karenindallas

My D is a vocal performance major at Rice (sophomore) and loves the program. She chose Rice over New England Conservatory, Oberlin, Cleveland Institute of Music (Case Western with a dual degree), Indiana and BU. Rice was the best fit for her with her strong academics and the strong music school at Rice. She was impressed with Indiana but thought it would be better for grad school. She did not audition well at Julliard and was not accepted. My D said that a lot of the music majors who have not had a strong theory background struggle in the program at Rice. I was impressed with Oberlin-the academics and the conservatory, but my D thought it was in the middle of a cornfield. Karen

lamom

Son is a music performace major at the Univ of Redlands. He is close enough for us to attend his performances. He told us last month that he cannot imagine being any place else. He is working hard, doing well and loving every second. The faculty are all wonderful. His Jazz improvisation teacher (who actually recommended that he apply to Redlands) had a class with 6-too big so he divided it into 2 classes of 3 and also gives private help on Fridays. Redlands is close enough to LA for the students to visit-the school allows use of the Van for school trips-museums, Jazz Bakery, TV shows, etc.

I found this site about this time last year. Son loved to perform and had auditioned for local bands but college auditions were a completely different thing. Son's trumpet teacher had a BM, but that was years ago and she was not capable of helping him with auditions. We had no idea until I found this site. I was asking just about anyone/anywhere involved with music for a referral for a teacher for auditions. I found someone who was a brother-in-law of someone at a music store 1 1/2 hrs away. It helped but not the same if we had known more or started before Jan 5 with auditions just weeks away. Son was a big fish in a small pond and most thought I was just crazy since he was so good. None of his band directors knew trumpets.I would have gladly given birth in the UCSB hallway than see son go through the stress of the first audition-the guy was very nice but son felt his whole life was on the line and forgot how to breathe. He was accepted as BA but would have to re audition for a BM major. The following week was UCLA-the staff and students were outrageously nice and complimented him-we had our son back. Then it was up. The last school took him to meet the head of the Jazz dept.

He loves the small liberal arts campus and has fit very well into the community. We see him perform but his home is Redlands. We have discovered that he wasn't just a big fish in a little pond, he has talent and was ready for a larger body of water. Playing 4 hours a day is nothing--It used to be lots less at home. He actually had to put away the 1935 Bach because it could not take the long playing-it got a hole. Fortunately there is a brass repair expert 2 hrs away.

I wonder how all the other students are doing-if the parents are still out there.

LA

shennie

My son is a junior cello performance major at Eastman. He adores his teacher and the high level of the other students there. He struggled some first semester freshman year with the roller coaster of being in such a high level environment. (How did I ever get admitted here? sort of thing.) He also struggled 2nd semester sophmore year because he was not advancing as much as he thought and had a lot of self doubt about his ability to "make it". He decided he wanted to double degree in poli sci so that "if the music thing falls through I can go to law school". Doing a double degree at Rochester is possible but difficult so he looked at transferring.

However, he finally realized it was foolish to leave the studio he was in and that UR has a top notch poli sci department. Right now he is feeling much more confident as a cellist and is starting to talk about grad school for music. He is not going to do the double degree but just minor in poli sci.

He likes Eastman a lot although he wishes that the 2 campuses were together and he didn't have to live with all music majors. His orchestra experience has been wonderful and he really enjoys the overall level of musicianship of the other students. His pianist is phenomenal. In addition to Eastman he was accepted at New England. He was waitlisted at Rice and CIM. He is very glad he chose the studio he is in. There is quite a bit of comraderie between the students and not much of the competition you hear about at conservatories. We have found he is much happier when he takes one or 2 non-music courses each semester and those he takes at the river campus.

sac

I don't think my son is in the same league musically, but I did frequent these discussions somewhat and he did chose his college largely around the opportunities to play and hear music without necessarily majoring in it. He chose Columbia University because its music performance program puts every intermediate to advanced jazz player who auditions into a combo. His combo has six players and is taught by an up and coming young jazz pianist and composer. My son was a little disappointed at first -- his audition did not net him the free lessons he also hoped for and he didn't end up in the most advanced combo, which performs at a club on the Upper West Side. So he also joined a klezmer band, led by a professor of Jewish Music. He's having a blast playing a type of music he'd never tried before. In the meantime, he discovered his jazz combo has been steadily improving and he's learning a lot from the man who leads it. (Could it be because the prof said my son's improvising reminded him of the young Wayne Shorter? Somehow, things seemed to go uphill from there.) He's just starting to be familiar enough with the city to go out and hear music. We took him to the Blue Note on parents weekend and heard four great tenor sax players celebrate what would have been Coleman Hawkins' 100th birthday. Then, Columbia -- which is trying to build a jazz studies program -- also had an event to celebrate Coleman Hawkins and my son went, heard a talk and demonstration, and loved seeing Hawk's horn which was on display. All in all, he loves being in a city that feels like Jazz central!

marcyr

My son's in the 4th year of a 5 year BM/MM program in Music Composition at Peabody, and he's also doing a second major in Music Education which he'll finish after first semester next year - he just can't fit his student teaching in this year. Oh, and he's minoring in Conducting because "it will come in handy when I'm teaching." He's happy as a pig in mud, and is writing like crazy in preparation for his Senior Recital in March. He loves Peabody, and feels he definately made the right decision when he chose to go there. In addition to everything else, this semester he auditioned into the Jazz Orchestra (keyboards), a portion of which plays every Monday night at a local record store. He really can't spare the hours that the gig takes up each week, but on the other hand he's had terrific opportunities to solo and hone his improv skills, something he never really had the chance to do before. All in all, he's never been busier or happier.

alwaysamom

I've been involved with two nieces and a family friend whose parents needed assistance in the admissions process in the past few years, all focussed on topnotch music programs. One's at Berklee, one at Eastman and one at Curtis. All are happy and thriving, although the one at Eastman is stressed a lot of the time but that is probably more a factor of her personality than any other reason. Two of the three also auditioned at Juilliard, were accepted but chose their current schools as a better fit.

thumper1

Our son is a music performance major at Boston University (having chosen it over UNT, NEC, Peabody, Duquesne, and Hartt). The reason...the trumpet teacher is top notch. DS loves being in Boston and has what he thinks is a great job...ushering for the Boston Symphony. He loves the huge urban campus of BU, and the small conservatory type music program (although he wishes the facilities were just a tad nicer). He is playing this year in the Chamber Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and in a brass quintet. He hopes to play for the opera this spring also. He feels he is getting a very fine music education and many performance opportunities. He spent last summer at Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro NC and loved that too. I can't imagine that he would be happy studying anything else.

soccerguy315

I'll preface this with saying that I am not a music major, but I am heavily involved in music programs at my school, and have friends who are music majors, both performance and music ed at other schools.

If your D wants go to into performance, the most important thing will be her relationship with the teacher there who will be teaching her for the next 4 years.

It's also important to keep in mind that majoring in music performance does not mean that you must attend a conservatory. James Madison Univeristy and West Virginia University are both full universities with great music programs, as a couple examples. The conservatory route does minimize what you can do if you decide music isn't your thing afterall.

and of course, she'll have to audition everywhere, so winter / spring senior year will be one full of travel.

binx

I agree with soccerguy in that, above all, the relationship with the teacher is critical. Some schools are "known" for certain instruments, and not as good in others. The opinion and experience of your D's current private teacher should be helpful. In addition, if your D plays an orchestral instrument, the quality of the orchestra will matter. My S applied to 4 schools. Things he considered were 1) teacher, 2) quality of orchestra, 3) reputation of school, 4) ability of other students. (He didn't want to be the "ceiling".)

He didn't care about anything else, eg. double major, social activities, or location.

He is now a freshmen at Juilliard and thriving. It is a perfect fit for him.

He had private lessons with teachers at a number of different schools, in advance. Was able to cross some schools off his list, just because he didn't "click" with the teacher for some reason or another. He had considered Rice, but ended up crossing it off because he didn't have time to take the SAT IIs.

Conservatories are great for kids like my son who are single-minded and passionate. He has a friend at Indiana, equally talented. She chose to not attend a conservatory because she wanted the wider experience. Even so, she has said she gets "sick of music all the time," something my son can't even conceive of.

thumper1

I agree with Binx. My son is actually at Boston University. While this is not the premier place for music studies, the trumpet teacher is very highly regarded, the orchestra is excellent, he's not the top student (yet....but that's where he'd like to be) on his instrument, and the music program is conservatory program within a large university. PLUS he loves Boston for the cultural and playing opportunities too. He was also accepted at conservatory programs (NEC and Peabody) and came very close to going to both. BUT for he also considered other things...e.g. NEC has awful (mandatory) freshman housing with no housing guarantee for upperclass students. At the cost of housing IN Boston this was a major consideration. He loved Peabody, but in the end felt that Boston, and the locations of the two Boston colleges was better than Baltimore (I will say that we didn't agree with him on this one...). DS does have to take BU core requirements (8 courses) but he had AP credits for two of those courses. Everything else is within the music department and that is where he spends the bulk of his time. I do think he WILL go to a conservatory for graduate work, and I feel very strongly that if he continues his music studies that is what he should do.

DivaMommy

Hi Karen,

You mentioned that your daughter did get an audition at Juillard last year, which seems like a feat in itself. I am told that they will be taking only 12 classical voice majors. Can you tell me when she was contacted about the audition? Thanks.

PS - I'm glad to hear she's doing well at Rice!

mezzomom

Shennie, Eastman (and Rochester) is a school that goes on and off my daughter's list on a regular basis. Her concern is precisely about the separation of the campuses and how realistic it really is to consider music and another major/minor. Could you expand on your son's experiences...is the bus availability convenient/inconvenient? Are students at Eastman discouraged from pursuing other coursework outside of music? Any impressions you could add would be helpful.

karenindallas

Divamommy (I love your screen name- I can relate....), I think it was sometime in January that Julliard sent out their audition letters. They tell you when to show up, and you better hope you haven't scheduled something else! My daughter was nervous for the Julliard audition, which is not her usual mode. She started with a hard piece and didn't do well. She did not get a "call back" which is the next step. You know about that pretty soon after you sing. She was disappointed (I wasn't) but moved on. Her Interlochen roommate, a soprano, also didn't get a call back. My D had to fly out early the next morning to Indiana for that audition. She called me in a panic from the Indianapolis airport. She was tired, hadn't had enough fluids and was nervous that she would screw up again. I told her that she needed to just go down to IU and have fun- she didn't want to go to school there anyway, even though she had already been admitted to the university honors college and is a legacy (me). She went- had a blast- nailed the audition- felt IU would be awesome for grad school. I was really proud of her. The Rice audtion was her favorite, followed by Cleveland Institute. The Rice faculty was warm and welcoming. Let me know how things turn out for your daughter. K.

DivaMommy

Thank you so much for your encouragement! Of course, everyone that hears my d tells me that she sings like an angel and is a shoe in at Juillard. I, of course, am a realist and realize that she is just one of many many talented dedicated young people!

I will let you know how she does. I actually have my fingers crossed for Mason Gross, as I am a Rutgers legacy myself (definitely not voice!).

I don't think that others realize how much harder and stressful our children's college application process is because of the audition requirements!

Please tell your daughter that I am impressed that she got the Juilliard audition and will let you know how mine does.

musicmom

DivaMommy-

Our son went through the whole audition process last year. I agree with you whole heartedly about how much more complex it is for our 'arts' major kids!

It was a difficult process for our son (and us to have to watch!). His first choice was Manhattan School of Music but he also auditioned at Juilliard. I doubt he understood at 17 what a deal that was to even be there to audition! He was accepted at neither.
He had not failed at much to that point so was a bit shocked I think. WE knew the odds......

He was offered admission at Mason Gross and Hartt (with a significant merit award) but ultimately chose TCNJ. He had studied with the prof he'd have there for private lessons and had developed a strong connection. He is very happy.
The academic program there makes him work (a new experience for him) and the kids are all motivated and friendly. He may try a masters' at a conservatory later on.\

Best of luck to you and yours!