eugepae018

Hello,

I really like the huge music scene on campus, though I won't be applying to the Con. I was wondering about the orchestra for students in the College-- how many hours a week do you rehearse, and is there a shortage of players (like I have seen at other schools)?

Thanks for your input!

dave72

Not sure this answers your specific questions, but it's a good overview:

Oberlin Blogs | Blog Entry: "Opportunities for College Musicians"

Feel free to post specific questions as a comment to the post.

shennie

My son is currently at Oberlin. They have Community Winds and Community Strings, but no full orchestra outside of the conservatory. However, a group of students started an orchestra all on their own. It has been a struggle but they are slowly getting off the ground. They are hoping to attain club status next year which will give them access to some funding. I am not sure what they call themselves.

Plainsman

Shennie, why did your son choose OBerlin over Wisconsin-Madison? Did he win a huge scholarship? The two schools are hugely different in price, but Madison is also an outstanding school, from what I've heard. My oldest daughter was admitted to Madison two years ago, but chose instead to go to Penn State. From a cost standpoint, out of state (Wisconsin) vs. in-state (Penn State), I was grateful. Now her little sister is headed for Ohio and Oberlin, darn it. But you've got Madison, Wisconsin in your backyard. Just curious, with such a fine choice at home, why Oberlin?

shennie

UW Madison IS an excellent school. However, my boys have grown up here. We live aboput 2 miles from campus. They attended summer classes there. Two of the 3 played in the youth orchestra for 5 years which met in the music building on campus.

When my youngest graduated from UW, 17 of his classmates all lived in the same dorm. He probably could have attended UW with a very nice scholarship. But he never applied. All 3 of my sons wanted to experience life outside of Madison and we encouraged this. People have described students from Madison high schools who attend UW as actually going to 13th grade in high school. Son did get a very nice scholarship from Oberlin but it is definitely more expensive for him to attend Oberlin.

Also, hubby and I both attended an LAC. We loved the small school experience and wanted that for our sons if that is what they had wanted. All of them attended small schools. Even if they had wanted the big school experience, we would have probably encouraged another state school.

Finally, Oberlin is a great fit for son #3. He has been able to spread his wings in many ways. I think that if he had stayed in town, he would have spent too much time with old high school friends rather than discovering new things. But that is just the nature of the boy.