T990

mezzomom wrote: "is the bus availability convenient/inconvenient? Are students at Eastman discouraged from pursuing other coursework outside of music?"

I believe there is an effort to better integrate the programs of UR and Eastman. Taking classes is encouraged, but I believe membership in ensembles is limited and perhaps not offered in some cases.

Without a car, it seems one would have to plan carefully to attend classes, etc. at the other campus. UR used to have a shuttle bus schedule on line (it ran about every 90 minues or 2 hours) but now the link is this:

http://www.rgrta.com/routing/schedules.asp?routeID=72G

There is a link for "UofR Schedules" there.

I clipped this from the Eastman web site:

"Free shuttle buses run frequently throughout the day between the Eastman School and the River Campus. Classes on the two campuses are on different schedules. Thus, it is usually possible to leave a class on one campus, get on the shuttle bus for the 20-minute ride, and arrive on the other campus in time for the next class."

CC has an area for the UofR; you might pose the question there:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...play.php?f=355

Susantm

My son is applying to college, hoping to major in trumpet performance. His first audition is tomorrow, Jan. 5, for Oberlin. He has already heard--from a trumpet player he knows there--that they really have no openings for trumpet and will only take one player if they come across someone outstanding. He knows he is not THAT good, so doesn't expect much. He also has auditions coming up for Lawrence and Northwestern. He sent tapes to Indiana and Stanford, and will be sending one to New England Conservatory. (Stanford is basically just in there because his brother goes there, and son #2 wants to see if he can get in. He would only go there if he is not accepted at a good music school, or so he says now.) He is also considering North Texas (his trumpet teacher's alma mater) and Northern Colorado.

Does anyone know if tapes are accepted as well as auditions? We just can't afford to fly him across the country to audition, so his only live auditions are those where colleges have regional auditions in a nearby city.

This is definitely more work than it was for my first son, who was looking for Japanese and engineering.

Susan M

shennie

Mezzomom: The bus schedule is OK, but not always great. Classes at the 2 campuses are offset by a half an hour. I think River Campus classes start on the hour and Eastman on the half hour. Theoretically, if you have an 8:30 class at Eastman, you are done by 9:20 and can get the bus in time for a 10:00 class at River Campus. Son had that type of schedule once and says it was not unusual for him to be late for his River Campus class. This past semester they did institute a quick shuttle in the afternoon that runs from River Campus straight to Eastman with no stops in between. He says that has been very helpful.

He has never been discouraged from taking classes outside of Eastman. His teacher is very supportive. The private teacher is really the most important factor. I know there are some teachers who feel that students need to spend all their time on music and discourage students from taking outside classes. Your daughter would need to talk to her perspective teacher to find out how they feel about taking outside classes.

The biggest factor with taking outside classes is time. Not just the travel time between the 2 campuses but time in general. I think this is going to be true no matter where a music student attends. Eastman requires 18 credits for freshman 1st semester and 17 second. (Students have more flexibility if they can test out of piano.) The classes along with ensemble rehearsals, master classes, lessons, and several hours of practice each day doesn't leave time for much else. Son seriously thought about a double degree but decided that he really couldn't cut sleep out of his schedule He is taking a minor in political science instead, which is very doable.

If you have other questions regarding Eastman, I will be happy to answer them.

MomofWildChild

Susantm- New England Conservatory is really different than the other schools you mentioned. My D auditioned at NEC two years ago. We visited with her prior to the audition and my H and I did not like it at all. It seemed run-down and depressing. It offers very little in the way of strong academics to complement the music. It is also very expensive with not much merit money. D does not think very highly of it after hearing from kids who did go there. Of course, there is some excellent music faculty.
Your son sounds like a strong student. Did you consider Rice at all? The Shepherd School of Music is fantastic.

Susantm

Momofwildchild,
(Now I am curious about that child of yours!) Thank you for your thoughts on NEC. My son actually HAS been there, when his youth orchestra took an East Coast tour last summer. He really liked the Boston area. I'm not sure how much of NEC he saw, but they did play in Jordan Hall there, and NEC is the alma mater of his orchestra conductor. He also knows a trumpet player who is a freshman there this year, so I guess he has some idea what it is like. (I personally know nearly nothing about NEC.) He actually doesn't think there is much chance of getting in.

He did consider Rice. His trumpet instructor recommended he apply there. However, there were a couple of things against it. First of all, it is in the middle of a big city which is not known for its cleanliness (according to some we have talked to). Second, Rice does not have regional auditions and only accepts tapes for screening purposes. So he would have had to fly down there to audition, if they liked his tape. Mainly it was the idea of living in the middle of a big city for four years that made up his mind for him.

Susan M

lorelei2702

From my experience as university voice teacher, parent of an opera singer and a string player, I have a strong belief that the size and type of school that is best for different disciplines will be different. String players start so young and there are so many prodigies, it is clear that to make progress one has to be among the best, hearing the level of the competition, understanding the standard. For a singer, it is quite different. A young singer needs to (1) get older, (2) have excellent teacher (not just a fine singer/performer themselves), (3) have good older role models around in their Fach (voice category), (4) have opportunities, but no pressure to do things inappropriate. At a smaller school with few graduate students, undergraduates wind up singing things they should not sing, and it may very well injure their voices. A school with a sizable graduate program is best for an undergraduate. If they are good enough to win some roles, even if small, then they should feel encouraged by their success. It means nothing to sing leads in a small school where there is noone else available, and it probably means it is a bad idea. I would seldom recommend a singer go to a conservatory for undergraduate study. Some of the conservatories have had their own internal discussions about doing away with undergraduate voice programs because of these factors. They wind up keeping them, so that they stay competitive as music schools, but it does not change the situation.

The most important choice a young singer can make is the voice teacher. A bad teacher can ruin a voice (and a soul) irretrievably. A good teacher, summer opportunities, good health, physical maturity: all of these are the crucial elements for singer. Good luck.

MomofWildChild

Susantm- I sent you a private message.
I think the last post has great advice- I agree with the need for singers to mature and not take on roles that are going to stress their voices.

thumper1

Susantm...your son's list is similar to my son's two years ago. He is a trumpet performance major. He actually applied in person everywhere. However, for North Texas he auditioned with the head of the trumpet faculty in the summer. In retrospect he should have also gone to a regional in person audition. North Texas has a fabulous program, but DS decided not to go there because it is so huge. I would say that if you can...try to get to as many in person auditions as possible. Many schools offer regional auditions in places around the country. That might be an option for your also. Good luck to your son.

shennie

SusanM - a few words about Rice. My son auditioned there a couple of years ago. It is an absolutely beautiful school in a very nice part of the city. The campus is completely self contained and there are no city streets that run through it at all. It is next to the museum district and a very nice park. Shepard School is very difficult to get into, mainly because their undergraduate program is pretty small. They have 120 undergrads on all instruments and voice. So ultimately there will only be 30 or so freshman who end up enrolling in Shepard. Since this encompasses everything, they can only admit a few students on each instrument. Also, once admitted to the music school, students then must be admitted academically to the University, also not a particularly easy task.

I don't anything about the trumpet faculty at Rice, but the orchestra conductor is fabulous. Rice was my son's first choice but he was waitlisted and accepted admission elsewhere.

Susantm

Dear Shennie,

Ah, I just remembered the other reason my son didn't apply to Rice. He talked to their representative at a Performing Arts College Fair, and they said they only had openings for 2-3 trumpet players. I believe their list of required audition music also included things he did not know and would not also be learning for other auditions. He has had to learn a LOT of new material in the past three months! So eliminating Rice meant less to learn...

He says he is NOT ready for his Oberlin audition tomorrow, and he is getting quite nervous...

Susan M

Susantm

Dear Thumper1,

Where is your son now studying? (Sorry if you already mentioned and I forgot.) How does he like it?

This is such a hard time as they try to make the right decisions and then hope for acceptance. And then April when the thin or fat letters come...followed by thin or fat financial aid... :-)

Susan

thumper1

>>Where is your son now studying? (Sorry if you already mentioned and I forgot.) How does he like it?>>

My son studies at Boston University and he loves it. The main reason he went there is for the trumpet teacher who is fabulous. He is very pleased with the music instruction he is getting. Last summer he was at a music festival for five weeks with students from all over the country...from conservatories and other music programs...and he felt his preparation was equal to or better than what others brought to the program (and he acknowledged that he was probably the lowest of the trumpet players...). He really loves Boston and hopes to get back there soon.

DivaMommy

Just thought I would let everyone know that my daughter got an invite to audition at Manhattan School of Music. Please keep your fingers crossed! (We are still waiting to hear from Juilliard.

MomofWildChild

Congrats on Manhattan! Let us know about Julliard.

Susantm

Congrats on the audition! My son is not in the same league, but he does have an audition in town today with Lawrence University, which has a music conservatory. The people from the college have been very encouraging and really want my son there, but the conservatory is separate, and he has no idea how competitive it is.

Does anyone here know anything about Lawrence and the strength of its conservatory?