Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader didn’t get in, and she suspected it was probably due to her lack of higher-level audition skills. She’s been working hard and getting lots of praise and awards, but has mostly had video auditions in the last few years since she’s been playing at a more advanced level.

She made county honors bands in earlier grades, had one disastrous audition for state honors band which made her realize she how much she didn’t know, and since then it’s been all uploaded videos. She said she got nervous and totally flustered during the sight reading, which she normally does well at with her teacher.

So she’s hoping her PVYO audition video will be more successful. And frankly, I’m not all that sorry about not having to pay those MCYO fees!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:someone mentioned DCPYO. How's that? It seems it is easy to get in and there are some good perform opportunities.

DCYOP has a really different mission than MCYO or PVYO. The first sees itself as identifying and nurturing talent that might not have a lot of exposure or access to instrumental music. That, ironically, can mean that the workload is more intense in the mid- and higher-level orchestras because the assumption is that DCYOP is providing the lion's share of the musical education. It is racially and economically integrated, tight-knit, and less competitive in the best sense (far less drama about chair challenges, etc). However, their highest level orchestra is really good because they put time into nurturing talent (including free or reduced price private lessons for promising low income kids).

MCYO and PCYO serve MC/UMC families who want a high level orchestra experience beyond what school orchestras can provide. That's fine, but it's just an entirely different mission.

They are not middle class at all. It very expensive.

PVYO is attainable for middle class, MCYO not so much.

MCYO maxes out at $1090 for its top ensemble (less for the others, and it does offer financial aid.) It has three concerts a year. Last year PVYO was $550 and had two concerts. (I think at least in the past PVYO has taken January off?)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.

They didn't deny her a seat. They didn't offer her a seat and I know kids offered who were older so maybe your child isn't playing on the MCYO level you think they are. Many kids have been in private lessons for several years by 6th grade and the skill level is amazing. You also have to know how to sight read and many other requirements. They cannot take everyone and only have limited seats, especially depending on the instrument.

Its absolutely not corrupt because your child didn't get in. When mine got in, honestly I was surprised.

OP here. My daughter has had private lessons for the past four years and her private teacher is the one who came to us and said she is ready to play for mcyo. We didn’t even know of its existence. She knew all the requirements forward and back and can sight read for the past two years. I am not saying they are corrupt but suggesting that they might be corrupt and that transparency is not there., including no feedback whatsoever. So other families can be aware if they are in the same situation as us. Also, u are surprised your child got in…this is what I mean there doesn’t seem to be consistency And transparency in the process. It’s seems like the have a hidden agenda for their results. Congrats on your child getting in!

Your child's private instruction may not have been aware that MCYO made its program smaller due to covid. There are fewer seats for the 22/23 school year than there were for 20/21. This has created downward pressure across the region, with kids who might have made it into MCYO another year not receiving a seat, and then auditioning for a less-competitive orchestra instead, except that orchestra has also become smaller.

Basically, it's a very hard year to audition, and if your child is a violinist, maybe one of the hardest years in recent history.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.

They didn't deny her a seat. They didn't offer her a seat and I know kids offered who were older so maybe your child isn't playing on the MCYO level you think they are. Many kids have been in private lessons for several years by 6th grade and the skill level is amazing. You also have to know how to sight read and many other requirements. They cannot take everyone and only have limited seats, especially depending on the instrument.

Its absolutely not corrupt because your child didn't get in. When mine got in, honestly I was surprised.

OP here. My daughter has had private lessons for the past four years and her private teacher is the one who came to us and said she is ready to play for mcyo. We didn’t even know of its existence. She knew all the requirements forward and back and can sight read for the past two years. I am not saying they are corrupt but suggesting that they might be corrupt and that transparency is not there., including no feedback whatsoever. So other families can be aware if they are in the same situation as us. Also, u are surprised your child got in…this is what I mean there doesn’t seem to be consistency And transparency in the process. It’s seems like the have a hidden agenda for their results. Congrats on your child getting in!

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.

They didn't deny her a seat. They didn't offer her a seat and I know kids offered who were older so maybe your child isn't playing on the MCYO level you think they are. Many kids have been in private lessons for several years by 6th grade and the skill level is amazing. You also have to know how to sight read and many other requirements. They cannot take everyone and only have limited seats, especially depending on the instrument.

Its absolutely not corrupt because your child didn't get in. When mine got in, honestly I was surprised.

OP here. My daughter has had private lessons for the past four years and her private teacher is the one who came to us and said she is ready to play for mcyo. We didn’t even know of its existence. She knew all the requirements forward and back and can sight read for the past two years. I am not saying they are corrupt but suggesting that they might be corrupt and that transparency is not there., including no feedback whatsoever. So other families can be aware if they are in the same situation as us. Also, u are surprised your child got in…this is what I mean there doesn’t seem to be consistency And transparency in the process. It’s seems like the have a hidden agenda for their results. Congrats on your child getting in!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.

They didn't deny her a seat. They didn't offer her a seat and I know kids offered who were older so maybe your child isn't playing on the MCYO level you think they are. Many kids have been in private lessons for several years by 6th grade and the skill level is amazing. You also have to know how to sight read and many other requirements. They cannot take everyone and only have limited seats, especially depending on the instrument.

Its absolutely not corrupt because your child didn't get in. When mine got in, honestly I was surprised.

OP here. My daughter has had private lessons for the past four years and her private teacher is the one who came to us and said she is ready to play for mcyo. We didn’t even know of its existence. She knew all the requirements forward and back and can sight read for the past two years. I am not saying they are corrupt but suggesting that they might be corrupt and that transparency is not there., including no feedback whatsoever. So other families can be aware if they are in the same situation as us. Also, u are surprised your child got in…this is what I mean there doesn’t seem to be consistency And transparency in the process. It’s seems like the have a hidden agenda for their results. Congrats on your child getting in!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.

They didn't deny her a seat. They didn't offer her a seat and I know kids offered who were older so maybe your child isn't playing on the MCYO level you think they are. Many kids have been in private lessons for several years by 6th grade and the skill level is amazing. You also have to know how to sight read and many other requirements. They cannot take everyone and only have limited seats, especially depending on the instrument.

Its absolutely not corrupt because your child didn't get in. When mine got in, honestly I was surprised.

OP here. My daughter has had private lessons for the past four years and her private teacher is the one who came to us and said she is ready to play for mcyo. We didn’t even know of its existence. She knew all the requirements forward and back and can sight read for the past two years. I am not saying they are corrupt but suggesting that they might be corrupt and that transparency is not there., including no feedback whatsoever. So other families can be aware if they are in the same situation as us. Also, u are surprised your child got in…this is what I mean there doesn’t seem to be consistency And transparency in the process. It’s seems like the have a hidden agenda for their results. Congrats on your child getting in!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.

They didn't deny her a seat. They didn't offer her a seat and I know kids offered who were older so maybe your child isn't playing on the MCYO level you think they are. Many kids have been in private lessons for several years by 6th grade and the skill level is amazing. You also have to know how to sight read and many other requirements. They cannot take everyone and only have limited seats, especially depending on the instrument.

Its absolutely not corrupt because your child didn't get in. When mine got in, honestly I was surprised.

Anonymous wrote:wow, new eye opener. What kind of instruments they take?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:someone mentioned DCPYO. How's that? It seems it is easy to get in and there are some good perform opportunities.

DCYOP has a really different mission than MCYO or PVYO. The first sees itself as identifying and nurturing talent that might not have a lot of exposure or access to instrumental music. That, ironically, can mean that the workload is more intense in the mid- and higher-level orchestras because the assumption is that DCYOP is providing the lion's share of the musical education. It is racially and economically integrated, tight-knit, and less competitive in the best sense (far less drama about chair challenges, etc). However, their highest level orchestra is really good because they put time into nurturing talent (including free or reduced price private lessons for promising low income kids).

MCYO and PCYO serve MC/UMC families who want a high level orchestra experience beyond what school orchestras can provide. That's fine, but it's just an entirely different mission.

They are not middle class at all. It very expensive.

PVYO is attainable for middle class, MCYO not so much.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter audition for 6th grade mcyo and was denied a seat. She is really good and i am wondering is it because she didn’t start with them at a young age or because during the audition their was a single judge grading her performance and just didn’t like her. They also don’t provide any feedback on why she wasn’t selected. I think for a $75 registration fee, the least they can do is give some idea why she wasn’t selected. Like if you really cared about music and helping students nurture their love for music (as they supposedly claim), you could at least tell them what they can improve on. All these practices make me wonder how true and corrupt their audition and selection process really is.