<p>The level at SFCM is definitely substantially lower than at the other listed schools.
I think you’re quite mistaken about the level of musical activity in Cleveland. Not only is there the Cleveland Orchestra, there are also excellent smaller groups – CityMusic, Apollo’s Fire, etc – plus several good regional orchestras nearby. Between CIM and Oberlin the number of strong young musicians in the area is significant. It will be interesting to see how CIM develops post-Kantor with Zenaty and Laredo around.
Rice is great, but very, very orchestra-centric (though that may become somewhat less true with Kantor there). If that doesn’t appeal, the chamber music-heavy curricula at CIM and NEC might make more sense.</p>