<p>Son plays jazz piano and is interested in other students and parents experiences/thoughts on Berklee and The New School for Jazz? Any thoughts on how to compare the two schools? Clearly Berklee is quite a bit larger...thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I know my jazz guitar playing son would say if Jazz is your objective and money is not an issue, choose New York for the Jazz scene there. As far as a school I do not know which is better.</p>
<p>Viacap, that’s a tough one. The New School is in New York, but the size could limit the number and types of ensembles for projects and other musician experiences. Berklee is large and is known to have a broader range of musicians … the top end of the talent is the best in the world and the lower end of the talent at Berklee is likely lower than the New School. My D is at Berklee and she loves getting pulled into so many projects for both courses and recordings outside of school. Her teachers know her by name and have referred her for internships and gigs, so she feels like she is making the best of her time in Boston. Hopefully you have competitive finanicial/scholarship packages to consider as well. </p>
<p>p.s. one draw back to Boston or NYC is that younger students (below 21) cannot take advantage of the club scene quite yet for gigging, so make sure to consider that when comparing NY to Boston, meaning, in undergrad, the actual ‘jazz scene’ may not be as available to you as you would have expected.</p>
<p>The scene for listening is fairly open in NYC. S has a guitarist friend at the New School for Jazz and he has been going to hear live Jazz since he was a freshman. Playing at the clubs in another thing but the ability to listen to, watch and absorb jazz in NYC is much greater. Hard choice! For what it is worth, my S only applied to Berklee of the two schools mentioned here.</p>
<p>When my son was applying three years ago, he dropped Berkeley from his list because of (1) its size, (2) he thought the actually liberal arts portion of ed was better at New School (3) his friends at New School had quite a few gig opportunities and (4) NY, NY, NY</p>
<p>If the size is not too small for you, NY is certainly a strong draw! When my D checked out New School while in HS, she didn’t like that all the New School jazz people were in one building and the dorms were way far away. She never completed her application when she decided to transfer to a full-time music school after her freshman year because her Berklee offer (for Spring transfer) came before she had to submit the New School application. </p>
<p>FYI … the 2011 Thelonious Institute of Jazz class, which is a 2-year scholarship graduate jazz program, included a majority of selected players that graduated or had an association with Berklee. [Thelonious</a> Monk Institute of Jazz - College](<a href=“http://www.monkinstitute.org/education/college/index2.php]Thelonious”>http://www.monkinstitute.org/education/college/index2.php)</p>
<p>Viacap, my son was faced with the identical choice two years ago, and let me say for a jazz player, there is no “wrong” decision. The people at both are as nice as they could be, and the waters of the faculty and student talent pools at both schools run deep. My son chose Berklee primarily for two reasons. In conversations which he had with NS students, he was left with the impression that the wide open faculty selection program which NS champions was, at times, a source of frustration. Specifically, many of the teachers are primarily performers, and scheduling and accessibilility at times fell victim to their touring schedules. The second issue involved the facilities at NS. While neither school has a campus in the traditional sense, the practice and performing space at NS is limited, and this presents problems, particularly if you will be sharing an apt. with others students who might be unsympathetic to your practice regimen. Berklee has turned out well. He was given his first choice for private instructor his first and second year, and the instructors have been very generous with their time. Playing out has not been an issue, as he and three other students have had a weekly engagement at a Boston jazz club since the end of his freshman year. I suspect, per his friends at NS, NYU and MSM, that the opportunities are greater in NYC, but he’s been satisifed to get out once a week.The under 21 thing is not an issue for perfomers in either city, and it has not kept him out of Boston jazz joints as a patron.</p>
<p>Berklee has occasioned one unexpected but very pleasant surprise in terms of his personal growth. When our son left high school, he was a straight ahead jazz player who didn’t want to hear about any other styles. Berklee appropriately counts jazz instruction among its strengths, but it is also receptive to any type of contemporary music, and it has, what I believe, is the largest percentage of international students of any school in America. Unless one sticks their head in the sand, a Berklee student will be exposed to a remarkable menu of sounds. This exposure has infiltrated his tastes and his playing.Our jazz snob now attends the Boston Symphony on his student disount ticket at every opportunity, and I’ve caught him listening to blue grass. His compostions can still be characterized as jazz, but only if you employ an expansive definition of the term. He does not like all music, but for the first time he is receptive to giving everything and anything a chance. I never saw that coming. Now if I can only get him to consider a few vegetables…</p>
<p>viacap, if this is more than a theoretical discussion and your son has acceptances at these or other schools, we would very much like to have that information on the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1260441-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2012-a-47.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1260441-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2012-a-47.html</a></p>