musician1990

looking for good music education school. Any comments on these schools or other suggestions would be greatly appreciated: Stetson University, University of Miami, Amherst College, College of New Jersey, Duquesne University, university of Hartford, University of Michigan, Indiana University (Bloomington), McGill University, Susquehanna University, University of Redlands, Florida State University.

I would especially appreciate feedback on strings programs.

Also, what are good things to look for in a music ed major? I am very interested in programs with local public schools, teaching opportunities, etc. and have been looking into that.

Thanks for all your help!

thumper1

I'm a big fan of Duquesne's music education program. The school is a manageable size in a terrific city within walking distance of the downtown of Pittsburgh. The music education program is well regarded. I know several recent grads and they are doing quite well. The Hartt School (U of Hartford) is fine but they have had a rather large turnover in faculty in recent years (new faculty is terrific, but still...) and the facility needs more than a paint job. There are some awesome applied faculty at UHart. I think the program is well worth a look. I know that Hartt does a lot of work in the schools and there is a magnet school on the UHart campus. Both Duquesne and Hartt involve their students in some school experience early on.

violadad

musician1990-

Welcome. My son was a double major viola performance/music ed major who dropped the ed portion 12 credits short of both degrees to concentrate on performance. He graduated summa from Hartt this past May.

First off, let me say that if you plan to stay within your state of residence intially after graduation with the intention of teaching, then your state u will be your most cost effective means of achieving your degree. Additionally, many state u's have programs specifically designed around the specific criteria for state certification.

McGill may present certain issues you'd have to check: specifically, while they have an internationally acclaimed music program, I'm not certain of the differences between US/Canadian certification requirements. Here, the states legislate the criteria; in Canada, I'm assuming they're regulated by the provinces (if not the national government) and they may or may not meet the norm of stateside requirements. McGill is a good value in terms of education moneywise, but I would keep the certification issue in mind. Perhaps someone from McGill could address it if you ask.

Michigan,Indiana, and Hartford (Hartt) all are conservatory based programs within a university, all top notch and nationally known. Miami/Ohio, Duquesne, FSU as well as University of Redlands have very solid music programs. FSU is well known for music ed. Another school to consider is Crane, part of the SUNY system. They have a national rep as a top music ed school.

I had previously posted some thoughts here:
Some thoughts for music ed majors

You might want to concentrate on schools with an affiliated String Project:http://www.stringprojects.org/ These schools utilize the project as part of the teaching curriculum, allowing music ed majors to begin to teach elementary strings under the supervision of a master teacher. It is not formal "student teaching", but gives you hands on experience, often beginning as early as your freshman year. There may be a small stipend or tuition credit depending on the specific school as well.

The national professional affiliation websites are:

ASTA: http://www.astaweb.com/AM/Template.cfm?section=home
MENC: http://www.menc.org/
MTNA: http://www.mtna.org/Home/tabid/70/Default.aspx

Most programs will require an audition on your primary instrument. You might want to read the three threads under Featured Discussions at the top of this forum. Each has great info and specific insights about music majors and choosing schools.

A bit more about Hartt: the program was exceptional. The current dept head, Dr. John Feierbend, has a national reputation as a noted music educator. There is a magnet school on campus which serves as the String Project, headed by Dr. Nola Campbell, a joy to work with according to my son. There are numerous practical classes for observation and hands-on work within the many suburban school systems. The Hartt program is very competitive, and the string faculty is very strong. Noted double bassist Robert Black is the current string chair.

I'd be happy to answer any general or specific questions you have.

As thumper1 stated, Dr. Kathleen Goodrich, former music ed chair retired two years ago; Chris Azzara took a position at Michigan I believe, but has done a two day workshop session each year at Hartt for the past two years. Both these former faculty were recognized experts in their field.

violadad

A couple of other strong programs are Oberlin (I believe they also offer a 5 year BM/MM(ed) culminating in a Masters; check their website). There are others with this option as well. The overall conservatory program is exceptional, and strings are very strong. You might also want to look into University of Denver, not necessarily known nationally but a strong program nonetheless with a brand new state of the art music facility. University of Colorado/Boulder is another strong western based program. University of Nebraska/Lincoln has a very solid program, and a donor with deep pockets for the music school. Hayes School of Music/Appalchian State has a good regional reputation. Ithaca is very highly respected, and historically has a reputation as a good cello school.

If you have strong to very strong performance skills, are used to playing in high level orchestras and ensembles, you may find yourself disappointed with some of the state school ensembles, where the level of play and musicianship is a step or two below what you would encounter at a conservatory type of environment like Oberlin, Michigan, Indiana, or Hartt.

lkf725

I want to second the comment that Duquesne has a great music ed department in a managable, culturally rich city. Duquesne does involve the students with local public schools along the way.