teddad123

The BA in Musical Studies at Oberlin College sounds good. Can someone who is familiar with it talk about how it? It sounds different from a regular BA in music:

Overview - Oberlin College

compmom

Just curious what stands out for you in this program as being different from other BA programs in music.

What are your interests and goals in studying music? Do you play an instrument, or compose? Are you interested in academic music (theory, history, composition, ethnomusicology, musicology etc.) or performance?

Is there a reason you would apply to Oberlin for a BA in the college rather than a BM in the conservatory?

Are you aware that you can do a double degree BA/BM in 5 years at Oberlin, studying at both the college and conservatory? (And the BA program that you posted also offers a double major with music and something else.)

Sorry for all the questions. Just trying to get a little more info. Oberlin is a great, great school of course.

Compdad

I agree with compmom that some information regarding your interests would be useful. The musical studies major targets A&S students who have a serious interest in music study. The major is jointly run by A&S and the conservatory and you will take courses in both institutions. You must apply to be admitted as a musical studies major.

teddad123

A double degree takes extra time and there are more of course requirements, so we think a BA would be a better fit. However, our D is very interested in music which is what attracts her to Oberlin because there are so many more classes, ensembles, concerts, etc than a typical liberal arts school. We like that both the college and conservatory are on the same campus. Vanderbilt is similar, but their music school is a lot smaller than Oberlin. Northwestern looks good, but their BA states THIS IS NOT A PERFORMANCE MAJOR. She does not want strictly an academic major.

Our understanding of the Musical Studies degree is you audition for it freshman year sometime, and that you have to get accepted to a studio, is this right? Is it as difficult to get accepted to this major as it is to get accepted to the conservatory directly? Once you get accepted, do you work your adviser to sort of craft your own music degree? Do you have equal preference for classes, ensembles, practice rooms, as those getting a BM degree? Is there anything else we should know?

Mezzo'sMama

What is your D's instrument or voice type? That has a major bearing on the ability to get accepted in a particular studio...

compmom

It looks like this is a pretty new program that replaces the college music major. It sounds like Oberlin may even be competing a little with Bard, where I gather BA students have access to a lot of the benefits of the conservatory there, while I have heard that Oberlin BA's in music do not. But that is just hearsay.

It is hard to comment without knowing more. A BM student would have a lot more applied music and performance opportunities in the conservatory ensembles. I am assuming the BA students are in college ensembles and orchestra etc., not conservatory: is that right?

Once at Oberlin, your daughter could decide to go either way, and apply to the conservatory, or do the BA, and if in the college, could also major in something else and participate in music extracurriculars.

Someone on here might be able to comment on the experience of college musicians at Oberlin who are not in the conservatory but are serious about music.

Compdad

The application for the musical studies major is made after taking prescribed course work, an audition for secondary lessons, and the submission of an essay. Information on the musical studies major can be found in the Oberlin online catalog. The purpose for the redevelopment of the major is to allow A&S students greater access to the assets of the Conservatory without being closed out by the needs of the Conservatory students. There is also a blog post by Ma'ayan Plaut on the musicial studies major on the Oberlin site. Acceptance to the major is far easier than to the Conservatory.

Music of all kinds is a large part of the Oberlin experience whether in A&S or the Conservatory.

VMT

I can't comment specifically on this major. However, I know someone who auditioned in VP (Mezzo I think) and didn't get in. She chose to attend the college and is majoring in the Classics. Despite this, she is having a great musical experience. She successfully auditioned for one of the vocal ensembles at the Conservatory, is getting private lessons, and pretty much feels she is getting what she needs to continue pursuing music. I think this was perhaps a case of a very talented singer with a not-so-good prescreen recording. Bottom line is that she feels she has access to most of what she wants. I don't know if this helps but I thought I would share it in case it is relevant.

Compdad

VMT - I think your post provides great insight into the musical life at Oberlin no matter which school. From what I have read, Oberlin was concerned with BA's being shut out of conservatory courses and programs simply because they were BA's. That's not to say that BA's now have the run of the conservatory but since the the musical studies is jointly administered by A&S and the conservatory, B&A's have a much better shot at more conservatory courses and programs. Many if not most of the musical ensembles are open by audition to BA's.

teddad123

Thank you all, these are very helpful comments! I had not seen the blog or the video on how the college orchestra started, very interesting. I don't think there is any other school like Oberlin, at least not in the US.

compmom

Look at Bard also, maybe.

teddad123

I'm not clear on what Symphonic orchestras (strings+winds) there are at Oberlin. Are there two: the Oberlin Symphony Orchestra, the top one mainly for conservatory members, and College Orchestra, run and conducted by students?

Bartokrules

While most of the members of the Oberlin Symphony are Conservatory students, A&S students can audition. On the Oberlin website they have many Oberlin "stories."on the home pge. Several relate to music and one by Mariko Meyer who graduated from the college in 2011 tells of her time in the Oberlin Symphony as a second violin. She was also a member of the Oberlin Community Orchestra. Besides the larger ensembles, there are several groups that have both strings and winds such as the New Music Ensemble which has been written up in the New York Times.

maayanplaut

@teddad123 I recommend posting a thread on the Oberlin CC page, too, since there's an active community of parents, students, admissions, etc. over there that can answer other questions about the musical studies major.

Most of your questions have been answered so far, but to add to the resources in this thread, the Oberlin blogs have a lot of first-person student experiences, including how you can get involved with music at Oberlin, as a major, minor, or anything in between.

A handful of posts to get you started:

Oberlin Blogs | Blog Entry: "On 20th-Century Oberlin History - Musically Speaking"

Oberlin Blogs | Blog Entry: "A Beginner's Guide to the Oberlin Music Scene"

Oberlin Blogs | Blog Entry: "Flauting Con-vention"

Oberlin Blogs | Blog Entry: "Musical Moments"

Oberlin Blogs | Blog Entry: "An open letter about College Orchestra"

Oberlin Blogs | Blog Entry: "Secondary music lessons"