Just looking for other parents/students gearing up for jazz/jazz studies/jazz performance applications/prescreens/auditions and all that goes along with the journey.
My daughter’s instrument is voice! Anyone else? Seems to be so few on these CC streets. We live in California and have self-imposed limited options: 1. Must be in a state with a Democratic governor and at least one Democratic controlled chamber. 2. While there can be snowy winters, they cannot be subjectively extreme. 3. Have to have the ability to take classes outside of music, but does not need to earn a dual degree. 4. Evidence of generous merit aid.
So, yeah. Hi!
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There have been years when jazz or contemporary voice have dominated on this music forum 
Every year is different! Does she want a BM at a freestanding conservatory (Berklee, NEC, New School etc…), a BM in a university school of music, or a BA in a school with a good music program? Sticking to your limits on location…
Oh my gosh, you’re a legend… Like, I’ve read all the threads and you date back a looooooong time! Thank you for responding😀
Right now, the list includes U$C, UCLA, Peabody, Temple, Boulder. Eastman isn’t likely to survive the list, but maybe, if I buy her a cute enough coat and boots. We have a few more on a spreadsheet, but as time moves on, they less likely to be applied to.
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A poster with the user name @SpartanDrew with a jazz singer daughter had a long thread in 2017-8 I believe. Her kid ended up at the New School, did Berklee summer program prior to the application year, and was also interested in Loyola New Orleans. I believe Denver was in the mix but not sure. My memory is foggy! People seem to love Lawrence.
Since you have perused a lot of threads, you have probably seen a lot of suggestions already. One random example from 6/21:
Musichunt2022
Jun 2021
I’m so glad to find this site! I’m new and this is my first post. My daughter is a rising senior and determined to be a vocal performance major. She plays piano, sight-reads solfege, performs with two vocal groups–choral and contemporary, recently learned guitar and ukulele, and enjoys composing. My husband (went to NEC) would love to see her happy in a music school but prefers she steer away from the Conservatory route unless it’s a school like Oberlin, Carnegie, or Lawrence which also offer a liberal arts degree. So far Thornton, UCLA, Oberlin, U of M, Blair, Carnegie Mellon, Peabody, Northwestern, and Lawrence are considerations. She’s an introvert, loves the intimacy of smaller campuses but would be thrilled with a program like Thornton which has a smaller music school within a larger campus. She’s in love with the oldies/contemporary music, understands the importance of a classical foundation, but not as excited about Opera. Any schools that might be a good fit? Any I should add to the list? Are any of the above heavily focused on Opera (which we may want to remove from the list)? Would love your sage advice!
There have been a number of people on this board over the years whose daughters have pursued jazz vocal degrees. In addition to @SpartanDrew, others who come to mind include @AmyIzzy, @dramasopranomom and @SnowflakeVT. I don’t know whether any of them still checks in here, but if you search their posts, I expect you could find some useful information.
Is your daughter’s goal to make a career in jazz performance? Or music education? Or have music as an avocation while she pursues a career in something else (whether or not adjacent). My son is making his living full time performing as a jazz musician. From that perspective, I would say that the most important things to look for in a school are:
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A compatible and supportive teacher (or more than one).
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A cohort of fellow students who collaborate and inspire your musician - particularly important in jazz which is such a collaborative music genre. (And my son still regularly performs with musicians he met when he was in college.)
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The ability to graduate with little or no debt. Debt is really a killer when you’re trying to establish yourself and make a career in music performance.
Location is also a factor - my son was born and raised in NYC, stayed in the city for college, and is still based in NYC (though he does a lot of touring). There is no place in the world that has the depth and breadth of jazz resources that NYC has. That said, it can also be an intense environment and not the right place for everyone - you have to know your student’s tolerances. The main thing is to have an environment that motivates and inspires your musician and allows her to continue to evolve without losing her love and passion for the music. And at the risk of repeating myself, that allows her to graduate with little or no debt!
You have a fairly eclectic school list. All good schools (though I don’t think UCLA offers a BM in jazz performance if that’s something she’s looking for). Temple’s jazz program is under-appreciated (and may also be a bargain). I don’t know if it’s still true, but Peabody was giving out a lot of scholarship money a few years ago while they tried to build their jazz program.
I noticed you didn’t have any of the NYC schools on the list. Juilliard, MSM and New School all have great jazz programs. (And MSM has a joint program with Barnard while Juilliard has a joint program with Columbia.) Purchase and William Paterson also have strong jazz programs and are accessible to the city (and lower cost). You might also want to keep an open mind on your self-imposed political parameters - Oberlin, Miami (Frost), UNT and Loyola New Orleans all have jazz programs worth looking at. One can also find interesting jazz programs at places one might not think of as jazz schools per se, such as Michigan State or Portland State. There are currently a couple of rising stars in the NYC jazz scene from those two schools.
Good luck with the journey!
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@jazzpianodad is there an issue with jazz style when choosing schools? I don’t know a lot about jazz but I gather that some programs are more traditional (old school?) and some more free jazz/experimental.
Also, it seems that classical (opera) requirements are often a feature of vocal performance programs so it seems necessary to make sure there is a jazz vocal program specifically. (The New School has a jazz program and a classical program under the College of Performing Arts but they are separate, as an example…)
And what about programs that honor females equally ?
I haven’t been on here in a while as my daughter has been out of school for 10 years, but I’ll offer my two cents.
- @jazzpianodad is the best source for parent-to-parent advice. We started chatting more than 10 years ago and he has been staying current.
- trust your student’s instincts. As much as us parents want to steer them, they have to drive this music career bus and we have to play the role of support. The music business is hard and their peers and teachers won’t have the same respect if there is a parent constantly hovering. I am not saying that you are doing this, but I know early in my daughter’s college process I was hovering too close. She applied to Berklee College of music in high school, and she got in, but didn’t get a scholarship at the time. She also wore what I suggested she should wear for the audition, and I think she looked a bit too conservative honestly. Because she didn’t get a scholarship she decided not to attend Berklee, because she heard through some student grapevine that if you didn’t get a scholarship, then you were just one of many. After she attended the Boston University for a year, she reapplied to Berklee with a renewed focus and more maturity, and I stepped way back and just supported. She wore what she wanted, she played the songs that she wrote, and I just hovered in the background and out of the way until the audition process was complete. When she got the letter from Berklee that she was accepted with a pretty good scholarship, she also knew that she had done that herself, and so that gave her extra confidence. She graduated more than 12 years ago and headed out to Los Angeles afterwards. Now she’s touring with Jacob Collier and having the time of her life. She definitely hit some tough times, but because she had the grit as well as the skills, she could push through. So the moral of the story is let your daughter struggle and catch her as she works through each experience and she will be stronger for the challenges that are placed before her.
- regardless of what you wear or how you look or what school attended, the talent and skills have to be there. The school creates an opportunity and a network for the talent to blossom.
Good luck!
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I’m still around if anyone has questions. My daughter attended Loyola New Orleans so already misses the requirements in this post with that being a red state (although New Orleans is a very progressive city so that was enough for my daughter-but that was back in 2019 before all these crazy laws were passed!) She is a talented jazz singer, but actually earned a BS degree in Popular Music Studies. She graduated in 2024 and is mostly doing jazz now (Buffalo has an awesome jazz scene if any of the Buffalo schools appeal to you.) She has a great job unrelated to her degree (well, it’s in sales-so all her theatre background sure helps!) but the money helps her to keep up with her musical passions. Let me know if you have questions @Stagemom26