Best BS that combine elite academics + music programs?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
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<p>Our son enrolled this fall at a well-regarded junior boarding school. He was a devoted string musical instrument player before he arrived. We were shocked to discover how difficult it was for him to carve out adequate practice time at the school. While the school theoretically offers music as well as sports, the reality was that sports is a "big deal" there and music a distant afterthought.</p>

<p>With a lot more choices for boarding high schools, we are keenly interested to avoid making the same mistake, as we are now doing research in advance of applying to boarding high schools in the fall of 2013.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any suggestions on schools that combine elite-level academics with an environment where a devoted musician would fit in? Our son is getting straight As but might not fit in so well at another "jock" school.</p>

2

<p>Have you looked into Concord Academy in Mass.? I don’t know about the music program in particular, but the school is noted for outstanding arts (in general) and top notch academics, with less of an emphasis on sports. Definitely NOT a jock school.</p>

3

<p>My son is having a great experience at St. Andrew’s combining a wonderful music program with competitive sports and a challenging academic curriculum. (Mr. Geirsbach and others are excellent in the arts.) You sense that “talented generalists” make up the vast majority of the student body and that individuals get very good support for specialization in lots of endeavors they might choose. (Sports are good; not a “jock” school consciousness.) The faculty itself models this balancing act. I need to resist writing too much on CC and suggest you check it out if northern (more populated) Delaware and 300 students meets your threshold. Would be pleased to be a future resource if you’re interested, by pm, etc.</p>

4

<p>Our son is an accomplished violinist, and we were also looking for schools with good music programs (with the ability to pursue music at a high level) as well as challenging academics. Here are some of the schools that we considered:</p>

<p>Choate has an Arts Concentration Program that allows talented musicians to truly focus on their music. The facilities are fantastic, and it’s a great school for serious musicians, with some matriculating to conservatories after graduation.</p>

<p>Loomis Chaffee has an excellent orchestra, and I believe they have an advanced student who takes lessons on Saturdays with a string professor at University of Hartford.</p>

<p>Ridley College in Canada (outside Toronto) also has a great orchestra, and some students also are members of the Toronto Youth Symphony (and are excused from Saturday classes to attend rehearsals).</p>

<p>Deerfield has a good orchestra, with some extremely fine players.</p>

<p>Milton has a good orchestra, and access to all the great conservatories in the Boston area for teachers.</p>

<p>All of these schools have the ability (especially in the junior/senior year) to substitute “arts” for “sports,” sometimes through requesting an independent study option, sometimes through arrangements that are already well known. But boarding school life is very busy, and your child has to want to make it a priority to practice. At home, our son was practicing 90+ minutes/day. Now, he’s lucky to get in 45 minutes, 5 times/week. But - that’s OK! He does not want to major in music in college (which is why he didn’t consider a performing-arts school like Interlochen, which our daughter attends). He’s enjoying the full boarding school experience (academics, sports, social life and the arts) but can still pursue his musical interests.</p>

<p>Our son is a 9th grader at Thacher. They do not have an orchestra, but they do have a string ensemble. He has an excellent teacher who comes to campus for his lessons, and she has made sure he has opportunities to pursue his music at a high level (concerto competitions with nearby symphonies, auditioning for the CA All-State High School Orchestra, etc.). Ask lots and lots of questions, and talk to the faculty in the fine arts department to get a feel for how supportive they may be.</p>

5

<p>As parents of a violinist we had similar concerns, which were nothing compared to our dd’s own concerns about having enough time to dedicate to her music (she’d been homeschooled on and off before BS, and had plenty of time to practice during the day). She is now in a great school that offers lots of musical opportunity, enough time to practice, and weekly transportation to her regional youth orchestra. Sadly, I can’t recommend it to your son, as it’s an all girls’ school.</p>

<p>Concord has a very good music program, though the practice facilities are a bit dingy. From what we could see during our visit and application process, CA is a place where a serious musician could carve out enough time for practice. I agree with honorarymom that they are not a jock school. They have a chamber orchestra, chamber groups, a professional ensemble-in-residence, access to excellent private instruction, and, with an in-town location close to public transportation and no Saturday classes, easy enough access to NEC (Sat.), BYSO (Sun.) and Longy (don’t remember) orchestral/instructional programs, which are among the best in the country (for add’l fees/FA of course). Longy is the easiest of the three to get to by public transportation, since it doesn’t require a transfer into Boston. However, we were told that there are generally a couple/few kids each year who participate in the NEC or BYSO programs, and that often a day student parent will drive. No guarantees from year to year, though.</p>

<p>As MH said, Choate’s arts concentration is an excellent program. The caveat for a musician is that you have to “audition” for it (through orchestra/practice/ensemble work and departmental observation) during freshman year, so that wonderful 2-hour practice block doesn’t really kick in until sophomore year… At least that is what we were told by the music dept. head. </p>

<p>Exeter has an excellent and broad music program with a few levels of orchestra and chamber, as well as opportunity for solo performance. Serious musicians who can demonstrate their commitment to practicing <em>can</em> get extra practice time in lieu of PE (advanced music practice is actually a PE course listing). A young string-player friend who’s a lower this year said the school is more flexible about swapping practice for certain electives than they appear to outsiders.</p>

<p>Milton, as MH noted, is close to Boston and all it offers. It also has a performing arts concentration, iirc. Many Milton kids commute to BYSO programs, sometimes with day-student parents, sometimes by the T. It’s a fairly straight shot. </p>

<p>Blair in NJ has a good and growing orchestral and chamber program. I think they also have some flexibility for practice, after an initial observation period. I would ask about it, as I don’t remember the details.</p>

<p>Depending on how serious a violinist your son is, I would speak with the heads of the music departments of the schools you are considering. You may find some are more flexible than they appear and some are less so. And the fact that a school only has a small string ensemble is not necessarily a deal-breaker, since it can allow a truly exceptional string player to shine and receive personal attention, as MH’s son’s experience at Thatcher illustrates.</p>

<p>Feel free to PM.</p>

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<p>My sense is that the larger very competitive admissions schools have lots of music emphasis, and that it would be hard to go wrong with one of these schools. But I am not an expert. The junior boarding schools, probably for good reason, seem to be much smaller, and it’s difficult for them to simultaneously focus on sports and music and other things. </p>

<p>There are also smaller schools like Walnut Hill to consider. When we looked at Walnut Hill a few years ago for one of my kids, I concluded that you would have to be sure that your “art” orientation was serious because Walnut Hill really emphasizes the arts (to the exclusion or minimization of sports). </p>

<p>My kid at Andover points out ruefully that all of his peers seem to have taken lessons in two instruments (although he technically has done the same, he feels over-matched in music class). There seems to be a multitude of musical groups at Andover, so much so that some of the locals that are into music consider it to be a good source of free musical performances. I assume its same-size peer schools present similar opportunities. </p>

<p>You are quite smart to start researching this far ahead.</p>

7

<p>St. Mark’s School has a Music Studio class, which requires students to practice regularly. I believe the students must take a weekly lesson, and practice daily. Students at all levels of ability may take the class. Students interested in music composition may take AP Music Theory and Advanced Studies in Music. </p>

<p>It is difficult to fit advanced music studies into a boarding school schedule. There are also boarding schools which are pre-professional academies for students who know they want to be professional musicians (actors, writers, artists, etc.) Unfortunately, families of musical students should decide at a fairly young age whether their children wish to become professional musicians.</p>

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<p>Whether or not a student wants to become a professional musician, many students want to delve deeply into music during their high school and college careers. To bounce off Periwinkle’s comment, I think it varies considerably with other instruments, but families of violinists probably will want to decide at a fairly young age what the academic path might be (homeschool? Arts academy like Interlochen, Idyllwild, Walnut Hille? State or city arts magnet school?), simply because the competition at the advanced levels is so very fierce. At the very least one would want to make sure one kept doors/avenues open, with whatever variety of lessons, competitions, orchestra or chamber coaching, etc. works for a child’s particular path (not every ambitious violinist is focused on a solo career, for example).</p>

<p>It can indeed be difficult to fit advanced music studies into a boarding school schedule. A good, even if small, music program and a school that attracts a critical mass of other advanced musicians can go a long way to making a serious musician feel less isolated in his or her passions and pursuits.</p>

<p>As for the sports vs. arts, some schools absolutely require after-school sports. Others consider group performing arts activities that meet regularly, or regular, group community service activities to be acceptable alternatives (group activities being key). It is worth drilling down to these details early on in the process, assuming your son is as passionate about pursuing his violin studies going into the high-school search process as you think he is. I add this latter not to question your son’s drive, but because there was at least one parent who posted that s/he thought dc’s desire for a strong music program, or music above all else, was the driving passion, and it turned out to be more negotiable (was it you, MH?).</p>

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<p>I second all that has been said above. There are many excellent boarding schools that do not have a ‘jocks rule’ atmosphere and can accommodate a serious musician. Many have at least some flexibility in substituting an activity such as various artistic pursuits for sports. </p>

<p>Girlgeekmom is right - our DC attends Blair and the school does allow this flexibility to accommodate individual interests. The community is also diverse and welcoming of everyone, not just athletes. Their orchestra and ensembles are good, private lessons are available on campus, and proximity to NYC allows for some great opportunities. Feel free to PM me for more info.</p>

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<p>I’ve been looking into ensemble offerings at various BS’s and have noticed that at some schools students who want to play in an ensemble can only do so by registering for a class while at schools where music is an EC, students can audition for the ensemble much as they would for the school play. Since most schools offer a not-for-credit option for music lessons, my sense is that students at schools where ensemble playing is an EC can do music intensely and still continue to pursue other artistic interests. Students at schools where ensemble playing is a class often have practice time and lessons built into their schedule. But they are limited in the number of arts classes they can take. Given all the English, math, science, etc that the kids have to fit into their schedules, it seems unlikely that they could register for both a music class and a visual arts class or a theater class in the same term. Is this of concern to anyone else looking at strong music programs?</p>

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<p>It depends a lot on the school. At Concord, ensembles are classes. Beginning ensembles meet once a week after classes. Advanced ensembles meet once during classes and once after classes. In both cases a student should be able to take another arts class (visual or performing) every term. Lessons are scheduled separately and practice time is up to the student. With careful planning, a student can take a lot of arts classes, but there will be tradeoffs (i.e., they may just be meeting the minimum academic course requirements … which may be OK if they’re planning to go to a conservatory or other arts-oriented college program).</p>

12

<p>Dear everyone, thanks so much for your comments and advice above. This is all very helpful. It sounds like many of the schools mentioned above would be worthwhile for us to look into further and visit next year. </p>

<p>By the way, I noticed that no one mentioned anything specific about Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, or Groton - should I read anything into that?</p>

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<p>I don’t think you should draw any conclusions. Some years very dedicated parents are able to answer questions about their children’s schools. That doesn’t mean other schools don’t have similar programs. </p>

<p>It would be a good idea for your child to contact the music departments at each school on his list. It would demonstrate his interest in the schools, and he can ask questions which really can’t be answered on an anonymous message board. Sometimes policies change. Sometimes students are able to receive waivers from existing policies. Thus, it’s good to ask.</p>

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<p>Sorry, thought I’d mentioned Hotchkiss. They have a beautiful, near-new music center overlooking the lake, and lessons are included in tuition. Their ensembles are small but good, and practice rooms abound. They are also somewhat remote, so music outside of school (such as a weekend program or regional youth orchestra) is a more challenging prospect, but there does seem to be a way to carve out afternoon practice time, much as one can at Blair. Hotchkiss have a small orchestra and coached chamber groups, all by audition, all after class time, iirc. </p>

<p>Don’t know much more than that about Hotchkiss music. Good luck with your search.</p>

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<p>Baldingguy, as your son is currently at a junior BS, the school will have a placement officer whose job it is to address questions such as yours. As your son has just started, I would imagine he will not be applying this season for secondary school, and you have some time on this. My suggestion would be to approach the placement officer after April 10, when this year’s round of admissions wraps up, and pose these questions to him/her. This individual will know secondary schools very well and be able to address your specific son’s needs and interests.</p>

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<p>I am interested in learning more about the kids who play more than one instrument. Did they start both at the same age? What two instruments do the ones you (PP) mentioned play? I thought that starting an instrument early was good enough. Yikes.</p>

<p>Do many kids in BS play piano?</p>

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<p>Echo above that Milton has an amazing music staff - with visits from outside professional musicians - and several touring groups and plenty of flexibility for practice time.</p>

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<p>@ Baldingguy pm’d you.
The vast majority of Prep Schools pour millions into their Art facilities and want them used. I don’t think one can visit a boarding school without being shown a new auditorium where dozens of recitals are performed each year. These schools take the Arts very seriously and just as prevalent as Athletics.</p>

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<p>For us, it happened sort of “naturally.” DD started with piano, then joined the school band when in 5th grade, playing alto saxophone, and added tenor sax in high school. She is also a vocalist, takes voice lessons, and picked up guitar and ukelele to accompany herself. (She is a theatre major at Interlochen.)</p>

<p>DS started with violin, and has focused on that. His training has been primarily classical, but he did buy himself an electric violin and amp, has learned to play mandolin (which is very similar to the violin), and can plunk out a melody on the piano.</p>

<p>Learning to play multiple instruments was not something we pushed, but something our kids ended up wanting to do themselves. Most school music programs will loan instruments to students. It’s a great way for a violinist to try cello or bass, or a sax player to try clarinet, etc.</p>

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<p>It’s also not uncommon for violinists who reach a certain level and are serious about a musical future to take up viola. Violists are generally in short supply and high demand in orchestras. Our dd may learn viola at some point; she did take piano lessons for a while but now she uses piano mostly to figure out notes or to compose.</p>