Looking for a few solid options for a French horn performance undergraduate major. The school would have a solid horn professor who would push a student out of their comfort zone, with one-on-one teaching (vs. mostly teaching assistants), and ultimately place the student in a position to get into a top notch conservatory for post graduate study. End result might be landing a gig with a professional orchestra and/or college teaching career. The school could be either a conservatory or university with great music school and/or program.
Check who is teaching horn at University of North Carolina School of the Arts…it’s a hidden gem.
1 Like
My daughter already has a strong relationship with her. Thanks!
1 Like
I assume your musician is looking for a BM program. There are many schools to consider so it is hard to respond without narrowing it down based on knowledge of particular teachers at particular schools, which I do not have. Hoping others can chime in. Also, cost can be a factor since some conservatories don’t give a lot of aid. Here is a very partial list off the top of my head:
Juilliard, Curtis (most selective)
New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory
Manhattan School of Music, Mannes
Eastman, Peabody, Oberlin, Lawrence, Bard, Rice, Ithaca, Hartt, BU, UMichigan, Northwestern, Mason Gross, Temple Boyer, Baldwin Wallace, College of Wooster, St. Olaf
many state universities
Many more!
Rice has a wonderful horn studio. A few of my son’s friends go there and absolutely love it
Curtis & Juilliard would be stretch schools for her, but she intends to apply. We went to Boston in March and while she really liked NEC, she was turned off by Berklee/Boston Conservatory and had mixed feelings about BU. We need to do more research on some of the schools mentioned. Hopefully we can have a solid list developed soon.
Thank you!
If the goal is to become a pro horn player, the teacher is as important as, if not more important than, the school. Someone recently posted a bassoon thread, and got the in detail answer - the same principles apply here.
Ask her horn teacher. Find the dedicated forums for pro and student horn players on the internet, and ask there. Find on the internet where the students gossip about the horn teachers, and lurk there. If student attended a precollege program, ask the horn players who were a year to three years ahead of her for recommendations - they did the research recently. Listen to the recordings by that teacher, since you come out sounding like the teacher.
It’s much, much more about the teacher than about the school. In her case, she doesn’t want a double major, so the only thing that matters is the quality of, and access to the teacher, and then the overall music education that the school offers.
100% agreed since she will be with her teacher for 4 years and he/she needs work well with her and continue to push her out of her comfort zone. It is quite challenging to find reliable feedback on teachers/professors, which is one reason I started this thread. Thanks for the tips - will look into those suggestions.