Neither snow nor rain nor ice nor sleet kept musicians, composers, and dancers from around the world from auditioning last week at the Peabody Institute.
While Johns Hopkins experienced a rare snow day Wednesday with a wintry mix of snow and freezing rain falling throughout the day, about 300 auditions were still held for students applying to study at the Conservatory, which has never canceled an audition due to inclement weather in its history, according to Peabody's Director of Admissions John Huling.
"Students work for months and years to prepare for the opportunity to attend Peabody and they will not be denied that opportunity on our end because of weather," Huling says. "Audition Week is the most important week of the year, and our philosophy has always been to 'stop the presses' to observe it. Other than our ensembles, classes are cancelled so that faculty are 100 percent available to hear and review auditions, the entire administration is on deck to help our guests feel welcome, and our students are available to assist all week with auditions."
Over the course of six days of live auditions this week, Peabody auditioned approximately 1,450 students from the U.S. and more than 40 other countries.
There was one snow bird who put in an appearance despite the weather—Jay, the university's mascot, was seen playing along with the jazz band, palling around with Peabody Dean Fred Bronstein, and practicing his pirouettes in the institute's Grand Arcade.
For Jay, like the hundreds of students who auditioned, the snow must go on.
Posted in Arts+Culture, University News
