I hadn’t read this thread since I’m not the most knowledgeable on LACs but having just browsed through it and saw that St. Olaf is of interest I thought I would just mention one other in this region, Luther.
For serious music students in this region who are not considering far off schools, the 3 primary LAC music schools with good reputations (and good academics) are: Lawrence, St. Olaf and Luther. St. Olaf and Luther are more similar as they are big “choir” schools. So for vocalists with big voices, a choir school can be an issue. But I don’t think that would be a big issue for instrumentalist? Not sure though. From a few years ago, I remember some saying that at Luther the music productions are treated like football games - meaning they are the main event at the school. I know a few kids who have gone to all three LACs and have gone on to grad schools and/or professional performance in music.