Underrated Jazz Programs

College Majors Music Majors
1

<p>Please post any schools with jazz programs that you think might be underrated or lesser known. A “hidden gem” for jazz studies that others may not know about.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Vincent</p>

2

<p>I am not a jazz expert but in our travels we came across 2 (although they were lesser known to me, and maybe not lesser known to jazz people):
DePaul (Chicago)
California State University Long Beach</p>

3

<p>Capital University in Ohio, definitely got a killer program there. the conservatory is very nice</p>

<p>Portland State University as well as University of Oregon both have good jazz programs. </p>

<p>A little more known is the Conservatory at Cincinnati University…CCM, very nice. </p>

<p>Surprisingly I was impressed with Ohio State University’s program, even though its such an enormous school only like 400 kids are in the conservatory/music school and it has some really interesting programs and great faculty especially with jazz</p>

4

<p>A few starting points:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/154774-best-university-jazz-programs.html?highlight=jazz[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/154774-best-university-jazz-programs.html?highlight=jazz&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/878262-looking-great-jazz-studies-program-my-son.html?highlight=jazz[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/878262-looking-great-jazz-studies-program-my-son.html?highlight=jazz&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/731719-looking-good-jazz-school.html?highlight=jazz[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/731719-looking-good-jazz-school.html?highlight=jazz&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And help in finding more <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>While not underrated by those who know about it, many people overlook William Paterson University because it is a not very selective (at least in most programs other than jazz) local public college that draws nearly all of its students from within the state, a majority of whom commute rather than living on campus. The tuition is a relative bargain, particularly for New Jersey residents.</p>

6

<p>Hi- it’s my first time posting but I have been reading the posts for a while. I was so pleased to see BassDad mention William Paterson because I can’t seem to find current information on their Jazz Studies Program. My interest was piqued when I read about it in Downbeat’s October college issue, and I have been puzzled about why more hasn’t been said about it, especially after the very positive experience my S and I had on our visit there.
My S has been selected for Grammy Jazz Ensemble 2011 and has placed William Paterson on the short list with Manhattan School of Music and Boyer School of Music at Temple after our visit to the school. The Jazz Studies Department has Dialog Days where the students play for the faculty and their peers and their performances are critiqued. Many of the instructors were there, and my S even had an unscheduled 45 minute lesson/session with the professor who would likely be his teacher if he attended! We were especially impressed with Dr. David Demsey, the Coordinator of Jazz Studies there who was quick to respond to my emails and was our gracious host during the visit. Other things going for William Paterson:
• Small Jazz Studies Program-about 70 students- means everybody gets to play, not just seniors. Because the program is small (and affordable), it is highly selective, so there is a high caliber of play.
• The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is in residence at WPU, and the musicians are the faculty- so students get a lot of face time with professors, instead of just TA’s.
• William Paterson is 16 miles from NYC, so students can easily get to the Jazz scene there.
• William Paterson offers a dual major in Music Performance/Music Management or Music Performance/Sound Engineering. Few of the conservatories offer instruction in the business side of music.
• Since William Paterson is a university, grades and test scores count. My son has strong grades and high SAT scores, so he may be eligible for their institutional scholarships. Also he can pursue his interests outside of jazz, since he also wants to study languages. He can have a college experience on a college campus, and regularly visit/gig in NYC without the drama or expense of living there.
• We live in PA and out of state tuition is $18,262-about the same as Temple where my D goes and cheaper than Penn State. And about half the price of MSM and other conservatories.
My S was impressed enough to drop Berklee from his list and add Paterson. I was sold, and I hope he gets in! If you plan to apply, their deadline is February 1st, so you have time. If you plan to visit, go on a Dialog Day instead of or in addition to the Open House- you’ll really get a feel for what Jazz Studies will be like there. They waive the application fee if you attend Open House (and they waived it for my S when we attended Dialog Day instead, but they don’t advertise that).</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

7

<p>Temple has an excellent jazz program. I’ve been to a couple of student performances there and been very impressed. Also the University of the Arts in Philadelphia is a very jazz-oriented program. I have heard good things about the William Paterson program though not so much about it as a school.</p>

8

<p>Hey slidemama, I made my post before I read yours. Is William Paterson the one with the jazz program named for Maynard Ferguson? I know there is a school in New Jersey that Ferguson has his name on. Also I am glad your S is looking at Temple - my S has applied to the composition program there, and we feel the entire Boyer School of Music is a real hidden gem. My kids’ middle school band director is a jazz graduate from Temple and he is unbelievable (his father is the retiring dean of the school), we probably have the best middle school jazz band in the state of PA.</p>

9

<p>Downbeat magazine published an extensive list of jazz schools in one of last year’s issues.</p>

10

<p>it was october</p>

11

<p>honestmom- I don’t think William Paterson has a program named after Maynard Ferguson; at least I haven’t read that on their website. Boyer is definitely a contender; my S auditions there on Sunday, and while Temple does have a stronger overall academic program , they don’t offer a dual Performance/Management. Since my S has good grades and test scores, he applied to the Honors College, which should increase the academic rigor for him.</p>

<p>Also you can go to downbeat.com, click their education link, register and get free access to the Jazz College guide from October. It lists the programs by region and also lists jazz programs in Canada and Europe.</p>

12

<p>Slide, if your son was selected for Grammy, he could be up for a very sizeable scholarship (could be full, or near) from Berklee and New School. MSM also sometimes waives the entire audition and offers nice money (although not what Berklee does) for Grammy selectees. Costs could end up being the same of less than WPU (caliber of students is a whole other conversation…). </p>

<p>Congrats to your S and good luck!</p>

13

<p>Funny you should say that…my S got an email yesterday waiving the audition to MSM. I guess that means he will be admitted-not a word about scholarships though. That part comes after they hear him during Grammy Week. For various reasons, he decided not to apply to Berklee or New School. But I digress…</p>

<p>I understand SUNY Purchase has a good Jazz program. Also Rutgers New Brunswick and Five Towns had programs I wanted to know more about.</p>

14

<p>The Maynard Ferguson Jazz Institute is at Rowan University in NJ but close to Philadelphia is an underrated school for Jazz as the institue has been formed fairly recently. Duquesne University in Pittsburgh is another underrated jazz school that is in a big jazz town and has great faculty.</p>

15

<p>We are aware of an excellent, I mean excellent jazz musician whose only application last year was to William Patterson. The student has been very happy there. He could have gone anywhere, really.</p>

16

<p>The University of North Florida’s Jazz Program is most definitely underrated. Sure, UNF isn’t necessarilly the best school out there in terms of academics but the jazz program is one of the best in the nation. They’re constantly ranking high in competitions and their instructor, J.B. Scott, is one of the greatest teachers. He performed as a guest artist at one of our school’s jazz concerts with our jazz ensembles and people went CRAZY for him.</p>