For curiosity sake now that we’re also one semester in at Bard: How many violists are there at Peabody, and do you mind sharing the general vibe? You said high level and competitive, but is it also welcoming and friendly? 
My daughter didn’t apply there because of the inability to double, but her best friend just passed prescreen for cello at Peabody and we’ll take any feedback you can provide! Feel free to DM too
For anyone else interested, we can confirm that the double degree is a lot of work, but our daughter really enjoyed her first semester at Bard and found only encouragement from her professors, both music and otherwise.
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Thanks so much for these comments. I’ve heard amazing things about Vicki Chiang as well. I am wondering, with all the viola positions opening up across the country due to retirements, if you think she will stay at Peabody or not. I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of moving around in the next 4 years, which makes it really hard to know where to apply.
How are things like chamber music and orchestra at Peabody? Even if viola is good, I’m a little concerned that the wide level of playing ability for other instruments might make chamber music not so balanced.
Hello!
My name is Hannah and I am currently a freshman at Peabody Institute, studying with Vicki Chiang. I would be happy to answer any questions about her studio or Peabody in general if anyone is curious.
What was your favorite part of your first semester, your most challenging part, and what are you looking forward to next semester?
@VirtuousViolist I would love to hear about how the chamber music program works and if you find there is a good match between the levels of the violists and the violins/cellos. I know piano is quite high there!
Bumping this up because we had a lot of viola families this year, and I really want to capture your experiences before you disappear! @violamom99 @ViolaMom17 @violamomz222 @srh.vla and also @somethings and @Linda_Anne since you have still been active. Sorry if I missed someone.
My daughter will be auditioning for undergrad next year and I would love your feedback, especially as some schools are finally beginning to hire professors and announce retirements.
This is her list so far - thoughts?
Definite - Juilliard, NEC, Curtis
Probably - Colburn
Maybe - Rice Shepherd
Safeties (2 of these most likely, not sure which): Oberlin, Michigan, SFCM, Indiana Jacobs
I remember seeing it somewhere that one viola professor at Jacobs is going to Rice Shepherd next year (2027). I’m not familiar with the musicians but I think he was the one my son had missed a master lesson from and regretted it. Shepherd was on the top of my son’s list for MM, then D announced retirement. Now that W is going over, I think Shepherd is back on his short list 
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Stephen Wrynczinski is leaving Jacobs goi g to Rice. My DD is a freshman violist at Peabody and had gotten into IU Jacobs as well and she was going to study in his studio.
Yes, Rice is definitely a maybe. My daughter has zero interest in living in Texas, but she would consider it for the right teacher. Right now we are weighing whether either of the new teachers is compelling enough to overwhelm her disdain for Texas.
Anybody heard any rumors about who may fill the empty Indiana position? Or the Oberlin one that will be opening up next year? At least Michigan is finally settled.
Is Slowick retiring next year? My daughter considered Oberlin and if she had attended, she wanted to be in Kirstin Docter’s studio. Kirstin was her teacher’s teacher (lol) at CIM back in the day.
Houston is gross, but the Rice campus is lovely. I know of more people who went to undergrad elsewhere and to Rice for a 2 year Masters.
I would be hesitant to consider Oberlin, Michigan, and SF safeties. Depending on the year, they can all be pretty competitive, and Michigan, SF, and Indiana are less reliable for $$. Not that it doesn’t happen. We know a strings kiddo who received a full ride to Mich this year. 
My main thoughts are that lessons with profs before prescreens and audition season were the most valuable for my daughter both in being noticed and getting a feel for what it would be like to work with that prof for multiple years. She ended up choosing her school with a heavy weight on the teacher rapport. She is very happy with her decision.
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Thanks for the information. Mr. Slowik will be retiring in two years. He took students this year but likely won’t take any more unless they have already worked with him (which my daughter has).
We are pretty confident with the list of safeties, as she has played for or worked with teachers at three of the four. I know a guarantee is never really a guarantee until it is writing, though. As for money, I think you are right about them not being reliable for full tuition based on merit. She will likely get some financial aid and hopefully some merit. We have a pretty open tuition exchange program with my husband’s employer, so as long as the package is decent, we should be able to make it work.
We really need to get going on more trial lessons, though!!!
Thanks for keeping this string going! My daughter, a violist also applying next year, is trying to get her hands around the various programs and professors. She is leaning away from the stand-alone conservatories as of now. We are aware of the one full-time Michigan professor but hadn’t heard about a new one?
Separately, what are your thoughts about Bienen?
I would consider Rice, it is a really, really strong program and they are a rarity in the music world, they actually emphasize ensemble playing, their orchestra has been one of the best out there. I can’t speak to the new viola faculty, but Shepherd is a great program and they take a lot of pride in it.
My son didn’t even think of Rice as a UG,and yes because it was in Texas, so I understand that. However, he went there for grad school and loved it, a lot more as an environment than he did his UG school (NEC), even though NEC is in a great area. It is in Houston, which is a pretty cosmopolitan city. Rice has a beautiful campus, the music school buildings are first rate, and the neighborhood is great. The Rice Village apartment complex and shopping area is right there, and like a typical college area there are some great restaurants and the like. There also are other things in the area, there is a neat park with a zoo in it I recall.
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The new Michigan teacher will be Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt. I don’t know if it has been announced yet but everybody seems to know. 
As for Bienen Northwestern, the teacher is very good and the studio is pretty high level with a few real standout grad students. We have been told by a couple of people that they have struggled to get their lessons consistently, which is of course very problematic. I am not sure if this is/was a temporary thing or something that is ongoing.
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Rice for UG is extremely difficult to get into. Also depending on graduating seniors, sometimes there are not many spots available, especially with rare instruments like viola. My DD (pianist) had a lesson this year with a professor there and he told her he had 2 spots in his studio between UG and grad. She decided to not waste her time.
Peabody has a very well known viola teacher, Victoria Chiang. The level of viola students is high, according to my daughter who studies there.
Hi Everyone- as my rising HS senior daughter is finalizing her list of programs, we are starting to think more strategically about relative competitiveness of the viola programs and the variable of how many spots will be open in the different programs for fall of 2027.
Is it appropriate to ask that question directly to viola professors?
Also, my daughter has had a handful of trial lessons this spring (as a HS junior), and while she received some encouraging feedback, we want to be grounded by what some of that means. Do interested professors proactively follow up with strong candidates or is that up to my daughter to stay connected?
Thanks very much. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.
My son graduated as a music performance e undergrad in 2007…so it’s been a while. He received positive feedback for some of his trial lessons. But this really didn’t mean much in terms of his admissions. When admissions were sent, he did get some comments. The most positive letter he got was from a school where the applied teacher could only accept one student and it had to be an instate student. He wasn’t accepted there.My kid received no communications at all after his trial lesson or audition at a couple of colleges but was accepted. I would not read much into comments made after trial lessons.
Just have your student prepare well for auditions. That will be key.
I also am not sure there is such a thing as a “safety” school for music performance majors. Your student’s viola audition will be compared to all the others doing auditions on viola in her year. There is no way to predict the strength of the others doing auditions from year to year.
Same experience here when mine applied for undergrad. I think it would be more common to not have ongoing communication in the time period from trial lesson and application/prescreen submission.
Regarding small studios and potential openings, I know my son was able to glean some information from students ahead of him who were currently at a particular school. His private teacher also had some insights. But I recommend you take all such “data” with a grain of salt, because there are so many variables involved with the upcoming year’s studio size/openings.
Hope you don’t mind if we chime in on the viola thread. I know there are also some very knowledgeable viola parents who I’m sure will add great advice.
Hi – I am in the same frame of mind today – trying to figure out a list of programs with my daughter when there are still lots of unknowns.
As for spots, you can ask, but they often do not know until later on in the year. For example, a graduating college senior may be considering staying for masters, or a masters student may stay for a performance certificate, so that spot may not actually be a spot. Sometimes they can give you a sense and sometimes they cannot. It’s fine to ask, but don’t be surprised if they can’t give you an exact answer.
In some cases, we have heard back from people who have given lessons or masterclasses, but in most cases, my daughter met them at summer programs, so somewhat different situation. If you are talking about top conservatories, you probably won’t hear anything and likely doesn’t mean anything.
This year’s class (incoming seniors in high school applying for fall 2027) is particularly strong for viola compared to the last few years, so that is something to be aware of as you make your list. We’re really struggling with ours!
All advice and experiences are welcome! Thanks so much for jumping in.
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