<p>I will cheer for the great Russian teachers - they bring so much to our children. Scary though they might sometimes be, they usually also have infinite warmth and love.</p>
<p>My D is a rising senior so we’ve not fully been through the full process yet but, looking at sources like CC, we’ve come to believe that, while the resume is good, the audition is king. With that in mind, she’s taken a two-pronged approach:</p>
<ul>
<li>Doing whatever we can find to prepare her for her auditions (she’s planning to be a vocal performance major so she does voice contests and will spend the next 3 weeks working on her opera technique in a program from the Washington Opera</li>
</ul>
<p>and</p>
<ul>
<li>Starting her college search early - remember, you’ll make two campus visits usually; one to see if she actually likes the school and another to audition.</li>
</ul>
<p>We’ll all find out in the next nine months or so how well it works.</p>
<p>Good luck to your D, Don!</p>
<p>Absolutely agree about the injury concerns mentioned above! Our joke is that we should insure S’s hands with Lloyd’s of London! All jesting aside, the potential for injury to wrists, hands, or fingers is so great with many sports, and serious musicians can’t take those risks. My son broke his wrist at age nine, before he was a serious musician, and has had to baby it ever since, because it still aches and bothers him with overuse occasionally. Also, once a wrist is broken, it can break again much more easily than the first time, and a broken wrist for him, at this point, would be a major problem.</p>
<p>allmusic, concern about injuries is legitimate. Two of my DD’s former teammates tore ACL’s in ONE GAME. Both will require surgery and be out for a year in rehab. On the other hand the only serious injury my DD has had was a sprained wrist that happened when she was horsing around in the living room. It’s hard to put them in a bubble.</p>
<p>I acturally love watching her on the soccer field, fighting for the ball, elbows flying. She has a mean streak and can tool most boys her age!</p>
<p>The kids with a high degree of fitness and agility are less likely to incur injuries than other kids. I’ve seen my DD leap over fallen players on the field and avoid collisions and injuries.</p>
<p>For her soccer is a chance to let off some steam and get some exersize. I think that’s a good thing.</p>
<p>But I do draw the line on some activities. I would absolutely keep her, or any kid, off skateboards and roller blades. Also volleyball is a sport I would try to discourage (so many finger/hand injuries).</p>
<p>D, who is a real scrapper, played varsity soccer in high school and was a varsity starter on a DIII team in college.</p>
<p>She had more than her share of injuries: badly sprained knees, torn ACL’s, bruised ribs, and almost bit through her toungue as the result of a collision. A bloody mess, her biggest concern was “can I still eat?”. I advised her to stay away from spicey foods and to stop sucking face for a week to ten days, which cracked the rest of the bench up. </p>
<p>That was a late afternoon college away game, an hour from home, and wife and I took the afternoon off to attend. Had dragged the 130 pound Newfoundland along as well, as D begged us, having not seen him in a month.</p>
<p>When her coach realized we were at the game, he suggested we run her to the ER. My responses were “why, they won’t stitch it” and “what if we WEREN’T here… it’s the teams issue, not ours” and “are YOU gonna watch the dog?”</p>
<p>I looked at D, said it’s your call. She said “no way. I’m going back in as soon as the bleeding stops.”</p>
<p>Thankfully, son has no interest in contact sports.</p>
<p>Violadad, does your D play an instrument?</p>
<p>Emmatoo, no she doesn’t. Son, who is two plus years older is the musician, BM viola performance, Hartt '07. D did follow her brother on the same instrument, at the suggestion of the elementary teacher who we had great trust in. He felt she would benefit by her brother’s strengths, plus we were spared the expense of a different instrument as we could pass down S’s as he outgrew/outclassed it. </p>
<p>She played through elementary and middle school, and gave it up in high school, refusing to sit in a section with her brother as principal.</p>
<p>She was decent, about upper third of her peers, but she had no love for it. She did ask for a guitar and lessons in hs, which we provided. Lessons were quickly dropped, and she gave the six string to her brother.</p>
<p>No comparisons were ever made between her and her sib, and I credit the public school string teacher, a consumate professional. She has no love of classical, hated practicing, and did not want to spend time in her brother’s shadow.</p>
<p>Two different kids. I can’t explain it.</p>
<p>On injuries: Last summer S2 was surfing and was hit by another’s surfboard. No broken bones, but a bad bruise on his leg, and had difficulty walking for a couple weeks. Our uniform response as a family was, “Oh good! Only your leg!” Yes, hard to put them in a bubble.</p>
<p>Violadad - S2 sounds a lot like your D. I once went to wash his soccer shorts and found them encrusted with blood. Walked into his room and said, “Drop your pants - I want to see!” He knew exactly what I was talking about. Had a good 10 inches of brush burn running down his thigh. Never mentioned it. Said he was afraid the coach would take him out of the game. He also once had TWO ingrown toe nails (both big toes) removed, and was in the game the next day (although he did skip practice the day it was done).</p>
<p>Sorry, Emmatoo, to be diverting this thread. Back to the regularly scheduled programming…</p>
<p>This is a quote from George Carlin in an obituary. I thought it was both amusing and relevant.</p>
<p>Pablo Casals, he was a past master of the cello. He was the virtuoso in the 20th century. He was in his 90s and he was still practicing three hours a day, and one of his friends said to him, “Senor Casals, you are such a past master, a virtuoso of this instrument, everyone knows it and acknowledges it. Why do you practice three hours a day?” and he said, “Well, I’m beginning to notice some improvement.” </p>
<p>It’s in Salon.com if you’re interested.</p>
<p>RIP George.</p>
<p>Hi Emmatoo,</p>
<p>I just want to second what Zep experienced re Northwestern’s acceptance of double majors - although my knowledge is limited to violin, viola and cello majors. I know a number of current and recent NU grads who went the double major route (music/bio, music/poli sci, music/physics, etc) and loved their experiences. I also know that not all these students chose to complete both degrees. They completed fully the degree requirements for one program and received that degree only, but along the way had 4 years of extensive experience in the other field as well - more than they could have had with a minor or as a music ensemble participant only. My impression is that it isn’t unusual for students to decide not to spend 5 years to complete both degrees - and that no one objects to that decision. </p>
<p>As I indicated, I don’t know clarinet players or studios (although Zep’s D may play clarinet???) - if you are concerned, it would not be out of line to ask if the clarinet instructor is supportive of double degree candidates. </p>
<p>Re the sports - my S (totally uninvolved in sports through middle and high school) went to conservatory and became an avid recreational swimmer and gym enthusiast. I know what you mean about concern for fitness and health - I was delighted that he added exercise to his routine!</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>