<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I am here for your opinions to decide which school to go. Now I have received acceptance letters from UIUC, San Francisco Conservatory of music (with $12000/year scholarship), Mannes (with $6000/year scholarship), and Peabody. My major is composition. I would like to go to Peabody because I am familiar with the area and I was quite impressed by its student orchestra, but considering that Peabody offers no scholarship to me, I am not sure if it's still worth attending comparing with SFCM or Mannes. I have to take money into account, but still the most important factor for me is the education quality. </p>
<p>My knowledge of these schools' quality may not be completely accurate. So I would like to have your opinions to make a right decision. Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>It’s difficult to advise you without knowing more about why you chose the programs that you did and what you’re looking for in an undergrad composition experience. Is money an issue? Would the extra $12,000 for Peabody (assuming all other costs are the same) be a hardship? Living expenses in San Francisco and New York City are very high and you’ll likely not be living in a dorm after your first year, so you need to take that into account.</p>
<p>The orchestras at SFCM, Mannes, and Peabody will all be good (again, the differences will be subtle), and there will plenty of musicians around to play your work. I don’t know as much about the musicians at UIUC, although the composition department has a long storied history.</p>
<p>Have you met with any of the composition professors at these schools? Do you know whom you’d like to study with? Is there a particular style of composing you’re interested in? I think you’re probably fine with any of the choices - the differences are subtle, and mostly based on the professors. However, I would recommend you check out the curriculum and requirements for graduation for each. You may find a difference in the types of classes required - such as more or less theory, aural skills, etc.</p>
<p>Does one program have more professors with whom you’d like to study? It’s always hard to know in advance if you’ll click with a particular person, or even if that person will continue to be teaching. You may want to choose a school which has a wide group of professors of interest to you.</p>
<p>Are you new to composing, or quite advanced? These schools may differ in their approach to freshmen composers - some may provide more or less freedom than others.</p>
<p>At this point you need to look at the details. You’ve already gotten the big picture. I’m sure the schools would happily put you in touch with current composition students, as well. I recommend that you contact them, if you can, and ask them what life is like for a composition student at their school.</p>
<p>SpiritManager, thanks much for the detailed explanation. It’s a good point that the living cost in San Francisco and New York is much higher than Baltimore, so it’s possible that my cost of attending Peabody is not too much higher than that of SFCM or Mannes. </p>
<p>Mannes, Peabody and UIUC all have a few professors that I would like to study with. I think it’s great suggestion to check their approach to freshmen composers and connect with current students. Thanks for your opinions!</p>
<p>One thing to look at is whether you’ll be required to compose in a particular style the first year. For instance, will you need to write a fugue, a piece in Renaissance Counterpoint, something in the 18th century ‘classical’ style etc. Some programs do have such requirements for the first few years, and some don’t. I know that many of the composition students at SFCM I’ve known have been required to write a piece for a particular solo instrument. Then there will be a student concert of all those pieces. For my own son, he needed more freedom to either compose what he felt compelled to at the the moment, or to actually work on commissions he had. But for other less advanced students, or ones who prefer more structure, it’s a great thing to have exercises and required forms to write for.</p>
<p>Another thing to compare will be the opportunities to hear your music played. Are you guaranteed an orchestra performance in your four years - or is that a competition you have to enter? Is it easy to organize musicians and put on your own concert, or are concerts confined to institutionally sanctioned ones? Will you be required to write for a particular instrumentation/ensemble, or can you write for any selection of instruments? These are the kinds of details to consider at this point as you decide.</p>
<p>The new music scene itself is different in each city. Probably minimal in Urbana-Champaign. More focused on Peabody and its satellites/graduates in Baltimore but with access to DC. NYC - the sky’s the limit - you could go to concerts twice a night. San Francisco - a smaller new music scene, vibrant but not extensive. Friendly, though.</p>
<p>Because U of I is isolated, they must bring the musical events to campus. Check to see the number of performances by outside groups, the number of master classes by visiting composers and the like. For many years, U of I used to be home for the Walden String Quartet which was comprised of U of I music faculty members. The Walden Quartet championed new music and gave the first American performances of many important works including Elliott Carter’s first string quartet. Unfortunately, with faculty retirements, the Quartet is no more and I do not know if the drive for new music remains as powerful at the school. You have great choices. Even if Peabody ends up being too expensive even factoring in the lower living costs, you will be well served by any of the other schools.</p>
<p>I believe that Mannes is strong on theory. Peabody says explicitly that composers learn best by having pieces played (or read) frequently and emphasized that.</p>
<p>Some of the kinds of composition exercises that Spirit Manager mentioned may happen in theory classes, at some schools.</p>
<p>I agree with checking details: curriculum and courses, performance opportunities, and also teachers. You don’t have to study with someone who writes the way you want to write. But it does help to listen to pieces by teachers at each school and read articles they have written etc.</p>
<p>What location do you prefer? It seems that money is an important but not absolutely essential part of your decision. How do you feel about the lack of a cohesive campus and need to travel a bit to get to dorms for Mannes?</p>
<p>Have you toured any of these? Mannes can feel intense, I think, Peabody is described as relaxed by some- this is just anecdotal. SF is a great school.</p>
<p>I would go by the details listed above,compatible teachers, but then what your gut tells you and your parents’ pocketbook allows.</p>
<p>Personally, and this is just personal, but looking at your aid and choices, I would consider SF for sure. Peabody is a great school too but SF is too and SF is a great city, and you got aid there. All good. But check the details!!</p>
<p>Compdad, thanks for your information concerning UIUC it’s indeed quite isolated, and there is no much information about it on the internet. I’ll surely take your comments into consideration. </p>
<p>Another thing to find out is the size of the composition department. How many composition students are there - how many are undergrads and how many are graduate students? Do the opportunities differ for undergrads vs. grads? Are there composition seminars - do all the composers formally meet in a group, or are they on their own for the most part?</p>
<p>Just want to add that the affiliation with Johns Hopkins is a plus factor for Peabody. Spirit Manager might know affiliations that SF might have, but they would not be part of the same institution. So you are also deciding between freestanding conservatory and schools that are part of a larger university (JHU or New School for Mannes). Are academics important to you? Peers with other interests? I am not even sure how far Peabody is from the main campus of JHU, so that is something to look into. </p>
<p>Is NYC an important factor for you? I do think location and vibe are very important and assume you have visited for auditions etc. Go with your gut! And…Congratulations on having these tough choices in the first place!</p>
<p>Compmom, you’ve got some useful information about these schools, thanks for that! I visited Peabody and Mannes, but not uiuc or SFCM. Mannes indeed gave me an impression that they are strict on theory to students of all majors, since we all took a 3-hour-long theory/ear training exams there. I do appreciate Peabody’s approach that composers learn best by having pieces played frequently. But according to their website, Student works are selected competitively by the composition faculty for large ensemble readings. So I think it still takes some efforts to have one’s large orchestral pieces performed, while solo or chamber music should be easier. </p>
<p>My next step is as suggested by Spirit Manger, call them to check their approach to freshmen composers to see which school suits me better. </p>
<p>SpiritManager, it’s good point again. I have some rough idea of their composition department size, If I remember correctly, UIUC has the largest composition department, Mannes is the smallest, SFCM and Peabody are in between. Actually most of the schools have composition seminars regularly. </p>
<p>When they come back to work on Monday, I’ll contact too check their approach to freshmen composers, and do undergrads and grads have equal performance opportunities. Thanks very much!</p>
<p>I think the question about whether one’s large ensemble pieces are played as a matter of course, or whether one needs to enter a competition to have a large piece played is important. I think, truthfully, for most undergrad programs it is rare to be guaranteed an orchestral performance. A reading perhaps, but not rehearsed and played on a concert program. Sometimes that is something offered senior year, or not offered at all, or just by competition and competition with the PhD candidates. On the other hand - I don’t know if you have any interest in writing for full orchestra! But it will give you a sense of the dept. and differences between them.
Another thing to ask about is how easy is it to get performance track students to play your pieces outside of a sanctioned concert. Some conservatories frown on their students playing for anything except their assigned works. Other schools might encourage them to play whenever and whatever they can.</p>
<p>Do you know already which professor’s studio you’ll be in? There’s a range of styles at all your choices. (I don’t know anything about UIUC.) Another question to ask - how are the studios assigned? How long do you study with each professor? Can you stay with one the whole time, or do you need to change every year, every semester etc. Or can you change every semester, every year?</p>