<p>The “second instrument” here came about because the child hated the first instrument.</p>
<p>Please take a close look at St. Paul’s School. I think they have wonderful music program. They have a new head of the music program. The man who retired last year was wonderful and I thought he would be hard to replace. However, the new Director of Music has been very well received by the students. </p>
<p>SPS puts a significant emphasis on the arts, whether music, theater, fine arts, or dance. You don’t need to be an athlete to feel valued at SPS.</p>
<p>Would be very interested in hearing more about the schools mentioned above and if anyone knows how much they might incorporate the less traditional musical instruments than those seen at prep schools. (i.e- guitar, electric bass, drums and that sort of thing). Bands, EC’s, lessons??</p>
<p>Our dc is applying to SPS as a 9th grader for 2013-2014 year and is passionate about playing guitar and pretty darn good at it. Doesn’t care to major in it or find an “arts” school per se, but would love to find a school that allows for continuing this musical interest and if they actually encourage it- all the better. </p>
<p>Would love to know more about this new musical director at SPS…aside from what I have found online. Does anyone w/ personal knowledge care to share? Details about what his vision might be for the school’s music program looking ahead? Any specific interest in certain tyes of music? New courses on the horizon? Any other innovations in that dept. planned for the near future? What possible opportunities might new 9th graders have for playing an instrument at school (guitar, etc)? Are these opportunities mostly credit courses or no? Additional fees apply or included in tuition? </p>
<p>Please feel free to share any other schools that offer this level of music program in their curriculum! Again- not specialty/ arts schools but preps with a great (or good/very good) music program- for musicians other than those playing in orchestra or symphony! We’re not talking music prodigy here- just a kid that loves to play and is awfully good at it so far. Thanks everyone!!!</p>
<p>goforprep - I highly suggest you contact the new Director of Music with your questions. They are good ones, but I doubt anyone here can give you as much info as he could himself. At SPS, there is a small jazz band that has utilized guitarists in the past. </p>
<p>Private lessons are available as either credit (included in tuition) or non-credit (extra fee).</p>
<p>Concord has three jazz/pop ensembles (i.e., guitar, bass, drums, etc) that are class-based: jazz ensemble, advanced jazz ensemble, and a vocal jazz and pop ensemble (3 singers plus a backup band). Students can form their own bands and the practice rooms will accommodate a rock band. Theatre and dance productions often have live music in the form of a small pop or classical ensemble.</p>
<p>There are basic group classes in piano, guitar, drumming, and voice. Individual lessons are available in any instrument and any idiom (classical, jazz, pop, folk, etc.). They list didjeridu in the course catalog as an example instrument, I guess to show that they mean any instrument.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! I’d looked at their site a few weeks back but for some reason can’t recall seeing that much detail about their music program. Appreciate the heads up. Sounds like it’s time to take another look at their offerings. Cheers</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. </p>
<p>I made a note to contact the new music teacher once I read your first post, as we were planning to fly out for a visit/ interview at SPS pre Jan 15th anyway. Look forward to hearing what he has to say but was also just curious if anyone here on CC had any direct exp w/ how this transition was going and any feeling of what might be coming down the road a bit. Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>I read some seemingly contradictory comments re: Middlesex. Someone said that their music program is so weak that they don’t even have a real orchestra. But someone else said that many of their students take private lessons. Can anyone comment on opportunities to pursue serious music at Middlesex?</p>
<p>I don’t think that those comments are contradictory; whether or not a school has a decent orchestra, there will be many students taking private lessons. Private lessons are generally given by music teachers not otherwise affiliated with the school.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that small schools will likely have a smaller orchestra rather than a large orchestra, so it depends what you mean by “real orchestra.” For example, both Middlesex and Concord have chamber orchestras. A difference is that Middlesex’s is open to anyone with some proficiency whereas Concord’s is by audition and requires 2 years of prior music instruction.</p>
<p>Our impressions on visiting the two schools and discussing the music programs and individual offerings were that a serious musician could find a home at Concord, which has a professional ensemble-in-residence; the bar is clearly higher. And for a student wanting to pursue (as an EC of course) serious musical study such as NEC or Longy’s pre-college (weekend) programs, or BYSO’s Sunday orchestral program, the fact that CA is right in town means it’s easy to get to public transportation (and, from year to year, there are often day students as well as boarders who do BYSO, so sometimes parental transportation is available, though it’s not guaranteed). </p>
<p>MX did not strike me as a school that would be a particularly good fit for a serious <em>classical</em> musician, though for those interested in band or choral music, it might be great (I say “might be” because I really didn’t ask much about it, once we realized there was too little in the way of classical music—we were basically told they have a chamber orchestra when they have enough musicians to make one). MX is also remote enough that just getting to public transportation could be a challenge (actually, more getting back on, say, a Sunday night after a BYSO rehearsal). When we probed a bit about music programs outside of MX, they were generally unenthusiastic about working something out (conversely, if our dd was an all-state level athlete, I’m guessing they would have made transportation happen… again, JUST my impression, YMMV).</p>
<p>@baldingguy, my impression of MX is that your son might find it more like his current situation than he’d like. I think he’d find more flexibility and higher level music at CA. I know you’re looking at more schools as well, but for these two schools, I’d see CA as the better fit based on what you’ve described as your son’s musical interest and current level of frustration with the “jock” atmosphere of the school he now attends.</p>
<p>I too am curious about the Groton music program. Anyone know anything about it. Since it is a small school like CA and MX, I could imagine it faces some of the same challenges.</p>
<p>girlgeekmom, thanks so much for your comparison, that’s really helpful. It’s hard to tell from a school website what they’re really like - you are so right that in theory, they offer everything, but in practice, they bend over backwards to accommodate some students and put up barriers for others.</p>
<p>baldingguy, I think that it’s the best way to look at the schools. It’s not <em>necessarily</em> the level of the in-school music program (though it doesn’t hurt if it’s excellent), it’s the culture of the school and the availability of practice time for a more serious musician, that are the key elements that will determine “fit” for your son. </p>
<p>For the purpose of thinking about <em>level</em> of music, one of the things we found helpful was to take home a CD of the school’s music whenever one was available, and to listen to the orchestral pieces on CD and on YouTube, where we could find recordings. In a couple of cases with schools we liked, but were unsure of the quality of the music IRL, GG would often comment that “the music is lovely, very well done… but the pieces the school is choosing to showcase are not very high level” (or sometimes, “not very challenging).” It didn’t rule out a school, but if there was no higher level music OUTside the school within a reasonable commute (sans mom, of course), it did drop it lower on the list. Over the next year, you and your son will also have a better idea of how much he wants to pursue violin, and at what level. If he’s not so demoralized as to stop practicing after these two years at his junior BS, it would be nice for him to know that “it gets better” in high school.</p>
<p>baldingguy, we are just looking into these schools now, so I’m not speaking from a lot of experience, but from what we’ve seen and researched thus far, Concord is unique in combining excellent academics with excellent arts. To my knowledge, most of the other schools mentioned on this thread have a much stronger jock image. Certainly Middlesex does. That’s not to say that the music programs at these other schools are not excellent, but if you really want a school where athletics take a back seat to the arts, and where academics are still top notch, then Concord could be a nice fit.</p>
<p>honorary, many of the schools listed above are definitely not known as “jock” schools – certainly Exeter, Choate and Milton, for example, have highly acclaimed music and visual arts programs and attract an eclectic mix of students. I don’t know anything about Thatcher firsthand, but from the many posts I’ve read on this and other threads, I’m guessing it doesn’t have a particular jock culture, either. My comparison was strictly CA and MX, based on a previous post! I was not implying that only CA would be a good fit, or even the best fit, for the OP’s son. But it certainly has a culture that supports serious artists and musicians, I wholeheartedly agree.</p>
<p>ggm - huh??? I didn’t mention you at all - Why did you think my post was about you??? I was reporting my own opinion from what we (my family) have seen and read. You and the OP and anyone else can take it or leave it!</p>
<p>@honorary… “huh?” back atcha. I did NOT “think you mentioned” me. </p>
<p>What you DID mention was this:</p>
<p>a) " I’m not speaking from a lot of experience…"
b) "…from what we’ve seen and researched thus far, Concord is unique in combining excellent academics with excellent arts. "</p>
<p>Concord is NOT unique in that sense. And I was pointing that out. Because you alluded to thinking CA was unique in not being “jock-y”, and because other schools were mentioned by me and other parents, I was pointing out that I was not advocating CA, per se (which you <em>seemed</em> to be doing), only comparing it to MX based on the OP’s question.</p>
<p>No need to get your nose out of joint about it. We all are sharing our opinions. And it’s not unusual for one or several posters to clarify their thoughts as a thread progresses.</p>
<p>As for your “take it or leave it” comment (with exclamation point!), on reading over your post a few times, I “take it” as fairly hostile. But perhaps it wasn’t meant that way. Hard to read affect in plain text.</p>
<p>That said, I hope you will continue to share your opinions and experiences, and wish you good luck in your search.</p>
<p>baldingguy, I will PM you. You might already have all the info you need, but I would like to clarify in private. My comments here were perhaps overly cautious, so as not to offend anyone. But, in tip toeing around, I did not say exactly what I meant, and upset someone anyway. Exasperating…But, my apologies.</p>
<p>Honorary mom, thank you so much for your PM. I did receive it, and I tried to send you a reply, but it seems I can only send out a PM once I’ve reached 15 posts myself.</p>
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