Need some advice on colleges.

compmom
Mon, 12 Jun 2017 02:07:38 +0000

Oberlin has had some changes in recent years, with Stephen Hartke leading the composition department. The campus is certainly safe- who would say otherwise?

You do not have to go to a school that has a conservatory or school of music. You do not need a BM. You can go to any college or university that has a music department, which would be for a BA in music. In fact, you don’t even have to major in music. You can major in CS or whatever, take lessons, and have performances as an extracurricular. Or you can double major, or major/minor.

Or, you can choose a school with a conservatory/music school and, as you say, do a double degree in 5 years- or just a BM with some other courses on the side.

In other words, there are many ways to go.

If you really want a double degree, there are many to choose from, Oberlin, Lawrence, Bard, Hartt, Ithaca, Eastman/Rochester, Peabody.Johns Hopkins and others. But you do not need to do a double degree as a composer unless you really want to.

It sounds like you have many academic interests. You might want to read the Double Degree Dilemma essay that is posted near the top of this music forum. It describes different ways to do music.

Many composition programs at the grad level consist of work that is “new music” aka contemporary classical, very individualized, sometimes experimental. Most high schoolers are still writing neo-Romantic works. If you want to be around that aesthetic, there are certain schools that would be a better fit.

In the meantime, grab a copy of Alex Ross’ book “The Rest is Noise” about 20th and 21st century composition:)