<p>I’m probably just piling on here, but…</p>
<p>Suzukimom, based on your description of your daughter’s current violin-life and career goals, I don’t see why she would even consider a music-ed degree. People study music-ed because at the end of the day they want to be hired as a professional teacher specializing in music in a (usually public) k-12 school system. They learn to play at an advanced-elementary level all band and orch instruments so they can conduct school groups. They learn child development, pedagogy, etc. They learn music theory and history, of course. They learn keyboard skills - important for choral conducting and for classroom accompanying. And then they go compete for a public school job in an era of decreasing funding for the arts in the public schools. </p>
<p>A performance major at a place like CIM, Oberlin or Eastman, on the other hand, is someone who spends 20+ hours/wk practicing, and another 10+ hours/wk in ensemble, studio and major-lesson classes. (And then there’s theory, music history, keyboard, etc.) Also, competition to be accepted into those programs is pretty tough - just sayin, most of the kids accepted to those three programs in particular in violin have already been successful at audition-based entry to selective summer programs, or have won concerto competitions, etc. After they complete their BM degrees (well, really, after completing a performance Master’s degree), many of these school’s graduates do look to put together a music-performance-centered life that might well include a teaching studio. Many of them eventually do something else professionally - after maybe attending law school or med school or graduate school, 'cause the music performance world is tough to make a living in!</p>
<p>When I think of the studio teachers I have known, the most highly regarded ones have been people who make their living pretty much entirely in the music biz, whether as performers, college performance professors, etc. The second tier of studio teachers in the places I have lived have been music-ed people who run a studio on the side of their professional public school K-12 career. The third tier have been people who are doing something else in life, but achieved a level of performance ability at some prior point in their lives sufficient for teaching beginner-to-intermediate students. It kind of sounds like this is what your daughter is aiming for. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this - it’s an honorable way to do what you love and get paid for it. But it is what it is. Getting the performance training in college to enable your daughter to run a studio like this is definitely doable in conjunction with getting an accounting degree. It is not going to be quite as intense and competitive a performance atmosphere as she might find at Eastman or Oberlin, but it should leave her with enough time to do well in her other studies. </p>
<p>Good luck with putting together a college list - people have mentioned Hartt, SUNY Fredonia, Ithaca College – these all sound reasonable to me.</p>