What are my chances of being admitted into music programs?

College Majors Music Major
1

I am a sophomore in high school and have been playing the violin for 10 years (I started at six years old). In middle school, I attended Interlochen Arts Camp twice in the summers prior to 7th and 8th grade (for anyone that is familiar with Interlochen, in ICO one year and ISO the next). Previously, I was probably practicing approx. 4-5 hours a week, and this school year I started practicing about 8 hours a week. I am currently working on Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole for this year’s annual concerto competition. Last year, I performed de Beriot’s Scene de Ballet earning second place out of 10 competitors. Other repertoire I learned in earlier years includes Accolay’s concerto in A minor (1st mvt), Hadyn’s concerto in g major (1st mvt), etc. (these were probably in middle school). Last year I earned a 5 at solo and ensemble. I am concertmaster of my local youth orchestra (not through school, it draws musicians from the neighboring cities too) and am interning in my local professional symphony. I do very well in school and have participated in multiple academic summer programs.

Though I am advanced compared to others who live around me, I am not sure how advanced I am because I do not live in a big city (my town is ~40k ppl). I am well aware that there are others who practice many many hours a day, have access to master teachers, live in big cities with advanced youth orchestras, etc.
I am wondering what kind of chance I have to be admitted to good music schools or even top-level music conservatories. Also, what can I do to increase my chances? (Practice more hours a day, etc.?)

Thank you for any and all answers!

2

By no means am I an expert in violin, but it sounds like you are dedicated and hardworking. Going to programs like Interlochen should have given you an idea of how your talent compared to your peers outside of your local area. Could you audition for a summer program such as Tanglewood? Hopefully you have a private teacher who can also guide you. Good luck!

3

Congratulations on your hard work and achievements so far. It sounds like a conservatory or school of music will work well for you.

Hope you can go to another summer program this year.

Is your teacher a helpful resource for your questions?

(You might want to read the Double Degree Dilemma essay closer to the top of this forum, which covers different ways to study music.)

4

It is really not possible for anyone to evaluate your playing or definitively answer your questions on an internet forum. This question should be addressed by your teacher or another teacher who has had success in sending students to music school/conservatory.

I find it “interesting” that you were jumped repertoire-wise from Scene de Ballet, an intermediate “teaching” piece, to Symphonie Espagnole. It is obviously impossible to ascertain how well your are playing this or the challenge it does or doesn’t present to you, but I wonder how it is going for you. Lalo is frequently played by students your age, but often the Bruch G m Concerto has preceded study of Lalo along with other works such as Mozart 3, Kreutzer and other more advanced etudes and shorter works such as the Beethoven Romances or Vitalli Chaconne. Many serious students your age will also have begun study of Bach solo sonatas and partitas.

I do recognize that you may not have provided a full repertoire study list, but Accolay is an easier intermediate student piece. Haydn GM is a good work for serious study, why does your teacher include only a single movement? If you are currently focusing on only one major work per year, that pace may not be sufficient to be competitive for the “top” music schools.

The above may be harsh, but there are many students playing at your level and above and you’ve indicated you wonder about being admitted to a “top” school. Eight hours a week of practice is minimal for many with aspirations to top schools - practicing 3 hours per DAY is required by some teachers of serious pre-college age students. Take a look on Youtube at some of the Juilliard pre-college student tapes. This may give you some ideas of where you might stand against others with aspirations similar to yours.

A summer institute where you could get an idea of your standing vis a vis others is a good idea. Take a look at Indiana Summer String Academy. Generally excellent instruction and some fine players. Other students your age also attend places like Meadowmount. These programs focus on personal development with required practice hours and master teachers.

Another research idea for you - take a look at the audition requirements for schools you might potentially be interested in. You are likely to find requirements for 1st and possibly 2nd movement of a concerto. Some examples of acceptable works may be listed (these would be the minimal standard, many students audition with more difficult concerto repertoire than indicated). You might be able to get some notion of expectations of various places that might not be rated “top conservatory” but will still be excellent programs.

5

@mathyviolinist : There are a couple of ways you can get yourself assessed. The most direct way would be to contact a violin professor at a college near you, and ask to have a lesson, and also an evaluation of your skill level. The lesson may cost you between a 100 to 200 $, but its well worth it. Be direct, ask the hard question : Do I have what it takes to be successful as a professional violinist ?

The second, more indirect way, but definitely recommended is to audition for Meadowmount, Aspen, and Heifetz. Competition for all three programs is stiff - some of the best young violinists go there each year. There are others that you will find that are likely as good, but these are the ones that I am personally familiar with, having had my child (who is at music school now) attend them.

Auditioning for these schools is usually via recording, very similar to what you will need to provide for a college application prescreen.

Assuming you attend one of these, there are a few things that you will gain from them :

First, you will be exposed to peers that are as good, or better than you are, and gives you an idea of the competition you will face when you apply to college in a couple of years.

Second, you will practice, not 8 hours a week, but 40 hours a week for about 8 weeks, between practice, chamber and orchestra. If you come back wanting that life, then you do know that is what you are passionate about.

Third, all of these institutes provide you with awesome teachers, exposure to what college level violin teaching is all about. These are teachers that are some of the best orchestral and solo musicians of our times.

Finally, all of these summer programs offer many auditioned solo performance opportunities - and if you qualify for them, it gives you an idea of what a professional goes through to prep for a performance.

Applications for most of these schools are due in late January, or early February, and many will accept late submissions. Given that you have this summer and the next you should apply to one or more of these this year.

I hope you try out for one of them and that you are successful.

Wishing you luck, and success.

6

@mathyviolinist I agree with everything that has been said here.

I will add that the greatest factors to your improvement will be increased practice hours (well used, well planned practice hours) and an increase in repertoire level and volume. By volume I mean several pieces at once. This should be guided by your teacher.

My daughter became interested in a music career and attending conservatory in 7th grade and she and her teacher maintained a rep list every year of a major concerto, a solo Bach partita or Sonata, a sonata with piano, a Paganini caprice and etudes (Kreutzer, Dont, etc). And also a Mozart concerto many of those years (not counted among the major concertos but a necessary category all their own) They would decide in January what she would play the following school year so new rep overlapped the old. She’d start to learn the new set while perfoming or competing with the old set. This regimen set her up well to prepare for conservatory auditions which require many if not all of these categories of pieces.

Of course this work load required many hours of practice a DAY. She was told by a retired conservatory teacher that he required his students to practice 5 hours a day and take 1 day off each week. So she adopted that goal. Didnt always make it but It was her standard she reached for.

I know this path doesn’t work for everyone and she was able to attend online high school which gave her the time and flexibility to work this hard.

She is now attending a top conservatory with the teacher of her dreams and if she were here she’d give you the same advice.

Summer institutes as you know are a great way to expose you to a wide variety of instruction and players from all over.

Also, if there are local, state, or regional competitions to which you have access, it will give you a goal to work towards that will help you to really polish your playing. Also you will recieve good honest feedback. (Don’t ever focus on winning - the true goal is polishing your performance and the lessons that come with that).

Wishing you the best in your journey!!
???

7

It’s really tough being an aspiring violinist (or any other musician) in a small town with limited resources. I know because we were in a similar situation. It’s hard to assess your talent level in a small pond with big dreams of top conservatories in the country.

Fortunately for us, there was a Juilliard (BM, MM) trained violin teacher in town. After a few years, however, we felt her teaching to be limited, so then we had no choice but to drive an hour away to a larger city. Not having a quality piano accompanist in town also meant driving to this larger city for required rehearsals for frequent studio recitals, auditions and competitions. My son also moved on from being a member in our local youth orchestra to the one in the larger city. I was pretty much his full time chauffeur driving him to his weekly lessons, recitals, orchestra rehearsals, etc.

My son was able to test his playing level in the following ways: 1) repertoire progression dictated by the teacher; 2) orchestra leadership position in the large city, as well as the state and national honor orchestras; 3) competitions at state, national and international levels; 4) auditions for summer music camps, starting with the IU Summer String Academy, Heifetz Institute of Music and Aspen. For the Aspen, my son applied for the fellowship in order to attend it for free, but while he was accepted to the program, he didn’t get the fellowship. That was a good indicator of “where he stood at” among fellow young violinists. A couple of his good friends from the Heifetz summer received, in different years, the Aspen fellowship. One cellist by the name of Zlatomir Fung went onto win the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition along with just about everything else.

To test your level, you need to place yourself in a larger water, so to speak. You appear to be willing to work hard toward your goals. Your talent level is one thing, but with hard work and dedication, you can attain your goals.

8

I’ll definitely try to practice well and more (though I am insanely busy), and I applied for a few summer programs. I appreciate all your advice! Thank you!