<p>D attended both Interlochen and Tanglewood. Both were amazing, but she will always say that Interlochen was the best summer of her life. She applied and was accepted to several programs and chose the program by the instructor. She loved the instructors at Interlochen and actually applied to the colleges they that taught at~She is now in the studio of one of the Interlochen instructers and LOVES it! Her top three choices for college all had ties to Interlochen! She still keeps in touch with her cabinmates and friends that she made that summer. We even caught up with some on college auditions.
Do not get me wrong…she enjoyed Tanglewood. The complaints had nothing to do with the program or the instructors! It was the food and the weather…yep, weather. It literally rained all but a very few days while she was there. Nothing that could be prevented, but unfortunately it did have an influence on her… The food seemed to be an issue with many that summer. D has spent many summers away at programs. She has never said anything about the food until her summer at Tanglewood. There is a wonderful, quaint town that the kids can walk to, but it is quite pricey! her supplemental food bill was more than we had planned. Now, that being said…if the worst complaint you can come up with is the weather and the food…the heart of the program must be pretty good; and it was!</p>
<p>Heifetz-</p>
<p>Terrific for advanced, serious musicians who want to practice and study with outstanding faculty. Also, a selective program with high schoolers competing for spots with college and conservatory students. Not all applicants are admitted. Know at least one violist (high school age) who was not accepted for a second year even though the first summer had been successful. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Sophomore Son has been accepted to both programs for voice and can’t decide which to accept. Did Interlochen last year and LOVED it. Will be sad not to go back. Is Tanglewood Institute considered “better” for the college application?</p>
<p>I would check to see who your son would be working with at the camps. As far as which is best for resume…d attended both for instrumental. If something were to be said about her resume at her college auditions, they would mention both Tanglewood and Interlochen. If you ask my d, Interlochen was the most incredible experince.</p>
<p>cityoperamom,
which program did your son do at Interlochen and which program would he be doing this year-choral and operetta or vocal soloist?</p>
<p>Interlochen has a variety of programs/ages in summer.
I do know quite well that at the high school level, for musicians, specifically, for 6 weeks (or 4 weeks if vocal soloist program) Interlochen has an outstanding “track record” if you will, and in a multitude of ways. As someone else posted, it’s life changing.</p>
<p>I really wonder what percentage of kids who get into audition based programs for college never attended any of these programs. I find a lot of all this somewhat ridiculous. While I understand that it’s nice to be able to send your kids here or there over the summer and spend uncountable thousdands of dollars on all the “best” programs there has to be a huge percentage of students who don’t and do quite well.</p>
<p>Truly someone would read some of these threads and think “my god what have I done to my poor babies chances of getting into school.”</p>
<p>Daughter got into both Aspen and Tanglewood (waitlisted for YAO). This is her first year. She wants to go to Aspen but I think BUTI is better suited for her. Her twin got into BUTI as well. Which is better? Aspen or BUTI?
Also I agree with sagiter about “what percentage of kids who get into audition based programs for college never attended any of these programs”. Does it really matter to colleges where they went for a summer program? After all they have to audition again in person for each college. But I don’t want to not send them in case it jeopardizes their chances. Coughing up summer program fees for both of them is difficult.</p>
<p>Mine did not do any of the “big name” summer intensives, frankly we could not swing it.</p>
<p>We did take advantage of what was available locally/regionally and what he did do was very intense, but well off most radars.</p>
<p>The flip side to this was that he played constantly with kids who did do these programs, and that his coaches, mentors and instructors were performing pros. </p>
<p>The year he announced he wanted to go to Meadowmount (peer pressure, not instructor pressure) I told him he had a choice. It might make some of his undergrad choices unpalatable if the funds went to big bucks summers and the talent money wasn’t there for undergrad and/or it may curtail an instrument upgrade for undergrad.</p>
<p>We did not need to identify if he were a music 24/7 kid, were extremely comfortable with the professional assessments we did have and we knew the level he could be viable at from an audition standpoint, and he knew where he wanted to be for undergrad.</p>
<p>Any number of reasons to participate or not. From an assessment of relative peer level, they can be very valuable, as can the exposure to different faculty and teaching methods. For many, the $ can be hard to come by even with scholarship money and program support. It can also be very instrument specific. </p>
<p>It’s one part of the equation. But that’s just my $.02.</p>
<p>The truth is all I really wanted to do by saying what I did is offer some respite to those parents who show up and then freak out that their kids didn’t do all this stuff.</p>
<p>I can almost guarantee that the % of kids who get into audition based programs far exceeds those that did not attend the majority of these camps.</p>
<p>I liken some of the threads in this forum to the “I only have a 3.6 GPA and a 1900 SAT, 9 EC’s and 7 AP’s how will I ever get into college threads” on the “other” side.</p>
<p>sagiter, I agree with you. For many, it’s a mix of what can be done logistically, financially, and in some cases an abundance or lack of local resources. Understanding what may be involved is important. </p>
<p>It’s one part of the recipe, but you can go heavy or light on some of the ingredients.</p>
<p>Season to taste so to speak.</p>
<p>Going in blind and with no knowledge of what MAY be involved can be the killer.</p>
<p>I think I am going in blind. Do you know of IU school of music summer string program run by Mimi Zweig?</p>
<p>Igloo, no direct experience but Zweig is an outstanding pedagog. The faculty and masterclass list for '10 shows some impressive names.</p>
<p>A couple of other comments about Zweig and or the program:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063614273-post5.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063614273-post5.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/861869-advice-violinist-daughter-music-ed-post1064071741.html?highlight=Zweig#post1064071741[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/861869-advice-violinist-daughter-music-ed-post1064071741.html?highlight=Zweig#post1064071741</a></p>
<p>Thank you for the links.</p>
<p>I agree with sagiter, I think the whole summer festival thing is overplayed in terms of admission to music programs, and there is tremendous pressure out there, much of it from the programs themselves, to make it seem like it is imperitive you attend a music festival each summer so you are ready for admission, etc…and the reality is when it comes to music school auditions unless everyone is lying, the admittance pretty much comes down to the audition (maybe music schools use experience as a tie breaker of some sort, not sure of that), which is based on how well the student plays there.</p>
<p>I am not saying summer programs have no worth,of course, I am just saying they aren’t a pre req to getting into a music program. Insofar as a student’s playing might improve from attending the festival, or a master class might inspire them, it is like any experience that builds something. On the other hand, there are music festivals out there that for whatever reasons probably wouldn’t give all that much benefit…</p>
<p>The only example of where a summer music program might have direct benefits is something I have heard, that sometimes a teacher at a music school comes into contact with someone at a music festival and likes them, it can help grease the path a bit into the school they teach at (since presumably, the teacher would be willing to teach them). Likewise, sometimes someone at a music festival will meet a student, find out they are interested in school X, and call a contact on the faculty and say “look out for this kid, Y, they are something”, which can result in a sample lesson and possibly the kid getting in. </p>
<p>And given the realities of how expensive this all is, the lessons, the music programs, the instruments and travel and so forth, there may be a very good reason for music schools to ignore summer program attendance. This is already considered a playing ground of the elite, because of the cost of entry (yeah, it varies from instrument to instrument), and adding in the cost of summer festivals, which is not chump change, makes it even more so for people who aren’t in the mythical top X% of income earners…</p>
<p>What I wouldd tell parents is there are places where spending the money is more important, when means are limited. Having a high level teacher is probably the biggest investment, then after that there are a variety of things. I would even put getting the kid to see live performances above the summer program, but that is me…</p>
<p>One great advantage to summer programs for composers - either day programs at conservatories & music schools, or boarding programs - is that they will get a chance to hear their music performed, and get a recording and often a dvd which is super useful for applying to colleges and entering competitions such as NFAA (which requests a dvd of a performance.) It’s also a good place to meet other composers who are often in grad school and hear about their experiences as an undergrad.</p>
<p>One could also spend the same money on hiring professional performers…which some I’ve known have done to good result.</p>
<p>I’m a bit baffled at the unpleasant tone against summer programs. In some cases kids ourgrow their small pond and truly want to travel and meet peers from all over. It’s not just focused on conservatory apps/resume. That part seemed to emerge later as a possible side benefit. It’s an incredible experience of music, peers, new professional associations, new rep. From what I’ve personally witnessed, there can be a lot of growth as well as worldwide networking and friendships. Sure, this is also accomplished by summer travel to Europe (language immersion).</p>
<p>Summer programs are NOT a guarantee for admission to your dream music school.
Sample lessons are not a guarantee.
Being a regular poster on CC is not a guarantee. (Sorry guys.)
Having a famous teacher isn’t.
Being principal in a youth orchestra isn’t.
Having a billion dollar instrument isn’t.</p>
<p>Having an amazing audition is the only thing that will matter. (A certain alignment of the stars might help.)</p>
<p>However, anything that can help you get to that point is worth considering.</p>
<p>Summer programs are NOT a guarantee for admission to your dream music school.
Sample lessons are not a guarantee.
Being a regular poster on CC is not a guarantee. (Sorry guys.)
Having a famous teacher isn’t.
Being principal in a youth orchestra isn’t.
Having a billion dollar instrument isn’t.</p>
<p>Having an amazing audition (with a certain alignment of the stars …) is the only thing that will matter. </p>
<p>However, anything that can help you get to that point is worth considering.</p>
<p>^ I dunno…that billion dollar instrument sounds pretty impressive.</p>