<p>yeah, but the cost of insurance negates any leftover cash for summer stuff. And who would be foolish enough to let the kid fly with it? :D</p>
<p>You to the Southwest Lost Luggage rep:</p>
<p>“I dont care WHAT your policy for replacement value is,…it was a BILLION DOLLAR VIOLA.”</p>
<p>Lateparty, it’s not an unpleasant tone, it’s basically the feeling you can get reading this stuff where it seems that by not doing it you are somehow failing your children. Worse yet it’s the feeling that some college hopefuls would get by reading this stuff where they would be discouraged because they’ve never done one of the uber summer festivals. </p>
<p>You can get into college with a 3.0 gpa and an 1800 SAT. You can get into music school by practicing hard and having a great audition. Summer music festivals can certainly help but the feeling one gets from these posts is that they make or break you.</p>
<p>Summer music programs helped my son
–confirm that he wanted to go into music
–meet faculty who he may want to work with
–work with more advanced peers</p>
<p>CC was acting up on me. When I tried to post, I got the “can’t find this page” screen. So I backed out, refreshed to make sure my post hadn’t stuck, and tried again. Got the same screen. When I backed out that time, I couldn’t get back in. So I came back now to see if CC was fixed, and see my double post. Geesh!!!</p>
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<p>Only helps in admissions if the rest of the folks auditioning on your instrument have LESS amazing auditions. If everyone else has MORE amazing auditions…even your amazing one might not get you admitted.</p>
<p>And the BEST audition won’t get you a spot at a school that doesn’t have an opening in your instrument…and yes…that does happen.</p>
<p>I vote for the alignment of the stars!!!</p>
<p>Echo mom4</p>
<p>Summer programs won’t get you into anywhere. But what they will do is keep you playing ability appropriate repertoire, playing chamber music, forcing you to play in front of your peers, and practicing many hours per day. At the same time the student will see just how deep the music pond really is, especially if the student ventures to places like Interlochen, BUTI, Brevard, or any number of other summer programs that offer high level instruction to students from all over the globe. And yes, meeting teachers is great not only because you build relationships in what is a relationship driven field, but the student gains knowledge from someone other than his/her regular teacher. Summer is the time to try new things, take chances, and throw yourself out there. And what better place to do that than hundreds of miles from home where, if you fall on your face, nobody you know will know.</p>
<p>Getting in to a conservatory? Practice, play well at your audition, and pray because you’ll need the results of all three. It’s an inexact process and all the summer camping in the world will not guarantee anything when it comes to admission. But a good summer camp with a committed student will guarantee a better musician come September.</p>
<p>Signed: Father of an Interlochen and formerly Stings International Music Festival student.</p>
<p>People aren’t being negative towards summer programs, they are being negative towards the attitude that is projected that a student absolutely needs to attend summer music workshops and festivals if they have any hope of getting into a good music program, and that if you can’t send your child there you are a bad parent, which is ludicrous. Not everyone can afford to pay the many thousands of dollars most programs take, they are already stretching budgets to pay for lessons and whatnot…and no one should ever feel a summer music program is something that they absolutely have to give their child. I have to admit, this hits a nerve, not because we can’t afford it (we are fortunate to have family income to support things like an expensive prep program and summer festivals, albeit leaving few other ‘frills’ in our lives) but rather that in music there are these assumptions out here by teachers and others that somehow “of course you can pay for this and that”, ironic when many of them are not exactly living la vida loca financially…</p>
<p>The other thing is that many summer music festivals may not be exactly all that much inspiration, for every high level program you can name, there are a lot more that are a musical form of summer camp (which is fine for the kid seeking that) but that sell themselves as being for serious music students as well, which frankly it dubious IMO. What bothers me is a parent could shell out money they can ill afford for a program that does little to help the child, when they might be better of putting it elsewhere, given limited budget. </p>
<p>Again, I am not saying that summer festivals are a waste or that some/many might not be valuable, I am saying they a)aren’t a deal breaker and b) that if you can’t afford to send your child to one, it doesn’t make you a bad parent ruining a child’s future. Given that financial aid at most music festivals is dicey unless someone is really from a modest background, the reality is most people pay full freight, and many can’t afford it easily, and I feel bad that someone could think badly of themselves amidst all the hype.</p>
<p>As far as auditions go, it isn’t all a gee whiz audition from everything I have seen and heard about. A gee whiz audition may get you admitted because you catch a teacher’s eye so they are willing to teach you, but you can also have a gee whiz audition but because teachers have all their slots filled by that point, or because they have students in mind applying to the school, you might not get in (yes, students do get in because they know teachers; they have to meet certain standards, of course, but it is possible a student who had a less spectacular audition can get admitted before another person with a better one, because a teacher had already “tagged” them and thus had the spot they had open filled; no teacher is forced to take a student they don’t want, so they are ultimately responsible for a student getting in)</p>
<p>Does anyone know how hard it is to get off the BUTI wait-list? (I’m a horn player). As per their policy, they won’t disclose my wait-list position…I imagine that it is pretty rare for anyone to pass up an opportunity to go to BUTI, so my hopes aren’t high. I did get in to orchestra at Interlochen, so I will go there if we can manage it financially. </p>
<p>As a newbie,I would also like to say how impressed I am with this forum…it’s a great resource, and I’m sure I’ll be returning here as the audition process begins to really intensify.</p>
<p>As wonderful as I think summer programs can be, I agree that they are not a necessity. For those that just can’t afford them, there are alternatives that are much cheaper. Much of the expense of summer programs comes from the travel and the board and room, so anything that can keep a student learning without these extraneous expenses is great.</p>
<p>I grew up in a very remote location, so for one summer I took weekly lessons from an excellent piano professor at a university two hours away. To save on gas, I often took rides with people who were going to that city for other purposes for the day. The total expense for the summer was a small fraction of what a summer program would have been. I practiced four hours a day and worked part-time and came out ahead financiallly.</p>
<p>If grandma lives in a city with a good music instructor, then perhaps several lessons can be arranged there during a two-week period (travel cost is zero because you were going to visit grandma anyways, room and board is zero because grandma is so happy to see you). Grandma might be so delighted to get a prolonged visit and daily concerts that she might volunteer to pay for the lessons!</p>
<p>While you are travelling, it might be possible to arrange for some daily lessons for three or four days with a good teacher who lives along your travel route. </p>
<p>I have seen able (not super-talented) high school students help out at summer music programs designed primarily for younger children in exchange for free daily chamber coachings. These students also sat in on the orchestra to help strengthen it. They also had some designated practice hours as a chamber ensemble each day. </p>
<p>Many summer programs do offer scholarships. It pays to do your research. Some guarantee full scholarship to all admitted students. Those do tend to be very competitive programs, but I have seen some programs that are open to almost anyone that have excellent faculty and very low fees.</p>
<p>phrygian17–Last summer my D was waitlisted for BUTI (voice) and then was accepted a few weeks later. She ended up choosing Interlochen anyway, and loved it.</p>
<p>No experience with BUTI, but my horn player son was accepted off the waitlist to TMC last year. He was also accepted off the waitlist to MAW the first summer he went. So it does happen.</p>
<p>Re: summer programs - My S did Brevard (partial scholarship) after 9th grade, and 1 week of horn camp (on full scholarship) after 10th and 11th. Certainly not huge, but definitely profitable for him. (A couple local band camps prior to Brevard). Money was an issue with us. That was the best we could do.</p>
<p>His classmates in horn studio run the gamut - a student who attended Interlochen Arts Academy (boarding school) for high school, to a student who went to MAW after her junior year of college (I think) and that was her first EVER summer camp. Each went the path that seemed right for them. That’s all any of us can do.</p>
<p>Excellent suggestions by vioindad.</p>
<p>And there’s a list of the “free” or almost free options here. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/478123-free-summer-orchestra-programs.html?highlight=free[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/478123-free-summer-orchestra-programs.html?highlight=free</a> And they are not specifically orchestra as the title suggests.</p>
<p>A good number of these are extremely competitive and you have to do your research.</p>
<p>How does EMF orchestra program compare with BUTI or Brevard’s? Thank you.</p>
<p>My son would be doing Choral/Operetta at Interlochen.</p>
<p>My son can’t decide between Interlochen and BUTI for voice this summer. At Interlochen he would be doing the Choral/Operetta program. He was at Interlochen last summer (for musical theater) and LOVED everything about the place. It was at Interlochen that he realized he wanted to focus his training on classical music. He is currently a sophomore in high school and is really conflicted about where to go. Would appreciate honest advice from those in the know on all aspects of the program.</p>
<p>We know vocal soloist program, but I have heard choral/operetta is also an excellent program - have every indication that is the case. Just want to put in a recommendation also for multiple summers at Interlochen; we have experience with that with “multiple” musicians in our family! Aside from the Interlochen experience, one will have musical growth and new associations as well as likely continuing previous ones.</p>
<p>If anyone has experience, I would also apprecaite info on Interlochen and BUTI for Orchestra. Thank you.</p>
<p>Iglooo, what do you specifically want to know about Orchestra at Interlochen? WYSO is excellent, beyond that feel free to ask some more specific questions.</p>
<p>If you feel WYSO is not challenging enough short of doing the solo competition, would any other orchestral program at BUTI or EMF or Brevard help?</p>