<p>Vocalist moms, please let me know your wisdom! I’m asking on behalf of a friend whose daughter is a voice and piano (secondary) student who is starting to think about schools. I have my own ideas, but I would really like to benefit from the collective wisdom on these threads.</p>
<p>This is one of those “it depends” questions. We don’t know anything about the ability of the girl or her preference for type of school and location. But just on what I do know about the schools I can put forth the following: Caveat- a good teacher who would be a good fit might be found anywhere, so it’s always worth a look if the school is of interest.
Ithaca- location is relatively isolated and you really have to love the small city of Ithaca to make it through the winters in upstate NY! I honestly don’t think that the voice faculty is that good there, and I’m not at all impressed with the voice students that I know who are there. That’s not to say that there might not be a teacher there who is the perfect fit for a certain student though.
Lawrence- again, an isolated location, small conservatory but not on the radar as far as great reputation, yet. The school is trying hard though and the facilities are nice. Not terribly selective for VP students.
WCC- Princeton, the town needs no explanation, and it’s easy to get into Philly or NY. They have a large VP faculty but usually, the procedure there is to “audition” during the first week of school and then the teachers choose whom they want for their studio. The quality of the voice faculty is higher than at the other two schools and I know that it’s possible to double major in VP and piano performance. Of the three schools you mentioned, this would be at the top of the list.</p>
<p>Thanks, Mezzo’sMama! I appreciate the informed perspective. I am originally from the Midwest, where Lawrence has a fairly strong reputation as a good school for music studies and no one has heard of Ithaca College. It’s helpful to have this ranking which I will pass back to the young woman in question. I gather the choice of teachers is an important consideration; currently she studies with a voice teacher on faculty at Mannes prep. My impression of her abilities is that she is a light soprano voice, but she is not interested in MT (probably through an intuitive understanding that she is not a belter).</p>
<p>By the way, how would you fit a school like St. Olaf into this list?</p>
<p>St Olaf has a terrific reputation but it also has a very strong emphasis on choral music; the individual VP teachers are not the bigger “names” that are found at WCC but are quite good from what I’ve been told. If the young woman is currently in the NYC area, she might find St Olaf and Ithaca quite remote.</p>
<p>My D went to WCC last summer and really enjoyed the faculty. One downside of note though is how narrow the student body is. It is far more narrow than a conservatory as it is only singers. Many people would not find that appealing as a college experience.</p>
<p>Not quite only singers at WCC - they do have majors in piano and organ. Also some of the Music Ed, Theory and Composition and Sacred Music majors are primarily keyboard players rather than singers. It is narrower than the typical conservatory, but there is a lot going on in town due to Princeton University and it is not all that far to Philadelphia or NYC.</p>
<p>Another vote to look at St. Olaf if she’s willing to look at Lawrence. St. Olaf is only 45 minutes from the Twin Cities by bus or car - and busses run several times a day right from the campus - so although it’s in a small but charming town it also has a nearby large city. St. Olaf is just one of the most wonderful schools I’ve ever looked at (strong academics and friendly people and well run) and absolutely great for vocal music.</p>