<p>In the safeties thread, you wrote: "One of the ways we approached this issue was to make a short list of the teachers with whom my daughter really wanted to study. Then we found out where the best of their prior students were now teaching. The first group corresponded to her top choice schools and the second gave her some options for safeties and the middle ground."</p>
<p>Did you do compile this secondary list by looking at websites? My violist daughter is entering her senior year and we are trying to do as much recon. as possible. Her private teacher has not been much help in the college search, so I've been trolling the internet, posting on string websites and picking the brains of all who have been down this path. There are obvious choices for top schools for viola. It's the less obvious ones that I'd like to find. Any advice you could share would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Violist daughter has many options. Violists are a rare breed. They are in demand, and so research carefully. My son (violinist) has a friend who got into Eastman. She was a violinist and switched to viola.</p>
<p>Sorry if that didn't make sense. What I meant to say is that she was a violinist, and decided to switch to viola because she knew that it was the only way for her to get into Eastman, and she did!</p>
<p>The lesser known, but still excellent teachers, are definitely harder to find. You need to keep doing what you are doing to find them. I have no idea who you have already looked at or the schools your daughter is planning on applying to, but I would suggest that you look at Sally Chisholm at UW-Madison. She is an excellent violist and a very good teacher. (One of the high school students she worked with recently won a major international competition and has been accepted at Curtis. UW does not have a great music school, but it is pretty good. They have some excellent violinists and cellists who are often looking for strong violists for chamber music.</p>
<p>Violinmom-It made sense on the first go around, but thanks for taking the time to clarify. I hope you are right about the demand for violists. I have heard this from others and am keeping my fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Shennie-Thanks for the heads up on Sally Chisholm. I have seen her name elsewhere, but she was not on any of our lists. This is great info.</p>
<p>Good topic. I do think this is the most difficult thing we have run into so far. Trying to get a feel for the less known professors and programs that could be considered for safety school list.</p>
<p>Not even sure how BassDad was able to compile a list of top teachers top students that now were teaching, but you can bet I will start exploring it.</p>
<p>I too know a girl that plays the viola. Made the switch from violin where she was very good, now she is an elite violist. She will have a much easier time getting into schools than had she stayed with the more competitve violin</p>