Creating the List of Colleges

ScreenName48105
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 14:01:32 +0000

On a separate topic, but perhaps indirectly relevant to the creation of a college list, if gigging is already “losing its luster” in high school, that would seem like a bit of a warning signal for someone who is hoping to make a career in jazz performance

I brought this up. I just meant that it’s losing its glamour. My son’s quintet is playing at the Detroit Auto Show Charity Gala tonight. It’s a cool gig; black tie, lots of celebrities, TV time. Being high school kids, they get a lot of attention. But it also means being there by 4pm to go through security, schlepping all their gear through ice/snow from their assigned parking lot two blocks away. They play until 10pm; it’ll be midnight before they get home. Eight hours for their “15 minutes of fame”, as they say. The first year, he was super excited… this year, it’s a “job” that’s barely worth the logistics.

On the other hand, he’s participated in a lot of masterclasses (i.e. his combo plays and the guest artist critiques them and works with them) with some great musicians and he gets so much more out of those performances. A few years ago, if there was a conflict between a gig and a masterclass, he would always have chosen the gig. Today, he’s much more likely to choose the class, and as he’s gotten older and better, the clinicians have been tougher and more demanding. He’s realistic enough to know that he’s not going to be “gigging” with that level of musicians for a long time, and that his interaction with them will be in an educational setting, hence his focus on faculty over gigging opportunities.

@GoForth, I’m in about the same boat financially. An EFC of $17K essentially means being able to pay for R&B, fees, books for big city schools in Boston, NYC, LA. When I used the NPC’s for my son’s schools, Oberlin came out the most affordable, with the exception of Michigan/Michigan State which are in-state for us.