Daily Bow: What Would You Do to Get into College?

Audition Season Reveals Dedicated Young Musicians

As an underclassman, my memories of college auditions are still pretty fresh. While it was ultimately a positive experience, there were still plenty of bumps along the road. Most of my classmates just filled out applications in the fall and hoped for the best come spring. For a music major, the stress of applying to college really starts the summer before, when hopeful students start learning the repertoire they’ll need to record their pre-screen tapes (some start learning the required pieces even earlier!) With a good tape, students can pass the first hurdle and are then invited to a live audition. After about three months of flying across the country and missing about two weeks of school, the applicants wait in agony until May when they can finally learn the result of a year’s worth of effort.

This is the senior year of many young musicians, but some make sacrifices that exceed the rest:

The typical Saturday schedule for Jehshua Karunakaran, 17, of [Reston, Virginia]: Rise around 4 a.m. Together with your parents (Jehshua is an only child), be on the road by 4:30.  Arrive at The Julliard School in New York City sometime before 9 a.m. Proceed with a private violin lesson, a choral practice, ear training, a music history course, a brief lunch, a full member orchestral practice, a chamber music ensemble practice, and then an evening recital or orchestra concert. Eat dinner in there somewhere, then get back in the car and return to Reston around midnight.

If you ask any parent of a student musician, they’ll tell you that what their child does is a lot more than a hobby. Hours of practice, rehearsal, and lessons fill their weeks and adding a hefty schedule of auditions doesn’t make it any easier. Students like Jehshua, however, illustrate sacrifice that goes far beyond the normal. The dedication he puts into preparing for what is, in some ways, one of the most important years of his life is admirable. And while he’s certainly setting himself up for success, there are definitely more kids out there with amazing stories to tell. To what lengths did you go to prepare for college? Has your child or friend given up a lot to go through the college audition process? Share your experiences below!