Creating the List of Colleges

jazzpianodad
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 06:07:26 +0000

@GoForth, you’ve mentioned a number of schools with good jazz programs that may be relative bargains, particularly with potential merit aid (e.g., UNT, DePaul, Temple, William Paterson, SUNY Purchase). Some others that might be worth checking out on that score include Columbia College and Roosevelt University in Chicago, UIUC, Western Michigan and UMKC (though I don’t personally have any experience with any of them). But it’s very hard to know what a school is going to offer and there are very few schools (maybe NYU) that I’d write off as financially not viable before seeing what they give you.

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, It may also be a sign that the student needs to have a broader universe of musicians to play with and develop with. I recognize that there are pluses and minuses to urban versus rural in choosing a school, and ultimately you want to find a place where the student is comfortable and can develop best musically, which could be in either setting depending on the student. But one definite advantage to the urban setting, or at least the jazz mecca that is NYC, is the huge universe of jazz musicians available to play with, grow with, learn from and be inspired by.