I just came across this info on the UC Irvine website: *“December 2024 Announcement on Undergraduate Music Degree Programs:Our department has long been known for its excellent undergraduate performance degrees, with specializations in all orchestral instruments, piano, voice, guitar and jazz studies. Each of these degrees requires individual lessons. After careful consideration of our resources, and to ensure that our programs are sustainable for the future, we will be transitioning to a new model in which we will offer lessons-based performance degrees only for a select number of instruments (voice, classical piano, violin, viola and cello). In addition, we are designing new degree options that will accommodate and serve students with other musical backgrounds, interests and goals.”
Looks like they are scaling back. Would you be worried if this was one of the schools on your list for VP?
I would be very concerned.
I was a VP major at a small private college that was known for its music program for decades. Our choir was unbelievable, and the orchestra and band were fabulous. About 10 years after I graduated, they announced that they were doing away with their orchestra and would only be participating in the city-wide “collegiate orchestra.” A year or two later, they did away with the BM degree and only offered BA. A few years later, they were down to a very small, mediocre choir, no orchestra at all, and the marching band, which is very small but well known in the area because of football.
They have revamped things and are currently trying to start the music program back up, but I don’t think it will ever be the robust, well-respected program it once was. They have reached out to try to get my daughter to go there, but there is no way I would ever send a kid who is serious about music unless they truly are able to build back both the program and the school’s reputation in the world of music.
I see two different changes gong on,and both are going on in many schools- and my be related.
One, scaling back traditional orchestral/Wwestern Classical offerings. Sometimes for financial reasons and sometimes for “diversity, equity and inclusion.” Whieh is the second kind of initiative happening: widening access and diversity of genres in music education. Harvard did this years ago.
In this case, it looks like there is not enough money to do both- continue the Western classical program in full as well as expand access and content. But I am only speculating.
There may also be issues of money related to enrolment since expanding access and content for students interested in music who do not have the traditional rigorous background, will increase enrollment in music and perhaps help save the department.
@25or4to4 if your daughter wants classical voice/opera, there might be a concern. If she is interested in other genres (jazz, contemporary, singer/songwriting, experimental or “new music” etc.) then this could be a plus. But I don’t know the situation! It may be that refining offerings to focus on those areas, which include voice, may be a good thing.
I would have a serious talk with a dean or chair of the department to see what future financial issues might be and talk about these changes.
My child is currently in the jazz studies program at UCI and he said that those students with these non-returning majors are pretty devastated. They will all get to graduate with their major and continue with private lessons. However, since the music school is no longer admitting this group of majors, with each graduating class there will be less musicians to play in the bands, to collaborate with, and they won’t be able to maintain a robust, vibrant community. My understanding is that many of these students are planning to apply to transfer elsewhere.
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Yes - That is really sad and unfortunate for those students. My daughter did end up auditioning and this was addressed in the info session. Hard decisions for their programs for sure.
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Very true. Best wishes for your daughter, and I’m glad it was at least addressed during her info session.
Thanks. She was officially accepted to UCI last Friday. Also accepted at SDSU. Now waiting on UCLA, USC and the out of states she applied to.