MCYO audtions

[Anonymous]

Has anyone gotten results from MCYO yet? If so, for what instrument?

[Anonymous]

I thought results come out on 8/31. It is in their email to you somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCYO is a very cutthroat and toxic environment, my daughter is in young Artist, she has been there for the past three years. The auditions seems inclusive and make it look like they accept people of all races, but they only pick Asians (really Chinese) to play for their orchestra. It’s terribly one sided, quite obvious, initially jarring and totally unfair in my opinion and I AM Chinese. The student violinist are very competitive and clique and don’t like new people joining. The clique groups are made up of kids who have been in mcyo for the past five years. I don’t want to discourage you from auditioning…but just wanted you to be aware of the MCYO culture.

My daughter is one of the concertmasters of YA this year and she has made friends with all her seatmates. In fact, my daughter, who is NOT Chinese, has been part of three orchestras in MCYO - Prep Strings, Chamber Strings and YA - and has consistently loved the experience. The two conductors Mr. Orozco and Mrs. Poling are amusing and engaging and are excellent at their job.

In all the years we've been part of this organization, I can guarantee that there has been no toxicity and nothing has been cutthroat. The conductors go to great lengths to share the top seats, every year. They do not offer solos, or very short ones, because again, their goal is to have students play together, instead of giving more limelight to the more talented students.

People have the wrong idea about MCYO because they are racist - they see it has a majority of Asian students; and because parents don't understand how something that is audition-based and high level could not be cut-throat. But it's not. Once you're in, there is no cutthroat. And if don't get in, you can always audition the following year. During the audition, it's the best players who get in, regardless of ethnicity. Surely that's how it should be! Don't you want kids to be rewarded for their hard work? My daughter has worked VERY hard for years to play at the level she does. She and all the other students who work hard deserve to be there.

Do you know why it seems you always see the same kids every year? It's because they love it, and want to return, and have the level to be accepted back every year. There is no other orchestra they could apply to that has that level of play. They cannot go anywhere else. And yet MCYO makes them audition anyway, because they want to make sure they are being fair.

It's disheartening to see posters such as the one above dragging the good name of MCYO through the mud.

I'm not the one that posted about MCYO being toxic, but that's what I've heard from 3 separate kids in DD's studio, all of whom do well for themselves. Two are older, and have said that they no longer encounter it, at the upper levels. I have NOT heard that there is discrimination; pretty much all YO have a higher number of East Asians than anyone else, and that's a priorities thing, and not anything else, IMO (we're not East Asian). What I have heard of is kids speaking along the lines of "they're ONLY a second violin", like that's some sort of character flaw. Or 'You only practice two hours a day? I practice 4-6 hours. You can't be good if you don't practice that much', that sort of talk.

What I have heard of AY is along similar lines. Snootiness.

I’m actually curious… by around the age I think the OP described (11?) are many of the string players in MCYO practicing 2 or more hrs per day? That is a lot for an upper elementary-aged child!

This is rare. But having a child who was strong in both sports and music, I will point out that the sports culture is equally or probably more demanding, and at the highest level there are plenty of MoCo youth athletes training two hours or more per day, albeit their training is usually mixed, eg multiple sports (but that would be similar to a child practicing solo one day, having a 2 hour mcyo rehearsal the next, then going to a Saturday program for a few hours which might a mix of music theory, ensemble, etc.). My child has often noted that sports are more demanding in the sense that they get so physically tired after an hour of their sport, versus after an hour of practicing their instrument they are fresh enough to do homework, etc. Anyway just pointing this out because culturally you see more Asians in music and there is an undertone in people’s comments that somehow Asian parents are pressuring their kids, etc., more than white parents, and I want to call that out. If a child absolutely loved soccer and went out and practiced in the yard for two hours, nobody would question it.

This is very true. Our child does string and soccer, and I think soccer is a lot more involved (demanding) parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought results come out on 8/31. It is in their email to you somewhere.

I think it is “by” 8/31.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will add that your DD should also look into DCYOP: https://www.dcyop.org/

The program is very well funded, and is less cut throat than MCYO.

My child auditioned and was placed today in one of the DCYOP orchestras. We were surprised, as we thought the placement would be for the wind ensemble. Is there a description of the different ensembles -- they level of music they play and the ages of the kids? There doesn't seem to be much on the website (just a list of the different groups they offer).

I really like that they said in their email about how to prepare for the audition that there is a spot for everyone in DCYOP. This seems like the type of culture my kid will do well with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will add that your DD should also look into DCYOP: https://www.dcyop.org/

The program is very well funded, and is less cut throat than MCYO.

My child auditioned and was placed today in one of the DCYOP orchestras. We were surprised, as we thought the placement would be for the wind ensemble. Is there a description of the different ensembles -- they level of music they play and the ages of the kids? There doesn't seem to be much on the website (just a list of the different groups they offer).

I really like that they said in their email about how to prepare for the audition that there is a spot for everyone in DCYOP. This seems like the type of culture my kid will do well with.

Different program. That's great your child got in. Congrat's but MCYO doesn't work like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will add that your DD should also look into DCYOP: https://www.dcyop.org/

The program is very well funded, and is less cut throat than MCYO.

My child auditioned and was placed today in one of the DCYOP orchestras. We were surprised, as we thought the placement would be for the wind ensemble. Is there a description of the different ensembles -- they level of music they play and the ages of the kids? There doesn't seem to be much on the website (just a list of the different groups they offer).

I really like that they said in their email about how to prepare for the audition that there is a spot for everyone in DCYOP. This seems like the type of culture my kid will do well with.

Which orchestra were they placed in? Any of the full orchestras are more advanced than the ensembles. You can also check out last spring’s concerts to get a sense of what the different ensembles and orchestras play.
-DCYOP parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will add that your DD should also look into DCYOP: https://www.dcyop.org/

The program is very well funded, and is less cut throat than MCYO.

My child auditioned and was placed today in one of the DCYOP orchestras. We were surprised, as we thought the placement would be for the wind ensemble. Is there a description of the different ensembles -- they level of music they play and the ages of the kids? There doesn't seem to be much on the website (just a list of the different groups they offer).

I really like that they said in their email about how to prepare for the audition that there is a spot for everyone in DCYOP. This seems like the type of culture my kid will do well with.

You need to create a new thread if you want insight on DCYO. It's much easier to get in than MCYO or AYPO, which are the two premier youth orchestras of the region, and which select only on audition merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCYO is a very cutthroat and toxic environment, my daughter is in young Artist, she has been there for the past three years. The auditions seems inclusive and make it look like they accept people of all races, but they only pick Asians (really Chinese) to play for their orchestra. It’s terribly one sided, quite obvious, initially jarring and totally unfair in my opinion and I AM Chinese. The student violinist are very competitive and clique and don’t like new people joining. The clique groups are made up of kids who have been in mcyo for the past five years. I don’t want to discourage you from auditioning…but just wanted you to be aware of the MCYO culture.

My daughter is one of the concertmasters of YA this year and she has made friends with all her seatmates. In fact, my daughter, who is NOT Chinese, has been part of three orchestras in MCYO - Prep Strings, Chamber Strings and YA - and has consistently loved the experience. The two conductors Mr. Orozco and Mrs. Poling are amusing and engaging and are excellent at their job.

In all the years we've been part of this organization, I can guarantee that there has been no toxicity and nothing has been cutthroat. The conductors go to great lengths to share the top seats, every year. They do not offer solos, or very short ones, because again, their goal is to have students play together, instead of giving more limelight to the more talented students.

People have the wrong idea about MCYO because they are racist - they see it has a majority of Asian students; and because parents don't understand how something that is audition-based and high level could not be cut-throat. But it's not. Once you're in, there is no cutthroat. And if don't get in, you can always audition the following year. During the audition, it's the best players who get in, regardless of ethnicity. Surely that's how it should be! Don't you want kids to be rewarded for their hard work? My daughter has worked VERY hard for years to play at the level she does. She and all the other students who work hard deserve to be there.

Do you know why it seems you always see the same kids every year? It's because they love it, and want to return, and have the level to be accepted back every year. There is no other orchestra they could apply to that has that level of play. They cannot go anywhere else. And yet MCYO makes them audition anyway, because they want to make sure they are being fair.

It's disheartening to see posters such as the one above dragging the good name of MCYO through the mud.

I'm not the one that posted about MCYO being toxic, but that's what I've heard from 3 separate kids in DD's studio, all of whom do well for themselves. Two are older, and have said that they no longer encounter it, at the upper levels. I have NOT heard that there is discrimination; pretty much all YO have a higher number of East Asians than anyone else, and that's a priorities thing, and not anything else, IMO (we're not East Asian). What I have heard of is kids speaking along the lines of "they're ONLY a second violin", like that's some sort of character flaw. Or 'You only practice two hours a day? I practice 4-6 hours. You can't be good if you don't practice that much', that sort of talk.

What I have heard of AY is along similar lines. Snootiness.

I’m actually curious… by around the age I think the OP described (11?) are many of the string players in MCYO practicing 2 or more hrs per day? That is a lot for an upper elementary-aged child!

This is rare. But having a child who was strong in both sports and music, I will point out that the sports culture is equally or probably more demanding, and at the highest level there are plenty of MoCo youth athletes training two hours or more per day, albeit their training is usually mixed, eg multiple sports (but that would be similar to a child practicing solo one day, having a 2 hour mcyo rehearsal the next, then going to a Saturday program for a few hours which might a mix of music theory, ensemble, etc.). My child has often noted that sports are more demanding in the sense that they get so physically tired after an hour of their sport, versus after an hour of practicing their instrument they are fresh enough to do homework, etc. Anyway just pointing this out because culturally you see more Asians in music and there is an undertone in people’s comments that somehow Asian parents are pressuring their kids, etc., more than white parents, and I want to call that out. If a child absolutely loved soccer and went out and practiced in the yard for two hours, nobody would question it.

Thank for pointing this out, PP. Kids who excel at sports do train intensely too. It also irritates me that intense sports parents are seldom called out, but Asian parents are just assumed to be tiger parents. There are parents at sports games that shout awful things at their own kids and other people's kids. You know some of these these kids are under pressure to train hard and perform well at games.

[Anonymous]

My kid is in DCYOP (youth philharmonic). Placement in DCYOP's orchestras are based on merit, it is just that they have other program for less experienced/skilled musicians (in part this is because many DC public/charter schools don't have music programs). It is a great program - don't let others make you feel bad about it. I agree with the suggestion to watch last spring's concerts to get a sense of the music.

My kid was in RO last year and had a great experience - the conductor is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. And I would, as others have noted that the switch to viola from violin is not hard. But violins are in the limelight/violas are the supporting players, and so it isn’t as easy to get your kid to switch as you would think! I suggested the switch to my kid after they barely squeaked into MCYO, and they instead took it as motivation to work harder at the violin. Which wasn’t my intent at all but you can’t control how kids read things - they are in orchestra and know the way violists are perceived as the Hufflepuffs of the orchestra while violinists are the Gryffindors.

Correction: violinists are the Slytherin of the orchestra.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in DCYOP (youth philharmonic). Placement in DCYOP's orchestras are based on merit, it is just that they have other program for less experienced/skilled musicians (in part this is because many DC public/charter schools don't have music programs). It is a great program - don't let others make you feel bad about it. I agree with the suggestion to watch last spring's concerts to get a sense of the music.

My kid was in RO last year and had a great experience - the conductor is wonderful.

Thanks for this! Mine was placed in RO for this coming year.

[Anonymous]

Same here! We are trying to decide between DCYO and PVYO where we’ve been the last two years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same here! We are trying to decide between DCYO and PVYO where we’ve been the last two years.

Which PVYO group? My son played in most of them (+MCYO later on); I might be able to give you a sense.

[Anonymous]

DC plays cello and did preperatory at PVYO the last two years - loves Dr. S. But we’re in TP so DCYO is much closer. The rehearsals at DCYO or longer, but people we’ve talked to say it’s a good mix of section work and full rehearsal. Any insights definitely welcome. We’re still awaiting news of the PVYO placement.