<p>My son received the list of courses that he is supposed to register for after July 1st. Most of them had the section number also. After doing some checking, we found that there are a couple of schedule conflicts with the sections that were sent to him. He would also like to take an extra class-the voice class for non-majors. He would like to keep up with his singing, in part to prepare for the MT minor audition. Our question is this-can he rearrange his schedule on his own and choose different sections than sent to him. We have a schedule that we think will work and still get all required classes listed, just at different times and with one more added.</p>
<p>All of the classes that have prearranged sections (usually the studio/performance classes and other mandated classes for his major) cannot be changed unilaterally by a student; UArts assigns the sections so as to control the class size in each section. Any class that does not have a section assigned, he can choose an available section that fits in with everything else.</p>
<p>He should contact his academic advisor (email is best - but have him use his UArts email account, a new system spam blocker still has kinks in it and is blocking outside domains such as comcast.net) and explain the conflicts and how he would like to change his schedule. The sections will then be re-arranged. This should be done before the registration date if possible, but if it is not, don’t worry. What you’ve observed is a common occurrence and it always gets straightened out during orientation. A performing arts student cannot get closed out of any of their required performing arts courses.</p>
<p>Thank you once again, Michael!! He set up his email account after he got home from work this afternoon, but now is off again practicing with his band and won’t be home again until much later. He works both his jobs tomorrow but in between I’ll have him send an email regarding his schedule conflict and that he would like to add a class and the rearranging we came up with that might make it all work. </p>
<p>Also, does your daughter know of anyone who took the voice lesson class for non music majors and if so, what was their opinion? My thought was that even though it was a group class, it would be included in tuition and would at least keep him singing weekly and still working on technique. We had been told that for my son to take private voice lessons it would probably be an extra $60 a week (since he is not a MT major). We will already be scraping to make it work for us financially, so would really prefer not to have this extra expense. Another suggestion had been to seek out a grad student that gave lessons and might be more affordable. Any thoughts on this from anyone?</p>
<p>I’ll ask her, it’s not a topic that has come up in conversation. It sounds like the voice class you are talking about is through the music department. Do you know who the voice teacher is? The College of Performing Arts has a faculty list on line that is divided by major and you can tell if the voice teacher is from the music or MT program. I know that the voice teachers in the MT program also give private lessons, time permitting; this summer my daughter is taking private lessons and the cost is less than $60 for 45 minutes. Don’t know if that would hold true during the school year. If lessons with a UArts teacher didn’t pan out, you could also check with Curtis Institute of Music in Philly to get names of recent graduates who are looking to take on students. I would exhaust the UArts options first though, particularly the MT teachers. They are across the board wonderful teachers and can cover a broad range of styles within the MT repertoire. If you think you will follow up with the UArts MT voice teachers, send me a PM and I’ll give you the names of the ones my daughter has worked with.</p>
<p>I don’t believe that during the school year the M/T voice teachers are permitted to give private lessons. There might be a different policy for other majors. Also, as you mentioned, the “group classes” ARE indeed an asset.
As Michael had mentioned, if your S needs more lessons, (not sure he’ll have the time) he could look into outside sources such as the Curtis Inst. (whom I believe is affiliated with UArts?).
I would suggest that all your inquiries regarding the Fall course schedule be taken directly to UArts. On a side note, students ARE given certain dates before each semester to drop/add. Good luck - if it’s worked for other students in the past, it WILL certainly do so for your S.
P.S. I believe ALL the voice teachers @ UArts are wonderful. ;)</p>
<p>Mainstage is right about drop add dates each semester, in fact for freshmen, the fall drop add starts, I believe, during orientation. Oftentimes, however, the computerized registration system “locks” a student out from making certain changes and you need your academic advisor to enter “permissions” or give you a change slip so that the registrar’s office can make the change. It is almost a routine ritual, not only for freshmen but also for others (my daughter will need to straighten out some snafus the first week of class).</p>
<p>And I agree that all of the voice teachers at UArts are great. Some in the music department may have more of a focus in other genres than MT repertoire, so it is worth asking around to find a good match for what your son is looking for.</p>
<p>I know of several Acting majors who took voice lessons over their four years at school. I would recommend waiting until your S gets to school before he adds it into his schedule. All of the MT Voice teacher ARE great. Patty Raine is usually the one who would teach acting majors, if she has room in her schedule. Otherwise, I know many people who have successfully taken with the music department. I’m unsure if it costs them an extra $60 a week, but I have so many friends who’ve taken voice lessons, so unless it’s a new policy, it seems unrealistic that my friends would’ve actually coughed that up. I’ve known people in SOTA to take in the music department with Jeff Kern, Reggie Pendell and Meg Clifton, but my friends in the music department also highly recommend Justin Binek and Claire Binek. Of them all, I know for sure that Jeff and Justin have at the least a decent handle on the repertoire of contemporary and classical musical theater. As they are teachers in the voice department, they have a great handle on much more than that as well, ranging from a lot of jazz, to a lot of classical, to a lot of art songs. </p>
<p>I always think that it is well worth it to take voice lessons at UArts, no matter who’s teaching.</p>
