<p>
[quote]
Jazz vocal - Love UM and Berklee. How does Peabody compare for voice?
[/quote]
I am not aware of Peabody having Jazz vocals. They have instrumental jazz but their entire website only speaks of classical voice. When DD auditioned the only option was classical repertoire for the audition.</p>
<p>If Peabody has vocal jazz it is minimal. My D chose UNT for a vocal jazz major because they study classical voice there the first two years as well as jazz - which she wanted to do. Good sized program for vocals (3 vj choirs) and terrific instrumentalists to play with and listen to. Loves it. Something going on every night. Other schools to check out are W Michigan, NEC, USC, U Arts, New School for Jazz (only jazz there) in NYC. We did not feel UDenver (Lamont) was up to par for jazz when we visited (great classical tho). Hard to find serious undergrad jazz vocals. There is more at the graduate level.</p>
<p>Singermom2 brings up a good point -- you have to check very carefully to see if a school's reputable jazz program even includes vocal jazz faculty. A lot of times it doesn't.</p>
<p>Some other programs to look into for vocal jazz are Michigan State, University of Toronto, McGill University (Montreal), UMass-Amherst, University of Miami (Florida).</p>
<p>My daughter is looking at Jazz vocal performance as a major. We did find a great curriculum at Univ. North Texas. Does anyone have an opinion about that UNT, the campus culture, etc.?
Since I'm a newbie here, please spell out what school UNF is that jazzguitar mom mentions? Do they have jazz voice? I'd also like to know of any other jazz vocal performance majors known to anyone at any southern schools. Thanks.</p>
<p>UNF = University of North Florida</p>
<p>UNT has a top jazz program at a low price, especially if you are a Texas resident. Expect lots of tough competition for spots there.</p>
<p>I have seen little mention of the Conservatory at the University of Cincinnati. Does anyone have any thoughts on the jazz studies program there?</p>
<p>anybody have the scoop on the jazz program at towson? i've been hearing good things but not sure why.</p>
<p>I've just joined this thread having a HS junior who plays alto sax and decided to make jazz performance his quest in life. I've done a fair amount of research and would appreciate feedback.</p>
<p>Berklee is his first choice. We can't afford it and I get the feeling their scholarship program isn't very strong. I am wondering how hard it is to transfer in as a sophmore or junior or if that would not be advisable, and going as a sophmore is important? </p>
<p>It also sounds like if one pays for freshmen year "full freight" it may be possible to get scholarships for later years?</p>
<p>We are on the west coast and I would love to see if he would stick around here. We live near San Francisco but the schools and scene here are slim pickings, which is sad! USC is possibility, but I'd love feedback on some Oregon and Portland schools.</p>
<p>Thank you
Elizabeth</p>
<p>Have you looked at University of the Pacific in Stockton? I know it's not the most exciting area, but I've heard good things about their jazz program. Also, a band mate of my son's has gone to CSU Northridge as a Trombone Major in Jazz, and another is happy at UC Irvine - trombone, too.</p>
<p>pitchperfect - my S has a sax player friend who got a very generous scholarship to Berklee (as a freshman) and he even lives nearby, so your CA status is probably a good thing. Not full money, but a real nice chunk. S's impression is that Berklee really likes sax players and I would think your son has a good chance for $$ if he is talented, but applying EA is a must. It's all about the audition. Also there are opportunities to increase the scholarship money as students continue on in their 4 years there. </p>
<p>May want to consider the summer 5-week program if you can swing it, I do think it's a foot in the door.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>pitchperfect, consider U North Texas, a strong program and financially appealing even for OOS.</p>
<p>Hey, Elizabeth, welcome! Oregon jazz mom here. First, there is fairly decent scholarship money available a Berklee--it is all about the audition, or doing well in Grammy Band or other awards. It's always worth a shot! University of the Pacific was suggested, and their jazz program is definitely worth looking at. University of Oregon has a jazz ensemble that won a Downbeat award last year. Mount Hood Community college has an excellent jazz program--we know a great sax player who transferred into Berklee after two years there, and another who transferred to The New School in NYC. I know both got scholarship money. Finally, Portland State university (the largest public school in Oregon) has a very good jazz program, and access to the jazz scene in downtown Portland. In Washington, I hear good things about a small school called Cornish. Good luck with your search!</p>
<p>Berklee is more generous with money for sax/trumpet players than guitarists or drummers. A sax playing friend of my son's, who had never won any awards at all, got almost $20K. The full scholarships are really hard to come by, but Berklee seems to give most talented kids at least $10-15K. Unfortunately, that still leaves about $35-40K annually, not to mention that the school doesn't have enough housing, and Boston is one of the more expensive cities (with a lot of other college kids looking for apts) in the country.</p>
<p>USC is a good choice. I defer to SJTH on west coast schools, since she really knows the scene out there!</p>
<p>I thought Cornish College of the Arts sounded good, too, while we were looking. But a Seattle native who is a jazz classmate of my son's said the level of the players there is not good. UWashington is not bad, according to him. We had yet another conversation this weekend about the jazz scene at Berklee being a disappointment to students. These NEC jazz students say that other majors at Berklee are great--anything "industry-oriented", like film scoring or recording technology or pop vocals. If your son is a typical wonky jazz musician he should probably take a closer look at Berklee and see if it's really worth the expense.</p>
<p>Not to contradict Jazzmomm, but my understanding is that Berklee is a disappointment to students who are not top players. The most talented kids have a jazz experience at Berklee that probably beats out almost everywhere else, including NEC. But because Berklee is so huge, and the playing level varies so widely, there are disparate experiences for their students. Some of the most talented kids in the whole country go there, as well as kids who would never have gotten in to even second rate conservatories. It's a mixed bag, but the best for the most advanced players.</p>
<p>This discussion about Berklee is very interesting. Does the same apply for jazz vocal -- good experience for the top singers only? I know they have a huge number of vocalists; second only to guitarists. Can't imagine how they all get the attention they need.</p>
<p>Have you looked at UNLV? Very good Jazz program/faculty and great scholarships for West Coast kids and they have a Jazz internship program on the Strip I think. Facilities at the school were top notch.</p>
<p>An interesting choice might be Jazzschool in Berkeley. They have a pretty stellar faculty, and they begin their 4-year degree program this September. It's about a quarter the cost of Berklee, and the individual attention and their ties to top venues like Yoshis and the Monterey Jazz festival make it worth a look. Your son can go there now and join the student ensembles to get a feel for the place and their teachers. Some really top players go there, the bands are top notch.
Sacramento State's jazz program has a growing reputation as well.</p>
<p>There are 2 very good programs in Canada. One is at McGill University and the second is Humber college and I know they can offer fairly substantial grants.</p>
<p>Hi singermom2. We live in MA near Berklee, my daughter sings jazz and plans to pursue that as a major in college. She's heard over and over from local contacts that Berklee is not the best choice for vocal majors. From the posts I'm reading here, I'm getting the impression that U Miami and Univ North Texas are really tops, at least among the Southern colleges. UM is really expensive; does anyone know about their financial aid for jazz majors? We're still checking out all the sunny state possibilities since that's my daughter's preference. Any other suggestions in that region I'd love to hear about from anyone.</p>