<p>Nope. Her brother, the immensely talented Hunter Foster, went to UMich. Sutton went to CMU for a couple years then dropped out to go work, and it certainly paid off for her! It must be great to be their parents!</p>
<p>Thanks for setting me straight! Thought both Hunter and Sutton Foster went to UMich…</p>
<p>As a highschool student with three of my close friends in the program at CMU I would have to say that the training there must be incredible. The work I have seen them produce was unbelievable. One of my friends who is a sophmore MT at CMU absolutley loves the place. One thing that gives me a weird feeling about ther program is the is how he talks about the amount of smoking that goes on with the MT kids. It’s common sense that smoking is not good for your voice. I was shocked to see the lead in Urinetown smoking a cigarette before the show when I visited this winter. I understand that the acting training you recieve there is arguably the best there is. I am just confused in why this is such a big issue within the MT department. (Be it that I am looking to apply for MT schools.)</p>
<p>MTActor</p>
<p>As a senior MT at Carnegie, I want to reply to this. I agree with you on the whole smoking issue. There are certainly kids in the MT program (and other MT programs at other schools who I know) who smoke. Does it affect their voices? I don’t doubt that it does. However, this is the decision that they are making. Will their voices suffer in the future? Who knows, but I would lean more towards yes. And as you said, there are actors that smoke as well. And if you ask me, an actors voice is just as important as a singers voice. When I was visiting various MT programs in high school, I thought that same thing as you: Why are such talented people smoking? And to be honest, I still ask myself that question. But I know that all I can do is make sure that I take care of my instrument to the best of my ability. Sorry this may sound like a corny public service announcement…I just wanted to add my two cents.</p>
<p>hayhayden: I have to say though that I went to Carnegie Mellon Pre-college and loved the program, had an amazing experience, and learned so much, but vocally I felt the only thing that was taught was belt. Since I’m solely a soprano, who can belt and is a strong mixer, this was the one area that I felt was not as good as the others in the program. Of course since it was pre-college they were not really able to teach full on technique in six weeks but a majority of what we did in singing class was belt and I don’t think we did any work on legit or a classical technique. Of course it’s about what is right for certain people, and for some people that kind of training is perfect, but for me I feel that I need a classical foundation in order to belt correctly and to maintain my legit so I decided not to audition there. So for someone like me, CMU’s MT program is not necessarily the best for them, granted that everything else in the program is fantastic.</p>
<p>I feel obligated to respond to LittleMTgirl’s post. I graduated from Carnegie Mellon’s MT program and felt like I got a very well rounded vocal education. I was fortunate enough to play two main roles in the musicals there. One being Cunegonde in Candide (a collaboration in which the casting pool was Voice and MT majors) and Hope in Urinetown. These roles required very different vocal techniques and I felt that I was taught both by my voice teacher. While there is a professor that is more belt driven, there is also a professor who is more legit driven…in fact, she majored in Vocal Performance in college and is a former opera/music theatre professional. As always, I would encourage prospective students to sit in on classes, voice lessons, rehearsals, etc. before they decide on a school, as its hard to tell if one would fit in and grow in a program that one has never observed first hand.</p>
<p>CMUJohanna, lovely to have you post here, as always. I am hoping you can answer a question about auditions at CMU: several people have said that it is extremely importantn (crucial) to belt in a CMU audition for MT and that is you cannot belt really well, forget about getting in. Is this true? Are they solely interested in admitting belters, or do they also admit legit sopranos with a mix, and work further with them on developing belting technique?</p>
<p>this school is my number 1 choice. It’s just sooo expensive. And my parents aren’t taking out any loans for my college tuition. Their paying all in cash…so if I hopefully get into this school I can get some scholarship!</p>
<p>Nate, you may end up being surprised that an expensive private college like CMU can end up costing some kids less than a less expensive public university. It all depends on what financial aid/scholarships/work study are available. Don’t lose hope. Get in and they may be able to help you figure it out.</p>
<p>thank you very much! I feel alot better now!</p>
<p>Hi all. I am brand new to this site so please forgive me if I’m posting in the wrong place. Have a daughter who is interested in pursuing a BFA in MT (she is a current junior). Am just beginning the college search process and contacted CMU for some information. </p>
<p>They told me that approximately 2000 students audition for the drama program with approximately 28 accepted. Is that right (I have to assume it is coming from the school.) Is CMU the Harvard of MT? Are there that many MT kids coming out of high school each year who audition for colleges?</p>
<p>I thought college ballet programs were competitive. This is unbelievable. Again, I apologize if I’m not in the right place on the CMU threads. Thank you.</p>
<p>CMU isn’t the only “Harvard” for MT as far as percentage of auditionees accepted - reading this board will reveal a lot of other “scary” numbers. There are definitely that many kids auditioning for places, especially girls, and the process is incredibly competitive. However, there are good non-audition schools as well.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your D - you have started examining the process with plenty of time left! :)</p>
<p>Ummm I just want to stress badly that EVERY SCHOOL IS DIFFERENT FOR EACH AND EVERY PERSON. Period. I have heard so many rumors on every school possible. Being a senior, I always ask people about musical theatre colleges, and they always have something bad to say about the next school. It’s all rumors. Of course, people will spread them, but we must ignore this. It just stinks because there are so many naive people auditioning that hear these awful, incorrect attacks on schools. I would say talk to many many kids or even better, don’t ask any!! Just visit the school, look it up, WATCH CLASSES. Students will give you some input, but I’ve gone one place that has attacked another school, and likewise. </p>
<p>I’m just so annoyed with all the rumors spread around! Haha. I get so defensive about it. Honestly, about CMU being to intense, it’s a conservatory experience. That’s what you are asking for. I’d expect nothing less than thick skin from a student, and it’s a great experience to see if this is what you want to be doing your whole life! The real world is MUCH more brutal. Besides, they give critisicm to help. I KNOW that any faculty at any good mt school is there to help you. If they were beating you up and attacking you, then why did they accept you? </p>
<p>I guess I am more prepared for this training because i attended an arts pre-conservatory high school, but you guys shouldn’t worry! Don’t listen to the rumors. You WILL GROW ANYWHERE. That is a solid fact. It’s not the school it’s the student.</p>
<p>NewbieMtMom, yes, admissions to many BFA programs in musical theater <em>is</em> highly competitive: actually, at least percentagewise, more competitive than trying to get into Harvard or Princeton or Yale as a regular student. I read recently that about 7% of students who apply to Harvard, for instance, are accepted, yet MT programs such as those at CMU, Penn State and Otterbein (just to choose three off the top of my head) only accept (roughly) 2 to 3%. It is, as Coach C pointed out, especially competitive for girls, as there are so many more of them than there are boys. (Sorry, guys, but it’s the truth!!) </p>
<p>That’s why it is so important for students who plan to pursue a BFA to come up with a “fair and balanced” list of schools and to include a few non-audition “safety” schools that you know you can get into through your grades, scores and transcripts. No audition school is a safety school.</p>
<p>I’m not sure this is the correct thread to post this item, but my D is a soprano who wants to try to pursue both classical and musical theatre studies. We are wondering if anyone knows if you are a BFA vocal performance major at Carnegie Mellon, is it possible to study classical and MT repertoire simultaneously or are your either a classical vocal performance major or a MT vocal performance major? </p>
<p>The school of music CMU website states the following:
“The vocal performance program at Carnegie Mellon prepares singers for professional careers in opera, music theatre, and the concert stage. Alumni of the School of Music are currently performing with orchestras and opera companies around the world, as well as performing key roles on Broadway…” </p>
<p>“Each year, the School of Music presents two fully-staged productions, one opera and one musical theater, with all roles assigned to undergraduate students.”</p>
<p>“The choral program and the opera/music theatre productions at Carnegie Mellon are under the expert direction of the renowned choral master, Robert Page.” </p>
<p>“While there is close collaboration between the School of Music and the School of Drama, it is important to note that the Vocal Performance Major in the School of Music is a separate program of study from the Music Theater Major in the School or Drama. Talented young singers and actors may wish to apply to both programs with separate auditioning processes for each. Every two years, the School of Music and the School of Drama present a joint production for students in both programs of study.”</p>
<p>I don’t know about the joint production with the two departments, but I’m told that the type of musical that School of Music performs each year is more along the lines of operetta. Fully staged productions of composers like Gilbert and Sullivan and Kurt Weill are examples. The Music School doesn’t usually present more standard Broadway musical theatre productions. You can call them for a list of past performances.</p>
<p>The School of Drama MT major is technically a degree in acting, as opposed to a vocal performance emphasis. That being said, there’s plenty of vocal training, including 4 years of private coaching. It’s classically based in the freshman year, and after that it can vary.</p>
<p>So the two programs are very different. But there are outstanding singers graduating from both of them!</p>
<p>as far as i know the musical the school of music presents is typically an operetta, but 2 years ago they did nine! it was wonderful. some broadway performers who went to cmu for vocal include christiane noll (currently the star of ragtime), and catherine walker (understudy for mary poppins on broadway), to name a few.</p>
<p>I didn’t know that Christiane Noll went to CMU - I saw her in Ragtime on Monday! The whole cast was outstanding, but she was just breathtaking. I can still hear her singing in my head… </p>
<p>It’s such a shame that the show is closing!</p>
<p>How many people audition for CMU’s MT program roughly?</p>
<p>My D was told last year more than 1,100 applied - but I believe that was for both MT and Acting.</p>