Phoenix Conservatory of Music

We would like to highlight one student in particular, Jelena Gonzalez.  Jelena Gonzalez is a guitar student who wanted to take her studies further.  She had drive, ambition, and a desire to learn.  She auditioned for and participated in the City Music Program.  Jelena was 15 and in her freshman year of high school at Thunderbird High School.    In October, Jelena was nominated to be one of the five nominees selected to audition to the Berklee College of Music’s Five Week Summer Performance Program.  She was diligently working on her audition requirements, and attending theory and ensemble fairly regularly. 

 

Soon, we started to notice a drop off in attendance for ensemble and music theory.  When asked about this, she said that her Mom and Dad were divorced.  Dad was being very supportive and Mom was not.  Her Dad would take her to lessons, but Mom would not allow her to come to theory and ensemble.  When we spoke to our main contact (Dad) he said that it would be a good idea to talk with Mom, but that they could not be in the same room with each other.  This was very worrisome to us, as Jelena’s support from both Parents was absolutely necessary for her success in the audition process, and in the program process if she were to receive a scholarship.

 

 

We were finally able to connect with Jelena’s mom, and we able to put our concerns about showing commitment to the program and to the scholarship on the table.  Her Mom, however, new nothing of the opportunity being afforded to Jelena, because that information was not shared between Dad and Mom or Jelena and her mom.  Her Mom’s concerns were that Jelena, at the start of the second semester, started to suffer academically.  Her grades went from As and Bs to mostly Ds and Fs.  She was not doing her homework, and not responding to her teachers at all.   In talking with Jelena, it was not that the work was too difficult, but that she was upset with her Mom about not being supportive about music, and mom was upset about academics and pulling her from music in order to force a change in the academics. 

 

We offered a solution:   to have  Jelena come to ensemble, lessons, and theory in addition to 2-3 hours per week of tutoring.  We made it clear to her that part of getting ready for a potential Berklee experience was keeping up her academics.    Her private lesson and ensemble coach worked with her to gain study skills, time management in order to better prepare for tests, and we constantly monitored her grades.  We were able to connect with her counselor and band teacher and between all parties, along with her parents, Jelena had the support she needed to increase her academic performance (one D, the rest Cs, Bs, and As in honors). 

 

Jelena was accepted into the Berklee Five Week Summer Performance Program on full scholarship.  Her mom, who is a photographer, took her headshot and helped her develop her response to the award.  If you ask Jelena, things are not perfect between her and her Mom, but they are better.  Mom is being very supportive of Jelena in her Five Week Experience and we look forward to seeing her growth upon her return. 

“As an acceptant of the Berklee Five Week summer program scholarship, I feel extremely honored and overjoyed. I’ve put a countless amount of effort, practice, and hope into preparing myself for this experience. This opportunity will expose me to an authentic college experience with real college courses and will open many doors for me. The program will give me what I need to further educate and better myself as a musician and as an individual. Though my excitement is obvious, I cannot truly put into words my feelings of elation to be a part of this program.” –Jelena Gonzalez