are you saying that the college had filled its music program rolls and you daughter had applied late? What do you mean? </p>
<p>In most cases, music students MUST apply to colleges before the December vacation in order to line up audition dates. In fact, some schools have an early audition date either in November or early December. Auditions typically end in early March. Anyone applying after that date would have missed (typically) the deadlines. Please explain your post. Getting accepted into college does NOT preclude getting accepted into a music program, and in fact many students each year apply to BOTH colleges (and get accepted) and music programs. But you have to meet the deadlines.</p>
<p>I think team_mom is speaking of the radio program "From the Top" and the procedures for applying to be included. It is a showcase for talented, accomplished, personable young musicians, who are interviewed and perform for the group. THe fellow who emcee's it is an accomplished pianist, frequently is a collaborative pianist for them, and I think he was a Van Cliburn winner or finalist a number of years ago....cannot recall his name.</p>
<p>That would be Christopher O'Riley.</p>
<p>Yes, I was referring to the radio show "from the top"</p>
<p>Perhaps I should take a step back and explain "from the top" to those unfamiliar with it.</p>
<p>as mentioned before, it is a radio show that highlights kids of "pre-college age and you play or sing classical repertoire." It is a wonderful opportunity for chamber ensembles and soloists to have a moment to display their hard work. The show is broadcast each week around the country and now it is on PBS as well. Each week they highlight 3 kids (or ensembles.)</p>
<p>Additionally, acceptance qualifies you as eligible for the Jack Cooke Award, a $10,000 scholarship towards music studies at NEC. I just assummed that many of the same people interested in this music forum, might have kids applying to be on the show, and I didn't want them to fall into the little Catch-22 we fell into. Apparently, once your child is accepted into college, they are no longer considered "pre-college." The Catch-22 is that the time the kids feel best prepared to make it on the show is when they are seniors. </p>
<p>I encourage those of you with talented perfomers to apply when they are young. It's a great thing!</p>
<p>I think that so long as the kid is 18 or under and has not yet started college (or finished high school), he/she could qualify -- perhaps the problem the OP's kid faced was that the taping would be after the school year was over, and the kid was no longer "in" high school.<br>
It is probably a good idea to audition earlier than mid-senior year. In addition to applying directly, they have auditions at Aspen among other places.
Also I think the scholarship to NEC is only $7,500, and is available for anyone who is accepted there, but it isn't clear whether that is for one-year only. There is another need-based possibility for $10,000.
I've known lots of kids who have been on the show (most from the Boston area, where the show is based) -- it is a great opportunity to make classical music seem an exciting thing to do, and it is apparently a popular show, right up there with Car Talk.</p>
<p>Thanks for the explanation. I had never heard of this before.</p>
<p>From the Boston Globe</p>
<p>The next show taping, in SF, has been sold out for two weeks -- it is one of NPR's most popular shows -- a nice boost for kids who often don't get the recognition among their peers that athletes and jazz musicians (even mediocre ones) get.</p>
<p>that's very weird about the college thing because on the application they actually ask you if you are enrolled in a college, and if so, which one.
It just seems weird to not include what they told you about it being pre-college on the application</p>
<p>this is new from From the Top:
"This spring From the Top is proud to announce the newly established Jack Kent Cooke Talent Development Award for students ages fourteen and under. The Award includes a $5,000 scholarship, artistic advising, and participation in From the Top's enrichment programs. This scholarship is renewable after one year for a two-year total award of $10,000."</p>
<p>Having attended the SF taping of From the Top at a sold out concert at Herbst Theater in San Francisco, I strongly recommend that high school musicians audition! What a delightful experience for the audience and the performers! It was funny, moving, and impressive -- and the organization funds 25 low-income musicians a year with a $10,000 grant, to buy instruments, etc. One of the performers was a wonderful clarinetist from Costa Rica who is studying on scholarship at Interlochen -- the grant will allow him to buy his first clarinet.</p>
<p>From the Top frequently holds live auditions at Interlochen during summer camp. The kids might not get much advance notice (or they just might not pay attention to anything more than one hour in the future). So if someone's interested, they should look now at the application and audition requirements on the web site to be prepared. My son played a piece that was too long for consideration on the show. He was encouraged to mail a recording of another piece after camp and was even called several times by the judge who heard him at Interlochen, but with new auditions, new ensembles, a new school year, etc. he never did send the recording and always regretted it.</p>
<p>We attended a local taping of the show several years ago and enjoyed it as much as you did mamenyu.</p>