missing academics with BM

SimpleLife
Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:31:32 +0000

@khatlestad,
one of my sons sounds a lot like your son. My son is currently a sophomore earning a BM and taking as many liberal arts courses as he can. He is very, very happy. Since he didn’t want to give up his more “academic” interests to study music, he only applied to colleges that offered a broad academic curriculum as well as a quality music program.

You asked, specifically, about faring in a “conservatory setting.” I don’t know how literally you meant that. My son did apply to three schools with literal “conservatories” – Oberlin, Lawrence, and Rice, and he got in with half-to-full-tuition scholarships to all 3. But he chose to go elsewhere, primarily for financial reasons – also a full-tuition scholarship with a cheaper overall cost of attendance. He does NOT attend a conservatory – “just” a “school of music” within a liberal arts college.

He has found that the schedule and course load required of a music major can keep him quite busy – aural skills, theory, music history, and piano, on top of their other music requirements, do keep them quite busy. But he has REALLY enjoyed his liberal arts core curriculum, particularly the courses he takes through the honors program – they’re smaller and typically more engaging. He has had numerous job opportunities, in the form of gigs and part-time work that fit perfectly with his student schedule, and the mandatory school of music ensembles (which he also enjoys, btw) keep him very busy. Add to that all the other opportunities these kids have in college – study abroad, participating in each other’s recitals and juries, attending other school of the arts performances, etc – and, well, my son (at least) is very happy and very busy and hasn’t ever felt bored or unchallenged.

Being a music major is inherently very busy, imo. I THINK your son will find that to be the case. If he is certain that he wants to take courses outside of music, it would seem wise to apply only to schools that offer such opportunities to a rather significant degree.

Good luck to you and your son! :)