<p>I have been an avid reader on the music majors forum for a while. This is my first public post. I have private messaged serveral of you, all of whom have been extremely receptive and insightful. Thank you. In any event, my son is a high school junior who is considering pursuing performance (cello). However, he has not come to rest regarding the conservatory/liberal arts route. I know this subject has been discussed frequently and in many different ways among CC'ers. It has struck me that Blair (Vanderbilt) never seems to be raised as a non-conservatory option like Northwestern/BU etc. I wonder why and would appreciate any and all views on this program.</p>
<p>Deborahfab: I live in TN and know that Blair precollege has good representation of strings students in All-State Orchestra but not for winds or percussion in either orchestra or band. A quick glance at their faculty list looks heavy in strings, with more adjuncts than regular faculty for brass, woodwinds and percussion. And, with the exception of Edgar Meyer as adjunct instructor for bass, there are no big names like you see on the faculty lists at Northwestern, BU, or IU. While I'm sure it's a good program, it does not have a national reputation. Vanderbilt is very expensive (and not particularly generous with merit money for music, I'm told) and, IMHO, students with good academic credentials looking for high level music instruction would be better off spending their $$$s at Northwestern or BU.</p>
<p>Hi there,
I live not far from Nashville, and my final college choice was between Vanderbilt, BU, and IU. IU was my first choice, but they didn't give me enough money; VU and BU gave me approximately equal fin. aid, so I ended up deciding between those two.
It was a difficult choice. Vanderbilt's overall academic excellence was very attractive; BU has patches of brilliance, but also some big downsides, the most glaring of which being that there is minimal interaction between the colleges of the univ.; it is surprisingly difficult to take full advantage of the other divisions of the school. VU is much better in this regard.
Vanderbilt has advantages: a lovely campus, a small student body, great music facilities, a friendly environment, accessible faculty.
And mommab's remark about lots of adjuncts on the wind and brass faculty is a general truth of music schools accross the country. There are very few good wind players whose livelihood comes from chamber music and solo work; therefore, music schools draw their wind faculties from orchestras. But orchestra members don't have time to be full-time professors.
In the end, I chose BU, because I want a more conservatory-like environment. Adjusting to life in Boston has been a large and rewarding task (coming from the mountains); and my violin teacher is amazing.
A simple test is this: have your son listen to the orchestras at the schools he applies to (if possible before applying). That basically made the decision for me.</p>