| Mamenyu, I couldn't agree more...I think the reality is that very very few "top talent" musicians manage to survive the Ivy League schools and continue to conservatories and/or careers, but it is true that some exceptions will always prove the rule: Yo-Yo Ma, Gil and Orly Shahan (trying to think of others...), but keep in mind that in many of these exceptional cases, their careers were already launched before they started college; The idea of waiting to go to conservatory for grad school appealed to us (DD and her worried parents) until we had some serious conversations with teachers about the odds of getting into conservatory programs as a grad student in competition with the students who had been in conservatory performance programs for their undergraduate years. One Princeton-grad musician, a well known orchestra player who has recently retired, told us that "those days are over" and that he could never have managed his career in today's competitive world ... both Princeton and the conservatories are so very much more selective (and rigorous) than when he launched his career! The truth is that for instrumentalists, especially orchestra players, being in an undergrad performance program is enormously valuable for many reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity to play with high level peers who are equally serious about their music. DD ultimately chose a dual degree program, which seems to offer the best of both worlds, great academics and great music, but I realize that's not necessarily the best choice for everyone. In fact, I'm sure as Vieuxtemps continues his journey, he will find that obvious choices turn out to be not so obvious, and that there are always more options than one might have imagined in music and in life! |