Info about some NE/NY music programs?

nightchef
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:01:59 +0000

Hi everybody–wow, great answers already.

//How serious is your student about the music aspect? //

This is the million-dollar question. Nobody seems certain of this, including him. On the one hand, music consumes his life. He is a B student who would probably be an A student if he didn’t spend so much time making music. On the other hand, his stated intention at present is to go a university or LAC and major in IR. I’m investigating music programs because I suspect he may change his mind. I think his heart is in music, but he’s hesitating because (1) he has some self-doubt about the competitive aspect, and (2) he’s 17, wants to save the world, and thinks music is too much fun and not enough world-saving.

He’s been taking piano lessons since age 8, and has progressed pretty far. He’s technically a little behind where he should be, and the ship has sailed for him as top conservatory material, but his teacher has told us that he thinks six months of really focused work would put him in a position to audition creditably for a good university-based music program.

The reason why I ask about the pop aspect is that in the past few years he has discovered an emerging gift as a pop singer/songwriter/pianist more or less in the Ben Folds vein. He’s really quite good at it. While I can’t give details without compromising his anonymity, he got a pretty dramatic affirmation of his talent this spring, involving a performance opportunity that a lot of adult musicians never see, and he knocked the ball out of the park.

But even if his highest potential is as a pop musician, I think he needs to develop a little further as a pianist in order to realize that potential fully. So the opportunity that would be ideal for him is a music program where he would be pushed to refine his musicianship as a pianist, but where there would be open-mindedness and even encouragement about the fact that his ultimate goal and gift is as a pop musician. I’m not looking for a place that will train him as a pop musician; he’s doing that on his own, very effectively.

I probably shouldn’t have mentioned jazz, either; that’s really a red herring here. I don’t think he’s terribly interested in jazz, though he has worked in jazz bands in the past couple of years and has developed some basic comping and soloing chops.