These stories are the best! Between @“Mezzo’sMama” story about falling into the room and the security camera story I think I’m cured too!!!
For once I don’t have a story to share!!! But enjoying these.
I’m enjoying these stories! Please, please do not be this parent: My D was waiting outside an audition room. There several auditioning mezzos and one mama who was evidently also her D’s voice teacher. My D observed (horrified) that, as each student was called in, Mama would creep up to the door, listen and return to her D, saying “She was flat” or “She couldn’t hit that note.” Then, as each girl came out of the audition room, Mama would smile and chirp without fail “You were great, honey!” (She chirped the same to my D when she came out, too. Who knows what transgressions she reported?) That Mama was a piece of work, for sure! My role during these trips was driver, schlepper and MasterCard signer, so I spent my time in the lobby with a good book. At the conclusion of her auditions, my D gave me a hand-drawn map showing us in a car going from city to city, coast to coast with a little detail about each stop. She wrote a little paragraph about helping her organize info and stay sane, and that she valued our time together and couldn’t have done it without me. This is a priceless time before we launch our little birds and they know we stand behind them - right before we shove them out of the nest! (But DON’T be that parent!)
Oh, @momzhood , I wish my iPad would let me put down some choice emojis for “Mama” !!! She’s lucky she didn’t get a smack down from another parent. @GoForth sadly I think there is more of this “culture” in singing, though I’m sure there are special parents in every genre.
This would make a really good reality TV show.
Thank You @YertleTurtle for that info. My S18 is also an instrumentalist and I found this blog to be very helpful. We start the audition circuit this weekend for the next few weeks and wasn’t sure what to expect. We did not do any tours ahead of time but he knew some students at many of the ones he is applying to. I know some schools are more communicative with the parents about audition schedules and activities for parents etc but some have not and my S has not shared all the info. I did not realize that parents and kids would be hanging out together beforehand. I will make sure to go get some coffee and relax (most are too early in the AM for wine) It will be great for us to spend time together and talk without his brother who is one year behind him. It will remind me of all those hours driving to and from rehearsals, lessons and shows and how we talked about what he wants to do, who he admires and listen to music together. And HERE WE ARE! ( I don’t know how to do a tear Emoji). Thanks for the info and yes we are near the HOME STRETCH! Cheers to everyone.
@momzhood The map your daughter drew is so precious! It made me tear up a little. What a treasure!
We have encountered some “stage parents” along the way, but nothing quite compares to that Mama. Wow. I wonder about people like that - what will they do with themselves when their child leaves.
@dramasopranomom - your story is hilarious!
@SpartanDrew , Wait, there’s a college bar called the Rat at Miami where I and my lovely so not a door listener I swear OK maybe just a little wife can hang out this weekend! You were holding out on us!
OMG - I’ve just been laughing my brains out! Thank you so much for all the vivid pictures of these hilarious moms. I have had my fair share of them from the ballet world (I think they might be worse there?? - not sure). And I have a confession to make…at one of our son’s auditions for a summer program that he was particularly keen to go to, a local studio mom showed me the secret spy spot. I saw my son in a sea of other dancers - and I saw how he was at the top of his game (since he never danced with other boys before). It was that moment that I realized that he needed to move away to train with other boys - he left within 6 months of that audition and is now training at the NYCB School. I doubt that the Cinderella mom, or the one that fell through the door (hysterical!) or the bitchy one had a revelation like that from their spying episodes - but it was one for me. (and btw, I have never spied like that again - I promise! 
One thing that I’m very sad about, though, is that I never get to see our son dance much now that he is on the other coast (and the school doesn’t have many performances). I suppose that’s one thing that those going through the audition process this year will be experiencing next year - performance withdrawl. There is nothing better than listening to our kids perform (insert tear drop emoji here).
Now - after that depressing comment - let’s get back to funny audition stories!
I wish you could all end up as we did - after applying to and considering programs on both coasts, up North and in the South, D is only :45 away and we are able to see every performance. We don’t see her many other times but when you have a performance kid, it is a blessing to have them nearby. I was surprised it worked out that way! (All through auditions, I was secretly planning for future fun escapades to NYC, Boston or LA but…)
<<@momzhood The map your daughter drew is so precious! It made me tear up a little. What a treasure!>>
What she said! Unbelievably sweet and lovely.
Ah, yes, dance moms…I think I’d blocked out dance competition memories entirely, as those days have been behind us for a couple of years now with my now-high schooler. 
Performance withdrawal is real! I really miss the live music in the house, let alone performances in the community. Thankfully my kid is in a program where they are required to perform 3 new songs a week on stage, and he sends videos faithfully. It’s not the same, but those and Instagram vids tide us over, at least!
This is a great read catching up. And very funny! Probably made much nicer because my daughter received an email today that she had passed her audition at UCSB! Woot woot! She is very excited. This is her first positive response from an in-person audition and validates her interpretation of their response to her. The letter also reports she is a candidate for a financial award based on her audition with information to follow. Sweet lovingly goodness that was poetry to my pocketbook. However, the letter is very clear that the Office of Admissions makes the final decision. I hope that since it is for a BM degree her performance will matter the most. Her grades and test scores make her UC eligible but she is on the lower end. As I’ve mentioned in the past, she has a bit of Joan Jett in her, and her academic history is spotty. Life’s a journey…
I think the Classical VP people may be a little more uptight. I hate to generalize but there is definitely a lot of serious looking singers at these auditions. And not a lot of smiles. However, at UCSB we did have a very nice extroverted mother who introduced herself and her daughter since they appeared to be auditioning at the same schools. Very engaging. The D’s commiserated regarding repertoire choices since they are both mezzos and they high-fived each other as they left. This is how it should be since music is so collaborative. But I know people are on edge for the few spots in each program.
However, I have noticed that my daughter has felt more positive at the auditions where she was able to get away from people. These state campuses typically have a lot of breathing room. And she seems to enjoy being away from the stress of the crowd before her audition.
I love the “always having a rock in the shoe” comment! If my D’s give me too many complaints, I text them the Debbie Downer meme. It usually gets the point across.
For music and dance (dance parents may be the worst), I tried to withdraw entirely from the picture during high school (except to drive of course). I did not talk to teachers, I went for a walk during auditions, and advice on applications came from teachers and others. I think it was compensating because of course like everyone else I felt the urge to listen or watch!
For some interesting takes on competition, read “Nothing but the Best”, a hopefully very dated book about Juilliard.
This year, this thread and in fact the entire forum is pretty focused on vocal performance, it is true. Not sure why, since other years there have been many posts from instrumentalists, composers, electronic/technology/production students and music ed.
I have said this before and apologies if your kid doesn’t mind, but I had to do PM’s here for support. My kids would never have allowed me to post specifics on a thread read by so many thousands of people. I may have slipped a few times but I tried to remember how very public this is.
These stories are all great!! I needed these after last week. I came home to a mega busy work week and am completely under water. I haven’t even opened the mail yet that’s how behind I am. @vistajay The Rat is short for the Rathskellar and conveniently located right next to Frost by the lake. Great food and wonderful sangria that hubby and I took advantage of every afternoon for late lunches or decompression time while D was auditing classes.
After all of these stories I PROMISE, pinky swear, stick a needle in my eye, will never door listen ever again! Hahaha! I chatted outside the door with another jazz vocalist at the Western audition and was happy to see him again and meet his most awesome Mom at Miami… (that door at WMU was super soundproof so no chance of hearing a thing anyway LOL). She and I connected like long lost sisters and have already established a friendship. I have with 2 other jazz voice Mom’s as well. It’s a very small community and I would like to think we can all be a team versus working against each other. It’s important to remember, these kids can only go to ONE college and most are applying to at least 4 and some many more than that. I am starting to feel hopeful that each college and kid will find the right fit for each other. And in the meantime, the parents can sit at the Rat and toast over a beer or sangria with each other that this long, arduous process is almost over.
I truly hope that this journal has helped the next group of parents and kids about to embark on this process next year as the @GoForth journal did for me. I love that he has kept it updated with “freshman year” things that might not be expected as well. Hopefully people like @tripletmama or @Parentof2014grad will start a thread for next year’s group. I’d be happy to follow along and weigh in when I can.
Break legs to all auditioning this weekend! Hubby and I are grateful for a much needed weekend of rest and doing NOTHING.
I am a dance mom living the audition process through your experiences - thanks for sharing! My son doesn’t like me to watch auditions because he gets distracted. I tried hiding my body behind the crowd when he was younger but he always spotted me so I’ve learned to restrain myself, bring my laptop and work in a Starbucks nearby. Now that he drives he doesn’t even let me go to his auditions, but he does answer all the questions I have afterwards. Congratulations @tripletmama your son must be amazing training at SAB. I don’t have comparison but I agree with @compmom a lot of dance moms are really overbearing, not sure if it’s related to the fact dancers are judged even before they start to perform. I am dreading the performance withdraw so trying to will my son getting into USC so I can continue watching him dance. Has that worked for anyone, mom’s will power?
It’s not the same but the live-streams are really nice. We bought a new big screen TV when we figured out the streaming.
you all are lucky. D either hides away in the basement playing and singing or she is with her vocal coach hence my door listening to try to hear 2 songs I haven’t heard her perform yet. Oh well - I guess I’ll have to wait until her graduation jazz gig party to hear everything.
Well. I’m really late to the party here. Sorry I missed the chat yesterday. Those stories were great!
I have definitely met my share of overbearing dance moms! However I have met many dance moms that were lovely, supportive and forged mutual friendships with leading up to and beyond college. Just like the music moms I have met along the way this season. Lovely, friendly, supportive parents like @SpartanDrew who I hope to maintain friendships with beyond this audition season. @SpartanDrew I am truly greatful for our friendship and your DD is amazing! I would love it if they ended up at the same school. Maybe we should plan a girls weekend regardless of where they end up!
As for the listening at the door…The set up last weekend made that all too easy. I saw many parents ear pressed to the door when all you really needed to do was stand in the hallway. There were several of us in the hallway. Again just the way things were set up, I wanted to grab my student quickly and head to the next event on our agenda. I always tried to stay away from the door during dance auditions. It never failed that if I had to walk past the door on the way to the bathroom, DD would spot me instantly! It was awful. I am usually at a coffee shop!
@tripletmama Your story of watching your sons audition is beautiful. Also, all of my kidos have had preconceived notions about college well before doing their research. They seem to believe they can list all the things they want in one school and order it up like a pizza. It just doesn’t work that way. They will slowly realize this as you start doing research and visiting. My kids were able to eliminate some schools after doing extensive research. Visits do help if you can squeeze in a few before August. In the long run this is a battle worth fighting. There are too many variables with arts programs and you never know where they will be accepted, how many spots there are, what will feel right to them, etc. But if you don’t apply you cant go back. I have pushed if not forced a few schools on each child for different reasons. They were all accepted to these schools. For my Dancer the one school that I pushed became her favorite, unfortunately she didn’t end up there due to finances. She absolutely loves where she is and it is the best place for her. The one or two schools I pushed this year are promising. I made my kids do the research and explain why they should remove a school from the list.
I’m already dreading the performance withdrawal and lack of music in the house. It is hard when our kids go so far away that it is hard to see their performances. Dancer is 12 hours away. 
@SpartanDrew I’m so happy we were able to spend some time together and that our girls got to know each other better. Wish we could be with you next weekend. I truly wish that everyone auditioning this season finds the best school for them! With affordable options!
@diglass right back atcha. I don’t know how I would have gotten through this process without your friendship and that of @Melodyminor. We parents have to stick together for support! I’m so glad that some of our kid’s schools have been the same so we can cross compare and even meet up at auditions. You and your D are DONE! I’m so jealous! That being said I didn’t envy your crazy travel schedule in December LOL.
Because of a lot of you D added some schools at the last minute she may not have considered. She is open to every single school where she has applied and honestly hasn’t eliminated one of them. I guess that’s good and bad all at the same time. I know she has loved some she’s visited and could see herself there in a big way. The final three she hasn’t visited at all so we will see how she feels at each of them. Another jazz mom I met a month ago connected D with some current jazz voice students at NEC to talk to. The camaraderie from these parents has been awesome and our kids have met and made friendships as well…maybe even ones that will take them into college. All from this lovely site. And also from a bit of outside the door leaning…hahahaha! :-))
D will absolutely not perform for me! I did get to hear two audition songs at a master class she attended in the fall - parents were included. But tomorrow is her school’s musical theatre program’s cabaret! I so look forward to this every year. I’m really going to miss seeing her perform. With S up in Chicago, I haven’t seen a performance of his yet. Next school year when I’m not taking anyone to auditions, I’m going to eat beans and rice so I can buy plane tickets to go see them both perform.
Also, our neighborhood always has a big spring festival and I just found out it falls during S’s spring break. So they will perform at that (they have a band together and the other band members are local).