Guest Post by Leo Hardman-Hill

Leo is a senior at ICE and has been accepted to many very prestigious conservatory programs. In this post he shares his knowledge about conservatories and offers advice for how to go about applying to them. 

A brief overview of conservatory advice in the form of a Q and A between imaginary 11th graders and myself:

Q: What’s it like applying to college?

A: You’re going to hell and back. The devil is the college board. But before I cast you into a spell of nauseating paranoia of the months ahead, I should clarify that hell is truly manageable, college board truly just a fly on the wall, if you manage your time. I know that’s easier said than done, but you will truly benefit by at this point in life spending 30 minutes a day doing college related things (15 of which include studying for the SAT’s--even you, conservatory students).

Q: What’s different about applying to conservatory?

A: If you have any intention at all of even possibly applying to conservatory, start your work now. Do not wait until your friends now. It’s really not that bad, but do know that in terms of sheer workload your boat will be twice the size of other people. Start now, take it one step at a time--I started late, tried to take it 2 and a half steps a time, and was tripping all over myself on the way to conservatory victory.

Q: Haha what a funny piece of writing--so where do I start?

A: For starters, find possible conservatories that could work best for you. There are a ton of them out there, each with their own individual types of programs, faculty, connections, etc. Research the kind of place that works best for you--and ask advice from teachers in your conservatory field (musicians, feel free to ask me any questions if you have any). By midway through the summer, start adding audition practice to your daily routine (but keep up the other hard work you do in the field--schools will look not only for a good audition performance, but signs of your talent).

Q: What’s the difference between going to a conservatory and a liberal arts college and majoring in music?

A: This answer speaks more towards what I know of trying to becoming a musician, but is worth reading and taking into consideration for the rest of you also. Unfortunately, the world has changed considerably. While it used to be easier for people to go to a liberal arts college, get a music degree if they choose, and go get a masters in music of some kind, this is now a lot harder to do. The cost of college is higher than ever before, and it is not always easy to pay for both an expensive liberal arts college, and get a masters. Furthermore, you’ll be competing with former conservatory students for a masters degree. Why can’t you just major in music and then become a musician? Over time, the bar has continued to be raised for musicians in terms of skill and chops. WIth a limited amount of jobs out there, you want to be able to have every leg up you can get--the intensive practice, plus connections, you can get at a conservatory will give you that leg up. Besides, music is a skill that takes time, you want to be able to have time in your life to really put in hours.

Thanks Leo!