IBEElieveINU

Anyone have Westminster Choir College n their list for mt? What do you think

evasmom

Ibeelieveinu

My d is a freshman MT at WCC and she loves the program so far. It is a very small school and so it's not for everyone but she feels really good about what she is learning and the amount of 1 to 1 attention available. Her professors are working professionals with impressive credentials. If you PM me I will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Maryhelen

My son (hs junior) and I toured Rider this past fall, and we were told that the MT program is mostly at the Lawrenceville campus and not at Westminster. They also spoke of a merger coming up, and we left a little confused about all that. We liked what we saw, and especially what they told him about 2 available scholarships. Could you shed a little light on the Rider/Westminster combination? I'm especially concerned since my son won't have a car.

evasmom

Maryhelen, I will try to clarify the merger but it is a little confusing. The current MT majors will stay at the Princeton campus but starting with next year's class the MT's will reside and take class in Lawrenceville. They will appatently have all the same course work and professors and will continue to maintain a small class size. As I have said before my D is very happy and learning a huge amount this year. I don't think the car issue will be a big deal because he would have all his classes at the Rider campus. Any traveling seems like it will be done by the faculty (and upper classmen, maybe?). When my D is finished with the musical (Feb. 29 to Mar. 2) I will ask her to respond to your question. The program is only in its 4th year so it is being refined and the merger with Rider should allow for more resources for the program.
Hope this helps somewhat!
Harriet

Maryhelen

Thanks, Harriet - that does help quite a bit, and I am glad your daughter is doing so well. How is Oklahoma going? My son takes SAT next Saturday (3/1) but we may be interested in coming to see the show that evening. Do you know how we might possibly get comp tickets? Also I see that the show is being performed at a high school auditorium. Why is that and is it convenient to either campus?
Thanks,
Maryhelen

evasmom

I would contact K. Shields in admissions to ask about the availability of comp tickets. I do know that there are seats available for Saturday because I had to buy some yesterday. My D is enjoying the experience and was honored to be cast as a freshman.
One of the things that impresses me about WCC is that the shows are directed by professionals who are brought in soley for each show. So there is a lot of opportunity to meet and work with different directors as opposed to having the shows all directed by faculty. For example, Oklahoma! is directed and choreographed by Ginger Thatcher, who worked with Susan Stroman on the Broadway revival.
Princeton HS is accross the street from the Princeton campus and I think this is one of the reasons behind the move of MT to Lawrenceville. Apparently, the Rider theater spaces are quite superior to anything available on the Princeton campus. There is no venue large enough for a big musical on the Princeton campus so they are able to use the High School which has a brand new facility next door.
Let me know if you end up going on Saturday. Maybe I'll see you there!

Maryhelen

Harriet - Thanks for all your info and suggestions. Will let you know if we are going Saturday. Good luck to your daughter!
Maryhelen

Maryhelen

Harriet - Thanks for Ms. Shields' name. We did go on Saturday - just haven't had time to write. The show was wonderful - and Eva was fantastic as a Skidmore girl (one question - which one was Eva?). My son was really impressed so Rider/Westminster is definitely high on his list. If Eva has time could you ask her to post something about how she managed to fit in class work and an obviously-heavy rehearsal schedule?

evasmom

Maryhelen, Eva was usually on the right as you looked at the stage or the first girl jumping over the fence ... hard to describe since they both had the same costumes... Eva's hair was in a french braid, but I don't honestly remember how the other Skidmore girl's hair was styled... Did you love Judd? WE were very impressed by the whole show and Eva enjoyed every minute. She did not have a problem with her work & the show, as she said; she would rather be busy.

forevaeva23

Hi! This is Eva, Evasmom's D. My mom's been telling me that people had questions on WCC, so I came on here finally to see :P

The freshmen next year will be taking classes over here in Princeton, but I'm not sure exactly how many. I know that our musical theatre lab with everyone in the major will still be held in Princeton, and also I'm pretty sure they'll have to come over for choir if that's still a requirement for them. But from what I understand transportation will be provided.

I'm so happy you liked Oklahoma! It was such a great experience. As my mom said, our director worked with Susan Stroman on the Oklahoma revival, and she also worked on the tour. Also, her assistant, Enrique Brown was in the revival and also some other Broadway shows. It was so amazing to be able to work with people who were actually in the business right now and didn't know me from teaching classes, so I had to actually work to get to know them. I think that's really important. Also, the costumes, sets, and props were from the tour of Oklahoma, so that was really special.

The workload with Oklahoma was a lot, I'll admit, since I'm taking a full 18 credit-hour semester. But I found that it only really got difficult during tech week and the week before. Basically, if you do your work and try to get everything out of every class you'll be alright. If anyone has anymore questions, I can answer them

Maryhelen

Eva - Thanks so much for taking the time to post on here. My son and I really enjoyed Oklahoma. Good luck in your future performances.