Double Bass Idyllwild and Interlochen and Walnut Hill Arts Academies

[PRUNEFACE]

Does anyone have any experience with the actual preparatory conservatory high school of Idyllwild or Interlochen or Walnut Hill?
I'm trying to put together an audition for these schools and am curious on what I should do -something easier played very well or something considerably more difficult that is played decently?
And does anyone know what the bassists of the past few years have been auditioning on?
For example (slight hyperbole here) I don't want to prepare the Elephant when they're expecting Bottesini No. 2 (although I'm considerably past the Elephant but not quite up to Bottesini 2 you get the point.)
I see the recommended material for the summer program but I am wondering whether they have a higher standard for the summer programs (because it is more realistic for most people to go a summer or two rather than several years of high school at many thousands of dollars per year.)
Thanks all!

 

[Alex Jenkins]

I went to Walnut Hill for my senior year of high school. I think I sent in a CD of the first two movements of Eccles. As long as they have an opening and you play fairly well, you shouldn't have a problem. I have a feeling the other academies have similar requirements as well. I don't usually plug Walnut Hill, but I do recommend it. It gave me a lot of opportunities and I made a lot of solid connections there. Best of luck.

Alex

 

[Peter Askim]

Hi there-
Peter Askim here. I'm a bassist/composer and the Music Director of Idyllwild Arts Academy. I'm happy to respond to the post with my thoughts.

For Idyllwild Arts, what we're looking for is something that gives a good representation of potential. We can actually tell a lot about somebody's playing pretty quickly, no matter what they submit for an audition.

In my opinion, it's best to play something that represents the best you can do with a piece at that given moment. Better to play something "easy" that you're comfortable with than stretch and play something "hard" that's beyond your reach. (For my money, NOTHING is actually "easy" if you want to play it really, really well).

We're looking for potential - musicality, attention to detail, evidence of discipline and passion. Perfection can come later!

(Incidentally, our standards are actually higher for the Academy than the Summer Program. We're looking for people we'll be working with for at least a year, not just a few weeks...)

With that in mind, I just spoke to our Admissions Office, and we still have openings and potential scholarship for the 2010-11 school year (just about to start!). Although it's late in the game, I want to encourage you and anyone who's interested to apply for this semester. There's still time to make it work!

Idyllwild is a GREAT place to be a bass player. You get a LOT of attention - I'm a bass player, our teachers are Chris Hanulik (Principal of L.A. Phil.) and Jeremy Kurtz (Principal of San Diego) and there are always great bassists coming through to do masterclasses. We've had recent masterclasses from Stefano Scodanibbio, Larry Wolfe (Asst. Principal, Boston Symphony), Richard "Dobbs" Hartshorne, Jeremy Kurtz, Mark Dresser, Daxun Zhang, and this May, we'll be doing the World Premiere of Rufus Reid's new orchestra work.

No better place to be a high school bass player, in my opinion!

Anyone who's interested, e-mail me right away at: [email protected]

Best of luck in this and all your bass dreams!

Peter

 

[Peter Ferretti]

Peter covered a lot of it, but I'll try and give a former students perspective.

I spent my sophomore, junior and senior years at Idyllwild. The first year I studied with Chris Hanulik (who really is one of the best bassists I've ever heard, if not the best) and Jeremy Kurtz (who has such a wealth of knowledge I'd recommend studying with him to anyone, and he's a phenomenal player). You really get a lot of attention, and if you take advantage of the information you're given, it'll pay off. Out of the four people that I played with in high school, two of us go to NEC, one goes to rice, and one goes to Colburn.

Peter runs a really great orchestra. It is a lot of work, but I can't think of a single concert that didn't sound great. He always does a great job of programming works that you absolutely wouldn't play in other youth orchestras, and for the most part, wouldn't encounter all that often. Historically they have played in really cool venues, RedCat Theatre in the Walt Disney Concert Hall comes to mind, also a hall in La Jolla that is always a blast. For what it's worth I still enjoy going back and playing with them.

Socially, it's a boarding school. You'll either love it or you'll hate it.

 

[x18karatharmony]

Hey dude,
I'm a senior bassist at the Walnut Hill School. The program here is really tight, definitely worth looking into. As far as auditions go... I auditioned with the first two movements of the eccles, and the first movement of the capuzzi in D. They aren't looking for anything really difficult, they are just looking to see if you play well. I would recommend auditioning with something that you are really comfortable playing. Chose a piece that shows them your musicality, and then have another piece that displays your technical facility. The school will be losing two bassists next year, so I would say you have a good shot at getting in.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask any more questions about the school.

 

[VondaP]

My daughter attended Idyllwild this past summer. She absolutely loved the school. I do not remember the piece she sent in.

She would love to attend school year round, but it's just not in our budget.

 

[Cassadie]

My daughter attended Idyllwild this past summer. She absolutely loved the school. I do not remember the piece she sent in.

She would love to attend school year round, but it's just not in our budget.

For my audition for the summer program all I sent in was the first two movements of Eccles, a 3 octave scale, and a 3 octave arpeggio. Haha, nothing exciting.

 

[carolinegrac]

Another place that is extremely similar to these academies (but always seems to fly under the radar) is the high school program at the University of North Carolina School of Arts. I'm a second year junior and I absolutely love it. Paul Sharpe is one of the nicest people I've ever met and he's a spectacular teacher and player. He's brought me a long way, and still more to go until college auditions!

You get the opportunity to live in a college/conservatory setting (as I'm guessing you do at Idyllwild, Interlochen, and Walnut Hill) while still getting a good high school education. I have one private lesson a week and masterclass once a week, but Mr. Sharpe is always around in his office if you ever need him. Very nice facilities for the age of the buildings, and absolutely beautiful concert halls. There are also ample performance opportunities in addition to the countless ensembles.

If you, or anyone, have questions about the school, feel free to ask cause it really is a great school that not many people in the music world know about. I've made so much progress at the school and have met incredible players and friends I'll have for life.


http://www.uncsa.edu/

 

[Jack Clark]

subscribing.

 

[Blakewdm]

Hello there, I spent my junior year of High school at Walnut Hill, and I would say that they are looking for talent, which is generally not best displayed by overstepping your abilities. I would say bring something like Koussevitsky concerto or maybe the smaller pieces that he wrote. Eccles is obviously a good example of a piece that can get you in if played well. As in any audition make sure that you are doing what it takes to sound the best. Keep in mind, though there may be young players that play the bottesini concertos well, most players wait till they are in college for that level of rep. And most players taking professional orchestra auditions will tell you that those pieces are always gonna have some inherent difficulties!

 

[Zojo]

Well, I'm sure the OP goes to college by now, but I'll put in my two bits.

My son is starting at Idy Arts this year, and I spent some time talking to the rep from Interlochen at the ISB conference this summer.

I would guess that all of the schools are equal in terms of their music programs, but I would give Idy the edge for bassists. Peter Askim, the orchestra conductor, is a bassist. So is Marshall Hawkins, the head of the jazz department. And your bass instructor will also be top class.

I think it is more a question of money. These schools need bassists, so a competent player will probably get in. They are expensive. Apply to all. If one of them offers a generous scholarship, go there.

 

[Jack Clark]

Also, Idyllwild Arts Academy's Jazz Combo now has won first place in its class at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival competition three years running: 2011-2013.

Bassist Marshall Hawkins, who heads the Jazz Department, played with Miles, Richie Cole, Harry Pickens and others. He's an inspiring teacher and a much beloved and respected figure who also performs frequently in Idyllwild and around Southern California.

 

[Tripletmom]

I'm trying to revive this thread. Our 15 (nearly 16 year old bassist daughter) went to Brevard last summer and had one of those transformative experiences. At the end of the 6 week program she asked me to help her find a year long program that was like Brevard - great rep, instructors. I've done some research - and found UNCSA, Interlocken, Walnut Hill, Colburn and Idyllwild. She LOVES Paul Sharpe at UNCSA (she went there for 5 days prior to Brevard and thought he was the best teacher she's ever had) but was not thrilled with the small size of the jazz program. (she plays both classical and jazz and likes them equally at this point). Things are a bit complicated because her triplet brother is studying to be a classical ballet dancer away from home right now and is now honing in on Colburn for his next step (along with SAB in NYC if he gets in). Other triplet is an athlete and would like to go to a college in CA.. As a family we would love to move back to CA from SC - so this is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.

So - if CA is our goal as a family, then Colburn, Idyllwind or SF Conservatory would seem to be the top contenders, correct? - did I miss any? Putting tuition to one side (which of course will be a big factor but an unknown until auditions are done) - how do these programs differ from one another? Where do you think she would get the best instruction in both classical and jazz? She would like to be a professional musician and her goal is a top conservatory with an instructor that inspires her. She also enjoys being part of an orchestra and a jazz band.

Thanks for any insight that you might have....she will be a Junior next year.