If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that my son Liam is a senior in high school and has been following his passion to play the trombone. He’s worked really hard, had all sorts of awesome successes, (along with a couple of disappointments), and auditioned all over the country this past year at 9 different Schools of Music and Conservatories. After ruling out the conservatories as being too focussed, he ended up with 3 Schools of Music within larger Universities that offered him some really fantastic scholarships. In the end, he’s chosen to study with Jeremy Wilson, the trombone professor at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. Here they are last Fall, when Liam took a lesson with Jeremy after playing principal trombone with the NAfME All National Honor Orchestra in Nashville.
Liam’s very first college audition was last December at Vanderbilt, it was a crazy trip! His “mental toughness” (as Jeremy puts it) in the face of adversity and little sleep stood him well that day. Of course, Liam needed to audition at 8 other schools, each one of them he’d visited twice and had lessons with each of the teachers he would have studied trombone with. Because that relationship is so important, we all wanted to make sure that Liam got along with his teacher (or in some cases, teachers, because there are a couple of schools where you take lessons with all the trombone professors).
Aiyiyi, there’s so much to say and yet at the same time, all I need to say is HOORAY!!!! He’s going to a fabulous school to learn and grow with an incredible trombonist who is also a truly awesome human being…and with a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship, his tuition is totally paid for, along with a stipend for a summer of study abroad!!!!! HOORAY!!!!!
16 Responses
Congratulations to Liam, and to his very supportive family! I’ve been reading the story of his college search with interest, and waiting for the announcement of his final decision. Bravo!
Hooray indeed!
Fantastic! Any ideas where he wants to go abroad? Congratulations everyone! The years of listening and practicing are paying off!
Candy I am delighted for you all. Send Liam my congratulations from the sunny Cotswolds in the UK
Annie
Congrats!!! I’m so happy for Liam and your family. What an exciting opportunity to study aboard too!
Congrats to him! He certainly was thorough! He has a great future ahead of him.
Congratulations to Liam and your family. That’s awesome news. And a scholarship on top of it is always a bonus. Nothing worse than having to pay for student loans for ages. (I’m still paying on mine, ugh!) It’s so great to see how hard work and determination have been so richly rewarded. Well earned too!
Wow! Congratulations to Liam & to you too! I’ve enjoyed reading about all of his trips & auditions – and what a wonderful payoff to be awarded such a fabulous scholarship too. Good on ya Liam!
Congratulations Liam, you must all be so proud.
Thank you all so much for the good wishes! Indeed, we are very proud of him and happy that his hard work has given him some great opportunities!
So happy to learn the good news ! —An obviously very well thought out decision… Congratulations to the entire family ! ( : >) ((Now, perhaps, you can relax & unwind a bit thru the spring & summer…))
So happy to learn the good news ! I hope he goes on to do great things in music like both his parents. Best of luck in the coming years.
that’s wonderful news, congrats Liam, very exciting.
congratulations to all of you. It’s been so much fun to follow you all on this journey!!
What a wonderful decision he made after such a wise selection process! The full scholarship is frosting on the cake. Congratulations to you all.
May 12th… US News & World Report just released the new rankings and I was happy to see Vanderbuilt as #16 — tied with Notra Dame. Also noticed that your alma mater, Oberlin, has dropped down a wee bit to #23 on the Colleges’ list… Congrats again on the Vanderbuilt choice ! ( : >)