My US audition adventure: first stop – Boston

In my previous post, I told you guys all about preparing for the auditions from scratch up until audition day. Today and in the next few posts, I will give you the details of my actual trip: my stay in each of the cities and the schools I auditioned in.

THE DEPARTURE

To all of you adventurers out there, who’ve traveled great distances alone: I salute you! And to all of you who want to go out there but have doubts of any kind: keep on reading. I hope it will convince you to take the leap. Because I didn’t regret – not even for a second – stepping on that plane. For the first time alone across the Atlantic.

I’m not going to lie to you: I was properly terrified in the few days before departure. Sure, I was kept busy with everything that still needed to be taken care of, but every second my mind could wander, I felt the fear settling in. And instead of the butterflies of excitement I had expected to feel, I felt emotional and frightened.
But you know, once I was on that plane, there was nothing to be done about it. I was going to Boston. Alone. I might as well enjoy it. So once the plane took off, my good old pride kicked in and I regained control of my emotions.
To those of you who are browsing flights: I booked my Boston flight with WOW air. A company I had never heard of before, but the trip was as pleasant as could be and went smoothly.

Once I arrived in Boston, I passed customs, ignored the shouting taxi drivers, took a bus to the subway station and made my way to the Airbnb I had booked. I found the place easily thanks to my previous research and Google Maps (total life saver!), asked my host for convenient yet decent take-out and finally went to bed after a 22 hour traveling day.

STAYING IN BOSTON

I had exactly one day to adjust and get familiar with the city and that’s a little short if you’re auditioning. So if you have the opportunity and the money, try to squeeze in a bit more time to adjust.
On the bright side, I was still in pretty good shape, even though I hadn’t been able to properly practice for 2 days straight before my audition. Nevertheless, my mind was a bit fried from traveling and digesting all these new impulses, so my concentration would have appreciated a bit of extra time.

Anyway, in order to settle my nerves, I did something that was similar to my routine at home first: work out and go grocery shopping (talk about endorphins kicking in, ha ha). Then I headed into the city and made my way to the Steinert & Sons showroom, where I could play a little. No studying of course, but at least I could stretch my fingers. When I didn’t find any believable excuses anymore to keep on playing without actually practicing, I decided it was time to explore the first of my three schools: the New England Conservatory. I took the opportunity to walk through a park, enjoyed the fresh air while I had the chance and then made my way to the school.

Coming from a very small campus, I was not entirely prepared for the size of the school, so I thanked my wits for thinking of scouting ahead before audition day. The amount of security in comparison to Belgium is very high, so don’t be startled if they don’t let you pass unless you have a valuable reason for being there (like a score donation or an audition). I  visited the library, took the chance to read my scores in a peaceful environment and headed back to freshen up before attending a concert where one of the teachers I was interested in would play Mozart and Mendelssohn trios.
I had a chance to speak with him briefly, took his advice on preparing for the audition and then made my way back.

When I finally made it home, I was somewhat swaying on my legs, but I started to feel a bit more at ease.

AUDITION DAY

Despite my precautions, jetlag kicked in hard. I tried to sleep in, but my biological clock was still set on European time, so I woke at 3 am. Nevertheless, I kept resting until I figured I could get ready. I rearranged my suitcase for departure the next day and took all the time I needed to get ready. I checked in about 3,5 hours before my audition, filled in the audition program form, grabbed something to eat, made myself familiar with the building and warmed-up for 40 minutes.

I must admit, I was quite nervous. At least more nervous than usual, but I guess that only makes sense when you’re that far out of your comfort zone. The audition hall turned out to be a somewhat fancier classroom, dressed up with carpets and curtains, but no stage. There were about 8 teachers present to listen. One of them read my full repertoire program and then asked the beginning of 6 pieces in order to determine my level.

Stepping out of that room, I felt a mixture of relief, tiredness, pride and settlement: I had survived my first test. And I was still alive to tell the tale.

That evening, I celebrated taking my first hurdle with my host by watching Interstellar. We had some good talks while we were both at the house and I’m really glad she took the time to make me feel at ease and welcome. It definitely made the first few days easier to process.

LEAVING FOR NEW YORK

The next day, my host was so kind to drop me off at the bus station (if you’re going by yourself: there are TWO South Stations in Boston, so make sure you use the right address). I had scheduled a Greyhound bus to New York for $47. Apparently though, Wanderu is a great – and cheaper – alternative for this kind of trip, so don’t hesitate to check that out.

By then, my body was adjusting to US time, my mind was adjusting to the travelling alone and I finally felt the excitement kick in. And I mean, who wouldn’t? I was about to go to the Big Apple!