My son went to the 5 week summer program at Berklee and LOVED it. He is applying to college this year and really wants to go to Berklee applying for Electronic Music Production with EDI as his principal instrument. We are concerned he may not get in and are looking for comparable programs to Berklee. Peabody is starting a new program, and NYU has the Steinhardt school, but I think NYU will be a reach for him. I’m also looking for other program possibilities for Electronic Music Production using EDI as principle instrument. He also plays piano, keyboards, guitar, and base but not well enough to get in with those instruments as his principal instrument. He doesn’t feel that the TIMARA program at Oberlan fits his needs. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
I was reading about EDI https://www.berklee.edu/news/berklee-now/electronic-digital-instrument-rishabh-rajan Perhaps calling schools and asking them if using EDI for performance would be available and encouraged at their programs would help.
Berklee is the only program in EDI that I can find but that doesn’t mean there aren’t programs that exist, without the formal designation.
The problem in the music technology/ electronic music field is that the terminology varies. For instance, Ithaca and UMass Lowell have sound recording technology, UC Denver has recording and production, Columbia College Chicago has music technology, audio design and production, acoustics, live and installed sound, and music business, SUNY Purchase has studio composition and studio production (a distinction that can be clarifying, so check the website), Northeastern has music industry and music technology, Hartt has music production and technology, San Francisco Conservatory has technology and applied composition (newish program),Brown has computer music (MEME). Check out Bennington too http://www.bennington.edu/academics/areas-of-study-curriculum/music. There are many others. And of course most will offer performance (not Northeastern).
For these, the main thing is whether your son wants to focus on composition or studio work. They intersect but are different emphases. But they are not performance programs really. So maybe not a fit.
Maybe someone else knows about EDI performance programs specifically but I do wonder if contacting some of the above schools might help. This focus might be hidden on websites so to speak. Only Berklee is explicit on this new major-that I can find.
Maybe the New School?
https://www.newschool.edu/lang/contemporary-music/ No mention of EDI but a possibility, needs checking by phone or email. Here is the text from the site:
Contemporary Music at Lang is a liberal arts program that emphasizes the cultural and social significance of music in today’s world. You’ll explore the global diversity of contemporary music, examining topics including popular music; traditional music history, theory, and criticism; and the evolving technologies used in composing, producing, performing, and listening.
The BA music curriculum highlights creative musical thinking and music making in the spirit of The New School’s tradition of progressive education and experimentation in the arts. Its three areas of focus are:
Popular and global music, both mainstream and alternative, including the musical life of diverse communities in New York City
Music technology and new media, including digital production and distribution of music, and the significant role music plays in other artistic media, such as film and video
Music theory, history, and criticism, including musical aesthetics, the poetics of song, and the study of music in its many social and cultural contexts
@Compmom is right.My son also is interested in a similar major. He attends a high school with an incredible studio and has won a few competitions with his work.We toured various schools but the issue is digital music (with EDI as your instrument) is such a new thing that few schools have a major tailored for it. He is a drummer and keyboard player too but is not interested in majoring in either one. He loves to do remixes and “write” his own EDM music which is not really the same as an audio engineering degree. We happened to have some friends in the industry and after meeting with them they admitted that a college degree for this area really isn’t necessary with today’s technology and in fact may be a waste of money and time. Digital music is not limited to a studio and most of the time artists create it at their own home studios (with Ableton, etc) and upload to Spotify or Soundcloud to gain followers and exposure. If you need to learn how to use computer programs more extensively there are schools you can attend that don’t include a degree. I do know that Los Angeles is the place to be for EDI.
Just want to add that “music technology” or technology in music or whatever you want to call it, is part of most music major programs these days. Often you can take one course and then work in the studio. But hopedaisy clearly know more about EDI and is probably right, that you don’t have to go to school to develop with that instrument, though schools do provide resources and equipment for a lot of work that is hard to do on one’s own in the technology area.
The only program close to Berklee in scope and quality is at USC. It’s a fairly new program, but has a lot of local music industry backing. They specifically mention EDM and modern music in their Music Production degree.