| I don't know anything about Indiana (except that Gingold used to teach there, and Joshua Bell was a student...), but my kid is really enjoying his experience at Oberlin -- particularly the range of performance opportunities, including historical performance and lots of cutting edge contemporary performance, with conductors and coaches who are engaged and engaging. The academics are also top-notch, which was a critical draw for us. He thought he didn't care if he went to school in a university or a liberal arts college and thought he preferred a city, but he has loved the town and campus at Oberlin -- rarely goes to Cleveland; there is always something exciting going on and it is all right there; he is practicing and performing all the time and loves his friends there. It looks, from the size of your kid's scholarship, like Oberlin also really likes him -- that is a good start for any musician beginning at a conservatory. Good luck deciding. You really can't go wrong! |