We have a Shar Lion viola case and it has plenty of interior storage space, plus a detachable music case. Unfortunately, it has only been two years and all the velcro is failing. We’ve also had issues with the straps falling off. We are also looking at the Bam High-Tech contoured case and are probably going to go with it. My violinist has had a Bam case for 8 years and it has worked perfectly with no issues.
Great! Thanks for the input, everyone. We went with the Bam hightech contoured case and are looking forward to the added protection and reduced weight!
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I would love anything you can share! We are so behind. My son is a rising senior and all he wants is viola performance and everywhere suggested by his teacher is so far out of our financial reach. I don’t know where to look since he is refusing to look anywhere other than where she suggested. He wants driving distance and we are in central PA.
Not a viola parent here, but just a few thoughts:
Is your son’s teacher experienced in placing her students in performance degree programs? If so, she should have a good idea of the studio levels and faculty at the schools she is recommending. In other words, an experienced teacher can really help to target programs where your son has a reasonable chance of acceptance. Some also have insight into how generous programs with merit/aid money. So that is a good place to start.
I would suggest that you and your son meet with the teacher and discuss potential schools and budget. The teacher can hopefully also add a few to the list that would be affordable even without merit aid. This does not mean they are inferior programs by the way.
This worked well for us as we were also chasing merit. It is wise to hold the line with respect to budget as it allows your musician so many more opportunities in the future.
Has your child attended summer programs? That should give him a good idea as to where he falls in the general scheme of college and conservatory tiers. Once you know that, you can plan a selection of schools that are targeted to not only be the right level but also be competitive for financial aid.
Remember that violists are in high demand. If your violist picks the right level schools to apply to, he is likely to get significant merit aid. This does often mean going to a school that is a tier down from what he can get into (without much or any merit aid). Having said that, it is fine to have some reach programs on your list because you never know exactly how much financial aid you will get. My violinist kid (the one I went through the college application for already – my violist is 15) got really great financial aid packages from all his match and reach school, but only 50% tuition at his safety school. Go figure.
Also, there are a number of tuition free programs across the country that span multiple levels. Only one would be driving distance from you (Curtis), but there are several others. Your son may want to audition for several of those programs even if it means being further away if the level of school is more important to him than geography.
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Just wondering if anyone here has feedback on the viola faculty at NEC. Anybody you really like? Teachers to avoid? Other pros or cons?
Not a Violist, but my son and his group have strong ties to the school, and they told me that the two they think of are Mai Motobuci and Melissa Reardon. Mai I believe is the head of the viola faculty now that Kim Kashkasian has retired. Both of them are also Chamber musicians, which adds to their capability.
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Melissa Reardon also teaches at Bard and she is wonderful. She is one of the lead teachers for their 1st year conservatory/chamber workshop.
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My daughter is a junior and is a high intermediate/ low advanced violist and we are trying to get a handle on the competitiveness of the college viola studios that are attached to larger universities (so that she can pursue either a dual degree or a dual major). She has been in music programs over the last 2 summers, qualified for all-state and earned principal violist in a relatively competitive orchestra. Her viola teacher is great but is not highly connected (she is a youngish up and comer) so is not a great resource on this topic.
Does anyone have a sense of the competitiveness of the following programs:
SMTD, Bienen, Vanderbilt, BU, Eastman, Peabody, Oberlin (and other programs where a dual degree is possible)? She is unlikely to be interested in a stand-alone conservatory.
Thanks in advance!
My daughter is the same age – it will be great to take this journey together, though she is mostly just looking at conservatories as of now.
It’s hard based on your description to determine your daughter’s actual level – All State orchestras and youth symphonies vary from quite low level to quite high level. What rep is she working on? What summer programs has she done?
The two I don’t know anything about are BU and Vanderbilt.
All the others I have some experience with. I would say these are all relatively in the same league. They all have pros and cons, of couse. You might want to also add Indiana to your list, though their viola faculty is all approaching retirement age.
SMTD (I assume you mean UMich) has a really great viola teacher. Their second viola teacher passed away last year, so likely there will be a new hire. The level spans a bit – I know violists who have gotten in at Hoffmeister level, and others who are playing much harder rep. Merit aid tends to be low here, with some exceptions, but financial aid can be quite high.
Bienen/Northwestern has a great viola teacher, though we were warned that it is not always easy to get access to her and to get all your lessons. There is only one teacher there. Level is a little higher overall than UMich. Aid here is primarily financially based, but they have added some more merit scholarships for music the past few years. It’s harder to double major here – it is 5 years and can be challenging.
Eastman has several teachers and my daughter has only worked with one, so I can’t speak to the whole program. Level there is probably comparable to the others, a little higher maybe. We have met several students there and they were pretty solid. I don’t know as much about this one…sorry.
Peabody has a really well-loved viola teacher. The level there spreads quite wide from what I would consider very intermediate to reasonably advanced. I know a student who got in with a really not great Hoffmeister, and one who got in with a decent Hindemith. This is mostly because they meet everybody’s need there, so they are getting some better students. I’ve heard it is hard to double major here as well.
Oberlin has some quite good students, but also has some that are not as high level. Note that the main teacher there is planning to retire in the next 4 or so years. This is probably the easiest one to double major at.
Hope that helps!
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Bienen has two viola professors, although only one is full-time professor.
My son auditioned 3 cycles ago. Things may have changed now. He applied and was accepted to SMTD, Bienen, Peabody, and Shepherd. Peabody did not give him merit scholarship because at that time dual degree applicants were not eligible for it. My impression is that it’s different now. At the time he applied, SMTD and Bienen offered better support to dual degree students than Peabody. Northwestern was more flexible than UMich in general regarding degree and courses.
In all four studios he applied to 3 cycles ago, there were students who were YoungArts recipients or NYO participants and also students who did not make in all-state. If you search on youtube it’s highly likely to find recordings of students from various studios, recitals, chamber performances, etc. Many students have practice accounts on instagram and they post their practices. These videos can be quite informative.
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Thanks, this is super helpful. In terms of repertoire level, she polished Hoffmeister this past winter (used it for all state audition and the principal viola seat) and is now working on Stamitz and a Hindemith sonata. Her teacher is focused on improving technique/tone/musicality rather than going for advanced repertoire. So the “big 3” concertos may be out of her reach in time for college auditions- TBD! Most importantly, she is enjoying playing more and more and just recently decided that she wants to double major/dual degree for college so I want us to be realistic about what’s possible as she goes down this path.
Separately, my son is a senior at SMTD (in the PAT program) and is doing a dual degree- it looks like he will be able to finish everything in 4.5 years. He’s been happy there.
This forum was incredibly helpful when he applied 4 years ago and I look forward to going on this journey with everyone.
I would say at Stamitz/Hindemith level as a junior she definitely falls into the category of advanced and should be well-positioned for all the programs you specified. Heck, I know someone who got into Juilliard with a really well performed Stamitz a few years back! It’s also always better to play an easier piece well than a hard piece badly. It sounds like your teacher has a good plan for her.
Just to clarify the Oberlin program- it’s a double degree (not a double major)- one degree in the College (BA) and one degree in the Conservatory (BM)- and is a 5 year program. It is well-designed and about 1/3 or Conservatory students pursue a DD on average. A double major would be two majors in the same area, ie majoring in two areas in the Conservatory or two areas in the College.
One of my son’s roommates is a 4th year DD Viola and Math degree student. He works his butt off- it’s not for the feint of heart!
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Thank you! This is helpful.
Also, take a look at Bard. Of note, they require all conservatory students to double degree (5 year program). This was a primary factor that drew my daughter there. High quality conservatory education + understanding faculty with significant experience balancing the 2 degrees. The liberal arts education has also been a great fit for our daughter. It’s very truly a lot of work, but if the double degree/major is what your daughter is seeking, it’s really nice to be somewhere that encourages it, not just tolerates it.
Financial Aid-wise, Bard College is meets need school, but the conservatory provides very generous merit scholarships. You can also potentially get $$ from both the college and conservatory. And if it’s your first choice, but the first FA offer doesn’t make it accessible, ask for more $$.
Your daughter sounds like she is at a level that would be competitive to be accepted at Bard as a violist.
At Oberlin, if you want to double major in music performance at the conservatory AND get a degree in something else from the college…you need to get accepted to both, and plan to spend 4 1/2 to 5 years to get done.