<p>We too are from Boston area. Just finished up the grand audition tour- 7 auditions in 5 states. Although S is a guitarist we did get a chance to meet a lot of vocalists along the way.
As you know its pretty competitive out there for jazz so you're right to explore a lot of options. PM me if you want. We had some great experiences at North Texas, North Florida, USC (not a southern school but certainly qualifies as a sunny place). We also took a look at Miami although S didn't apply- just didn't see himself there.
You may want to check out Florida State in Tallahassee. Second S is a theatre major but I know that the music dept is huge and well supported. They are intent upon building their jazz program.
S is leaning towards USC now I think. Also liked NYU- very different audition experience than anywhere else. Group audition which was actually fun and dinner afterwards at a great Indian restaurant in the village!</p>
<p>On the west coast, check out California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts). A friend's S graduated Interlochen in percussion, is now a jazz drumming student at Cal Arts. He was one of 2 jazz drummers accepted his year (2-3 years ago) and is very happy there. He got an excellent aid package--close to full ride I believe. The L.A. music scene has been great for him--he gigs all the time.</p>
<p>Learned on our tour at Indiana that you can now get minor in Jazz at Indiana. This was very appealing to classical percussionist S. Curious what thoughts are on Indiana's jazz program. David Baker heads it and I've always heard he is amazing. Other's Thoughts?</p>
<p>I hoping to kick up this thread again and get any thoughts you have on the jazz program at University of Michigan. My son is a jazz pianist with ties to the midwest, good grades, good SAT scores, and not quite emotionally ready for the leap to the east coast. We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with U of M. Thanks so much - you folks ROCK! :)</p>
<p>If you're looking in Michigan, you may also want to check out Western Michigan University, and Michigan State. We're looking at both of those, next week, but for jazz vocal. I'll let you know what "vibe" we pick up.</p>
<p>I really liked the jazz program director at UMich, and it seemed like a very supportive (the kids didn't seem uber-competitive with each other either) program. </p>
<p>There is a woman who used to post on CC, whose son is a Sophomore there now, Mom55. You might try to PM her with questions. I believe that her son is really happy there.</p>
<p>Hi, I am happy to give an update on U Michigan. My son is a sophomore Jazz Studies major, plays the sax (primary) and the piano. He is extremely happy there. It is a small department of roughly 45 kids, including grad students, with a relatively large faculty, so a lot of personal attention. Ellen Rowe is the department head and is a brilliant pianist, according to my son. He is in the big band, a jazz combo, and a Latin jazz combo. He has accompanied performances at the School of Dance. He is also in a rock/blues band (Great Divide) that is very popular and just played at the Final Four celebration in Detroit. That was one of his goals...to play rock and to have a big enough scene to have such an opportunity. He loves Ann Arbor and has made a lot of friends; musicians both jazz and classical, and non-music majors. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions.</p>
<p>University jazz program - University of Michigan-thanks so much for your input. mom55 I will pm you with my list of questions. thanks so much for the offer.
any others out there with experience with U of Michigan jazz. we are particularly interested in experiences with jazz piano.
thanks!</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted to Berklee and UNF for Jazz Vocal. After considering the cost, we searched more indepth to the other school programs. She had originally turned her nose up at UNT and Western Mich but her teachers spoke so highly of them both that now we wish we had more insight before all the application process. UNT seems to offer the most opp for performance and attracts highly qualified teachers. UNF vocal faculty is only available between professional concert performances/cruise ship bookings. The rest of the jazz faculty however, is highly qualified and recommended. As for Berklee, it has been my daughter’s dream forever, and we were originally from Boston so I had encouraged it. They offered NO financial assistance but will hold her acceptance for one year. We have two weeks to decide what to do: go to UNF for a year as Florida residents with Florida pre-paid and transfer up to Berklee? OR take out loans and send her to Berklee for a year, hoping (knowing) she will realize it is a name school only and hate the cold.</p>
<p>The audition committee at FSU actually questioned my daughter’s interest in Jazz, as they really have no jazz vocal program, only classical. She was accepted into the music dept. but as a General Music major, not directily into the Classical Voice dept.</p>
<p>Hi Singermom2 and eed72 - originally from Boston I had encouraged Berklee for my vocal major, and she even attended some summer workshops. She found them “unorganized” compared to her high school program, and frankly was a bit disappointed. Now however, Berklee accepted her for the Fall 2009. It is the school of her dreams…and way out of reach financially. It is a “name” school, in that the name outweighs it’s actually quality. Many many people transfer in and out of it but the actually GRADUATION rate is quite low.
U Miami is also pricey but a great program - they are looking for high SAT scores and academic ability. UNT seems like it would have been a great school but she wasn’t open to it at the time we applied. She was accepted also to UNF which has a reputable Jazz Vocal program but the main teacher (see web site) is there sporadically as she is on the road often with professional gigs. Report is that she has the position because her husband is a dean of another dept.</p>
<p>I was curious to compare numbers (since you mentioned that Berklee was really quite a stretch financially for your family). Berklee: $35k tuition, $15k R&B plus a REQUIRED $3k laptop (and other numerous fees). UNF: $126.00 per credit hour, $3k meal plan for year and $2,300 for a room (that is per semester, I think - their chart was not clear). To me, it’s a no-brainer. IMHO, no school is worth $50k a year without very substantial scholarship/grant money. </p>
<p>If she were my daughter, I would have her attend UNF with the understanding that she might want to look at other schools within the next few years if she feels she needs a better program. You mentioned UNT and I happen to know that they do accept transfer students (although the jazz program might have a differing policy than the classical side).</p>
<p>Another option would be for her to take a gap year: get a job, study privately and get some practical experience by singing gigs, etc. Then apply to UNT or any other jazz programs that she might be interested in. (She could even take a few required general ed. courses i.e. English, History, etc. at a community college. Almost all schools would accept those credits).</p>
<p>Since Berklee offered no financial aid, how will you pay the $50k a year? It just seems completely out of the question when you write the numbers down and look at them. You would be considering literally mortgaging your life away (not to mention the loans your daughter would have to take out). In-state tuition in Florida is a real bargain at approx. $4,000 a year for 16 credit hours each semester. Room and board is half of Berklee’s R & B.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision. We all want to make our kids happy. However, if you are paying the bill, then you should have final say in the decision.</p>
<p>Agree - it makes the most sense to stay in state especially for the liberal arts credits, and since Berklee will hold the acceptance for a year maybe she can take a summer semester there next year. Wish we had checked out U North Texas beforehand as it sounds awesome. Thanks!</p>
<p>Where in Florida are you? Yes, the UMiami is very expensive – but if you check out Miami-Dade College, you might find a bit of overlap in the vocal jazz teachers, and I would think the tuition would be cheaper. For example, The guy who has just been chosen to run the vocal jazz program at UNT was a grad student/teacher at UMiami, but also taught at Miami-Dade. Maybe you could find the same kind of “teacher overlap” at community colleges near to UNF. I would advise for this year, have her stay local – if not UNF, a community college – and knock off some of the core course requirement kind of stuff. </p>
<p>You have Berklee in your back pocket, but you should look at alternatives like UNT, Western Michigan … maybe in New Orleans, and LSU? Just keep in mind that both Berklee and UNT are HUGE programs. Which can mean huge opportunities, true, but it also means the kids have to scrap to get attention. Does that sound like your daughter?</p>
<p>We are in West Palm, closer to UMiami but I think they wanted higher test scores than she had. (She had taken a summer workshop with them and loved their staff and program). The problem we ran into is not preparing for the SAT/ACT enough or test dates conflicting with audition dates. She was always such a stellar student in class with AP courses and GPA that I didn’t understand the importance of SATs. Although her scores were ok, she was not outstanding, so the larger schools deferred her or wanted her to start in the summer. She was offended and took it personally. (Don’t even mention community college to her!) Berklee doesn’t care much about test scores, just music ability, and I hesitate to say it but this year it seems…ability to pay.</p>
<p>Jazz 2,</p>
<p>What about FIU. I know a gifted Jazz Pianist from our HS who did not get in to U Miami because of grades who went there. He attended FIU for 1 1/2 years, hoping to transfer to UM, but then transferred to Berklee and is loving it. I am pretty sure he is getting fin aid from them as a transfer. Maybe if your D deferred Berklee for a year she could reapply as a transfer student and money might be available, or she could consider UM as a transfer (we are from the same neighborhood, perhaps our kids go to the same HS in WPB?). </p>
<p>Between Florida pre paid and Bright Futures, and FRAG, in state options in Florida are very tempting. I hear good things about UNF although I think the program is small. Or what about the New World School, do they do Jazz or just classical? My S’s private teacher is a professor there and we commute every Sunday morning for lessons. Another option might be Lynn U. I think they have money. A violinist went there from my S’s school last minute when her other options didn’t work out. Our Orchestra teacher helped her apply last minute and they may have a plan for in state students. That would be a better option than PBCC here. </p>
<p>What does the Vocal teacher recommend about in state options? She must know the teachers in the vocal community in S. Florida. </p>
<p>Good luck with your D’s decision.</p>
<p>Jazz 2 –</p>
<p>It sounds as though your D SHOULD apply to UNT. They have a terrific program, where if you qualify for ANY competitive scholarship of $1000/annual or more, you also immediately qualify to be charged instate tuition rates. Sweet! And the climate will be fairly close to Florida’s.</p>
<p>If she’s willing to look way north, she should look at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. We just got back from a visit there, and were impressed with the level of musicianship, and the level of personal attention undergrads could expect to receive. Their admissions officer seemed as though they would work hard to make it happen for out-of-state students they wanted to have there. </p>
<p>McGill might also be a possibility. We toured the music school, and met with one of the jazz vocal instructors. We came away thinking it probably wasn’t the right fit for my D – but it sounded as though it were a well thought-out program, and there were lots of Americans touring. Montreal is definitely more stylin’ than Boston, too.</p>
<p>Brrrrrrrrr! But seriously I so wish that I had found this forum earlier in the process. Not too late for the next one though - at least he can transfer his wakeboarding skills to snowboard and expand his search. thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Jazz2. UNT definitely accepts transfers into the vocal jazz program. If your D wants to do this, she should take music theory, ear training, etc wherever she decides to go. It’s fine to do this through the classical department as a freshman. Don’t know what other programs do, but all the jazz students at UNT take same theory as classical. And vocal are right there with instrumentalists. They go on to the jazz after. Also take piano if possible, and classical voice lessons. Hopefully the credits will transfer, but if not at least she can place out of elementary classes.</p>
<p>I have a 17 year old son who’s going to be attending UNT, this fall, for jazz studies. We toured several notable schools that offer similar programs, but none had the quality of facilities, great faculty (with excellent teacher to student ratios) or the overall level of student talent as UNT. We heard six of their Lab bands in rehearsal, and the depth of student talent at each position in each ensemble was incredible.
Their music department is huge, but students we talked to indicated they felt a strong sense of community and found it quite easy to make friends.
My guess is that at UNT most students will discover if they are capable of playing in the real world within the first year or two… as parents we should always consider that the music scene is tough and highly competitive. I think that at UNT, student musicians will soon learn if they can handle it, rather than be “moved through the system” or given artificial encouragement.</p>