Purpledinosaur - I know someone who was accepted to CUNY even though they did a phone interview. So if you can't make it to the physical interview, I don't think it's a terribly big deal. For comp - the interview was about 20 minutes, but was the only thing required, so there weren't any tests, exams, formal meet-n-greet sessions, etc etc., I assume it's also the case with theory / musicology as well, so it won't be as if you can justify the travels on multiple events. And while today's interviews had grads there talking to you in the waiting room, I don't think that's a guarantee that they'll be there when you have your specific time slot.