Need a "safety" choice -- accomplished with the oboe

thumper1
Thu, 10 Aug 2006 10:16:54 +0000

Just an FYI…being a talented oboe player may not be a help in the admissions process. DD is a state ranked oboe and English horn player here (in an tough New England state). To be honest, this didn’t help her a lick in the admissions process. Also, we found that it was not all that easy to find schools with decent enough orchestras (many had wind ensembles, but she really wanted an orchestra) for non-majors. DD will be going to Santa Clara University. They have a small music department, and orchestra. She will be able to continue taking lessons (at no cost) and play in an ensemble. She will minor in music because she enjoys it. She also took a lesson with the oboe teacher there and liked her a lot. If you are looking out of the region, I would suggest the following schools…Furman (great oboe teacher and ensembles are open to all students), U of Redlands (I don’t personally know about them but I’ve heard that they have a great music department), Lawrence (again ensembles open to all).




Ithaca, Duquesne (D did a masterclass with James Gorton this summer and liked him a lot), Boston Conservatory, Arizona State (Martin Schuring is great), CCM, Hartt, Baldwin-Wallace, SUNY at Potsdam, Lynn, Vanderbilt, Depauw.>>




Regarding the above list…most of these schools have music ensembles for music majors only. CCM and Ithaca would not be safeties…their conservatory programs are great. Duquesne does not have ensembles for students outside of their music programs. Also, at a place like Arizona State you would have to see whether students are even able to study with the top teachers. Often students outside of the music department take their private lessons with graduate students (or in the case of a place like Oberlin, with upperclass undergrads). Davidson is a great school…but you first have to get accepted to Davidson which is no easy feat. Also their music scholarship money is very limited AND they only have one ensemble, and don’t need an oboe player each year. How far “out of region” do you want to look? We did a fairly extensive search for schools where DD could continue to play her oboe while studying something else. I’d be glad to share what we learned…but knowing the geography would help.