S18 is done with his 5th audition, and is about ready to pack it in. We knew USCal was a longshot, but did not realize just how much of one before auditioning today. 150 or so vocalists will audition this weekend and next for 8, thats right…8, VP BM spots. Ridiculous. They should just not approve so many prescreens. It was a long trip, S18 did not have his best stuff; but it did serve to narrow his focus. Looks like we are going to drop 3 of the remaining 5 auditions, and concentrate on the 2 he wants. One may be a cattle call like USCal, but he has a good shot at the other. If not, he still has two admits he likes.
While D had auditions and received a lot of great feedback from Berklee, Belmont and Hartt, her adjudicators at Thornton were far more stoic. Theory test was a bit more difficult too. Interesting to see how it all ends up. We are still very grateful escaping from the cold East Coast to this beautiful weather.
@vistajay I would recommend looking at the USC audition (regardless of if he gets accepted or not) as a good wake call. The reality is that no matter how ridiculous it is now…it will only get more ridiculous in the future. For UG there are a good number of schools looking for talent (even raw) and everyone is 18ish. For grad school school choice will shrink considerably and talent will need to be polished and the needs of the school that year will dominate (with you not knowing the needs). The age range of applicants will expand. After college, you will be auditioning in NYC with a range of people from 25 to early 30s for ONE spot, in many cases, if you pass the pre-screen. And yes they will see a lot of people (fair or not). In my D’s young artist program there are 4 vocalist (4 primary voice types) with age range of 25 to 32. Yep, when I heard 32 I had a bit of a sinking feeling. I thought my D would be famous by then (or more likely working a corporate job with benefits and singing on the side). Could she really be working for such low pay like this for 7 more years!! Yikes it’s her life…but sometimes I wonder if I want her to get gigs…or maybe not…
So what to do with this wonderful piece of news and the reality you saw with your own eyes? My D went to IU were the reality was in your face everyday…a few gods (some foreign - don’t forget you will be competing internationally after college - one of the vocalists with my D is a foreigner) and all the rest.
Be sure your kid sees the reality and gets a good general education. It’s hard to explore in a performance degree but encourage it. Also encourage some work in the summer. There will be pressure particularly in upper class men years to do summer programs and they are good. Still my D did NOT do summer programs every nor all summers and was expected to work to get practical skills. She has no employment that I know of starting June…but I think there will be an opportunity this summer based on past…luckily her part time job from college has said they’ll take her back. You can’t count solely on performance for pay…so be sure to use the college years to figure out work skills too. And with her college degree I know my D can move on if/when she decides to (hopefully before 32)…
I hope this doesn’t feel dark. My D’s very happy and self-supporting right now…and she’ll be fine in the future…she’s smart, motivated, a hard worker with a college degree and work experience. I would not change a thing. But being fully aware of the situation I think can help in choosing a good school for a BM as college really should allow you to explore and grow in many ways (meaning look at curriculum).
Edit: and avoid debt as much as possible…I would lean to affordable schools over big names that produce debt…the debt will be very difficult to pay back on performance pay.
Great post @bridgenail. Very useful information. We are absolutely not planning to incur debt so affordability will play a big factor in where D ends up going. I guess it’s a good news/bad news thing at this point that she really has no heavy favorites (although I do) and is going into every audition with an open mind. She wants to find the right fit and we want to find the right cost. I hope the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Yikes!
We head to Miami on Tuesday. D will spend Wednesday and Thursday sitting in on classes and has 2 auditions on Friday, one for jazz voice and the other for CAM. Plus sitting in on classes on Friday. I can’t wait to get outta the snow and cold and enjoy 5 days in the warmth and sunshine. We plan to find a beach Saturday and just chill out and decompress.
Keep us posted everyone on the audition stories!
@vistajay the VP numbers game can be so daunting (and sometimes it’s better to NOT know all the details, ugh, especially on audition weekend). This is the perfect time for audition fatigue to set in…this is such a long and rigorous process. It seems like your S has a good, big list of schools and since he already has some offers from programs you can afford, and he likes, I think you are in a really good place! Dropping some schools now, after you all have a little more experience and might be able to be more sure about what S wants, is a fine idea; my D cancelled 2 auditions at about this point last year, after it was clear she was going to have some good options (they were schools she was uncertain of, as to fit, and it saved us a lot of $$). And yes, always, to @bridgenail and her post about the realities of a life of singing and especially regarding staying out of big debt!
P.S. I am a little shocked that USC didn’t narrow that list of applicants more through prescreens! That’s a lot of kids to hear for 8 spots, and it seems like they could probably have pretty easily screened some more out. Possibly grad students listen to prescreens in such a big program? So perhaps faculty want to hear every possible admit live? Idk.
Also, I just want to mention again, with acceptances and final decisions looming, that I think you all might be surprised at how much interest from programs and teachers (in the form of merit aid, personal emails, etc.) after offers are made will sway your children’s decision making. It is SO IMPORTANT to be somewhere you are wanted and valued! Things became very clear, very fast for my D when all the communications started rolling in! @GoForth had a very good conversation about when to narrow options in last year’s thread.
I agree wholeheartedly @dramasopranomom! I think having the warm fuzzies from faculty make all the difference in the world. And I am thinking very hard at your advice on maybe canceling an audition. The week that D has both Boston and NY will be grueling. And the New York week has 2 back to back auditions. It’s tempting to maybe cancel the one that is unlikely to make the cut but again, how do you know unless you visit and get the feels? I’ll let D drive the bus on that and also let her know that the decisions are 100% hers in that regard. Last year’s @GoForth journal was amazingly helpful which was why I started this thread this past year so the parents going through it all now had someplace to vent, talk, get advice and share stories. And acceptances and decisions which I can’t wait to hear from everyone! I also love having GoForth keeping his journal up to date with freshman year experiences. The journey doesn’t “end” at acceptances and decisions. It’s just beginning!
@SpartanDrew, I remember the Frost jazz audition day as being pretty jam packed. Between the introduction, the theory test, the warmup, the audition, and the jam at the end of the day, there was not much time to sit in on classes on Friday other than watching a rehearsal. Best of luck (health and weather too) to your daughter!
This process is daunting and I would not want to learn the numbers on audition day. I noticed when my D auditioned at Chapman that the audition list for that day was huge. Being new to this, I was really surprised at how competitive this process is.
This weekend was San Diego State University and Fullerton. SDSU was really nice. My D loved the campus, had a good audition, felt like it could be a home for her, and had a nice conversation/feedback with the audition panel. She came out of the audition happy. It was nice to hear the questions they asked her and her responses. It shows me she has been thoughtful in the process. Also, I think that the panels need to know that these adolescent kids need some interaction. Be stoic for the grad students if you must. But the 17 year olds? Talk to them.
We then drove to Fullerton. She did not like it at all. Looked at the campus the night before and then the day of the audition. She was interested in their program because her voice teacher recommended it. But she could not see herself there. It was definitely a commuter campus and there was no activity. She said to me “I rather stay at home and go to CC” than come here. Enough said. We left prior to her audition and had a nice drive home.
She now has a three week break until Cal State Long Beach, which may end up being her last audition. In 15 days, she did 6 auditions. Audition fatigue is real! For mom and dad too! And for our bank account! We can’t travel to Univ of Arizona so a video audition was sent. She still needs to visit Cornish, if that school remains in contention after March. She is also circling back to one of her programs for a trial lesson in early March. And may do the same at a few other colleges depending on what she hears from now through March.
I have now figured out how she is prioritizing colleges (and it is not the “hot guys” as mentioned previously. Although SDSU did have a rugby match with Cal going on during her audition…and I don’t think that hurt). It is nice to watch her mature.
D18 had second audition this past weekend at CU Boulder. It could not have been a better weekend. We stayed at a lovely Airbnb, the weather was in the fifties and sunny, it was just beautiful. She met a senior in the oboe studio on Friday to buy a high altitude reed from him. This gave us a chance to roam around the building and explore. She also had time on Friday to practice, on the reed and felt good going into Saturday morning. Although her audition wasn’t until 12:50 we checked in at 8 am so that we could attend the welcome and overview. A current cello student played for us and it was lovely. After the intro session the students went with the faculty for their prospective departments and the parents stayed in the auditorium for a Q&A with the Dean and the director of admissions. The Q&A session was very informative, lots of good information on what to expect, decisions by March 1, scholarship notification by April 1 etc. D18 had arranged with oboe professor to do a reed check after the faculty presentation. They walked to his office, it’s not in the music building. He was very chatty, asked her where else she was auditioning, told her stories etc. He ended up loaning one of his reeds for the audition, and he skipped the first two woodwind auditions so that he could show her his favorite places on campus. She said he talked about her being there when they host the annual Double Reed Society conference in 2021, he told her about the planned renovations for the music building that will be starting January 2019, and she met one of his freshman students, who he thinks she’ll be good friends with. The Colorado Symphony was performing on Saturday night and we had already told him we would be attending. On their walk back he asked D18 to wait in the lobby after the performance so that the three of us could chat together (I was at parent stuff while all this happened so I hadn’t seen him that morning). D18 was very happy and relaxed after that. We hung out in the student center, had a light snack, and then headed back so that she could warm-up for the audition. This time I was in the hall during the audition (but she did’t know, I didn’t want to make her nervous). After her first piece one of the faculty left the room (she later told me he is the clarinet professor), he approached me, but his hand on my elbow, and asked if I was with the oboist in the room. When I yes, he said, “Shes’ doing very well.” I listened to the rest of the audition, she did play the best I’ve heard her. D18 was very happy with her audition and felt really good. Before going she had said Boulder was her #1 choice, and the day had confirmed this.
Since we had an early flight out Sunday morning we stayed in Denver Saturday night. After her audition we got lunch on campus, then drove to our hotel near the airport and relaxed for a bit. We went out to dinner, and then to the Symphony. They have student tickets for $10, they let us both have student tickets, so with service fees, it cost us $23. We had great seats, students all around us, from their conversation we learned they were all CU Boulder music students. Performance was wonderful, although we were both a pretty tired from a stressful day and D18 dozed off for a couple of minutes during the last piece. We waited in lobby for oboe professor (he is principal oboist for symphony). He asked how we like the symphony etc., then he told me how well her audition went, and that he had checked the box on her evaluation to admit her to his studio. He wanted to know how much scholarship money she needed to make Boulder work for us. He said he needed us to be honest with him on how much she wanted Boulder because he had been burned in the past by students that said Boulder was their top choice, and then used his scholarship to negotiate more money at another school. We assured him that Boulder is D18’s first choice, and that if he could make it affordable she would attend.
D18 is floating on a cloud now. We leave tomorrow for audition #3 at Michigan, she wants to cancel audition #4, but I told her we should go anyway (already bought the plane tickets). Now she gets to go into the last two auditions pretty stress free, which will be nice. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Boulder can deliver on the scholarship, we could make it work with the admissions scholarship she got, but it’s still pretty pricey since we are out of state.
Congratulations to your D @oboemom65 . Sounds like a winner. Hoping for the best!
Hi, @SpartanDrew . Good luck. We felt road wear after 3 audition, but that is long-distance driving. The nice thing about having some favorite picks early on is that you ‘can’ cancel some of the final auditions. Once S was seeing good feedback at the first 3, we cut it off. It was handy that one of the other choices was audio-recording-only (no live auditions offered at William Paterson).
I remember reading BassDad’s notes. They were so awesome. But after college auditions were over, I believe the flow just died off, and I wanted to hear what was next. How did all the preparation matter.
@oboemom65 , that sounds like just about a perfect audition experience! Love the interest she received from the school and faculty!
@oboemom65 that sounds like a great experience! I really hope it all comes together for D like that. D and I went to a show at Western Michigan this past Saturday for the Gold Company 40th anniversary. I was absolutely blown away by their talent. D and I Made a couple of new friends as well and D reconnected with her old buddy from Songbook Academy. The lead senior girl who was featured in a lot of the solos is graduating and going on tour with the Glen Miller orchestra! Sounds like a great gig! I found out from someone else that WMU is only taking 2-3 jazz vocalists for 2018. Holy cow! Yikes. I think I’d rather not know about the numbers until everything is all done and over. It’s crazy.
Our school is closed today for a snow day and we leave tomorrow so now D will be out of school for the full week this week. Then home next week to hopefully catch up and then out the entire following week. I’ll be happy when the auditions are done. It’s a lot.
@oboemom65 That is fantastic! It is so much more enjoyable when auditions go well and they get the feedback! Sounds like a great trip.
Congrats to your daughter, @oboemom65, on her successful audition. One argument for keeping the audition appointments she still has left is that auditioning is in itself a skill - one needed beyond undergrad admissions, and really the only way to get better at it is through repetition of live auditions. Then there’s always the remote possibility, but not impossible, something crazy happens at CU- teacher has to leave due to family crisis/illness/whatever. Especially if the plane tickets are bought, unless it’s interfering with a school event or something, I’d encourage my kid to continue with the process in that scenario.
Inquiring minds want to know, what is the difference between a high altitude oboe reed and a sea level oboe reed?
Thanks for all the advice about audition fatigue! Y’all are a great sounding board.
We are starting to enter the merit/talent scholarship negotiation phase here soon. I am not going to give specifics right now (will give a full accounting later), but there are a few schools where he has received as much as he could have in music merit money, but there is room for a higher award on the academic side. He has high stats (35 ACT, 3.9 UW GPA, NMSF) that would qualify him for more academic merit based on the schools’ award history. I was specifically told by an admissions counselor that S18 got less academic merit that he would normally have received from that school, because he received a nice music scholarship.
If there is any room for more money, it is probably on the academic side rather than from the music schools. The lawyer/negotiator in me wants to send the schools’ admissions contact an email, politely outlining S18’s other scholarship awards and opportunities, re-expressing his high interest in the school, and asking about any other scholarship opportunities. Then follow it up with a call if no response.
In this situation, would you contact the school admissions counselor as outlined above? Or would you contact the music school contact (in one case, it would be the teacher who has invited S18 to join his studio) and ask his advice/assistance in obtaining more merit $$ from the school? Any stories as to how you or your child was able to negotiate more merit scholarship money after the initial award?
Great news @oboemom65! You’re wise not to cancel audition #4. I think if it was audition #8 and/or way down the list it might be a different decision. You never know.
@GoForth I follow the career of BassDad’s D - she’s doing so well here in Boston and is a wonderful singer as well!
@vistajay, based on the limited information I have on the appeal process I would wait until all offers are in and your S has his top choice. No sense in negotiating for a school that doesn’t make the cut. It takes away potential scholarship money from others that might really want to go there. That being said, I’ve heard that if school X offers say 35K in total scholarship yet School Y is your kid’s top choice and they have offered less, you can appeal to school Y with school X’s total offer. I think the school’s should be considered competing music programs and in the same caliber of program. Like a Frost to Berklee type comparison. But ultimately I’d wait it out until all offers are in. Did S18 apply EA to Miami? Has he been accepted pending audition?
@NYCMusicDad that is some great advice. We have a friend who’s son is a jazz guitarist. He was offered a FULL ride at Michigan and was all set to go. Then the prof he had studied with in HS and the main reason he chose to go there emailed them in early April and said he was leaving for another school that the son hadn’t even applied to! I can’t even imagine the panic. Ultimately, the kid threw in an 11th hour application, was accepted and went to study with the guitar prof at the other university and gave up the full ride at Michigan. The other school didn’t match the offer either. Yikes. I don’t even want to think about it…
There’s a Russian pastiche song from an old Mel Brooks movie called “Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst.” My inner Russian is always humming that tune.
OMG I LOVE Mel Brooks! Which movie? He has so many gems…