Hello,
When speaking to a professor who teaches at both BoCo and NEC last fall, he recommended BoCo because of camaraderie and a more supportive atmosphere. So S aiditioned has been told that he will be accepted. Now looking at all these threads it seems BoCo is NEC’s red headed stepchild. Anyone have experience with a student that has attended BoCo for performance and can share their thoughts?
What is the instrument or is it voice? Some experience with string players. Will things be changing - hasn’t BoCo combined with Berklee?
I am so confused by this professor’s comment about BoCo versus NEC. I do not know about the atmosphere at BoCo especially now that they are merging with Berklee, but I can speak for NEC. NEC is a small intimate conservatory and the students are incredibly supportive of one another. The faculty is also very supportive. NEC is not the super-competitive conservatory from the movies. I am always amazed at how peers come out to hear each other play. The atmosphere encourages collaboration between students from different disciplines so you have students who might be Jazz working with students in Contemporary Improvisation working with students who are classically trained. In fact one group my son is in literally has one member from each department at NEC.
With the merging with Berklee I imagine there will be a lot of opportunities for a performance major at BoCo.
I am confused by what you mean by red-headed step-child???
Has your son looked at other conservatories? What type of music does he want to study? Did your son like BoCo? If he did then I would not worry about it too much. If he is unhappy or thinks he belongs at NEC after his freshman year he can always audition and transfer.
I’ve auditioned at both, was accepted to BOCO, and did a summer program at NEC last year (SICPP). I can say with full confidence that the professor is right, and NEC has a toxic atmosphere that trickles down from the majority of the faculty to the students. With respect I have to admit that some faculty there are great, but in general the vibe there is…uncomfortable. I also have some friends who have attended there who have had the same experience.
On the other hand I had a great time at BOCO, and really loved the faculty there. I have some friends there in various studios that really have enjoyed their experience there. That being said, BOCO has no money for funding. Some studios have more than others, but in general they just don’t offer a lot of funding, especially at the Undergraduate level. I was offered admission there and ended up going to a Midwest program instead with great funding and better opportunities.
Dumb me - I see @trumpetmom99 was the original OP. Is it safe to assume that your S plays trumpet?? If classical and wanting orchestral experience, check the quality of the orchestra. I don’t know if what I have heard from string players is true at present or not, but I do know several were disappointed in their experiences going back a few years - ringers brought in because full instrumentation was not available and musical theater emphasis. Again - if anyone has current experience, this may have changed.
mmmarimba,
I am so sorry to hear that you felt that the environment at NEC was toxic. Your experience is valid and I am hoping it means you ended up at an institution that suits your style and personality. Choosing a conservatory is very personal and there is no ideal place to study music or learn to be a musician. What is right for one student might be completely wrong for another. That is why rankings are so silly and unhelpful.
Every school has its pluses and minuses. I have heard comments about schools being toxic (juilliard for one seems to engender such comments, Curtis has a legion of them), I have heard the same thing about programs like Juilliard’s pre college program, and in general there are a lot of reasons for those comments that may or may not reflect the total reality, or may be because of the person saying it and their experience. It also can depend on the instrument and studio, so it could be that mmmarimba was in with a bunch of cut throat players. From what I have seen of NEC I don’t get that impression across the board, I know of studios there that appear to be toxic, but I haven’t had that impression with the school as a whole.I would be very, very careful about even the teacher’s comments, you don’t know why the teacher is saying that, maybe they have a beef with NEC. I have heard a ton of criticism of Juilliard that quite frankly, is rubbish, I also have heard things that are true, in the end you have to sift through things.
In terms of BoCo, at least before they merged with Berklee (I don’t know how that is going to change things), BoCo has some good teachers for example in the strings area, and it would depend (if I am reading the OP’s screen name correctly), on how good the trumpet faculty is at BoCo and NE, and seeing what the fit for the student is. BoCo is not as competitive an admit as NEC, the general level at NEC is going to be higher than BoCo, though there could be the case where a a studio at BoCo may attract a higher level of student then you might find at NEC.
While NEC is not exactly swimming in money (put it this way,it isn’t Juilliard by a long shot), BoCo is not very well endowed either, and in competitng for donations and such, NEC probably does better because it is more the name school…neither is known for being particularly generous.
I agree with someone else, listen to recordings of the orchestras at both schools, and see how they sound, that especially for a brass or mostly orchestral instrument might be a good tell.
Okay, so what to do. I would take a deep breath, and first of all, don’t take what the teacher said or anyone in particular said as proof of much, take it as it is, a piece of information. The real key is going to be what your kid thinks, try to get sample lessons with the faculty at both places and see how he feels working with them, because that is going to be his major focus when there. Take into acccount that BoCo is now merged with Berklee, ask what plans they have, are they planning to upgrade their facilities, are they planning to allow BoCo students to take lessons at Berklee, collaborate with students there?
In the end, it is all going to come down to how your kid feels about the programs and what they need out of it and you kind of have to go with your gut feeling about what would be best for your son. Where you go can be a complex thing, and I would not let anyone who tells you “oh, NEC is this horribly competitive place where everyone is cutthroat” influence you any more than “Oh, go to NEC, BoCo is nothing more than a step child”, in the end, figure it out for yourself:). I know people who have turned down Juilliard to go to NEC because they felt the teaching was better and they were told “how can you do that, NEC is rinky dink compared to Juilliard”, there is no magic there.
Wish you luck!
Thank you so much everyone! As a parent it’s hard not to worry so much about this. We’ve invested so much in this already and will continue to. My S has been looking up recordings and did take a sample lesson with one of the trumpet professors and really loved him. It’s not over yet though. His audition at Eastman he felt went really well, wasn’t super happy with his CIM one, and has MSM this weekend. Also, he’s been told, unofficially, after auditions with UMiami/Frost, FSU, and UNT that they will be offering admission. I’m going to try not to think too much about it until all offers are on the table. I just really want him to have a good Boston choice because of the music scene there.
For those that asked, he wants to focus on orchestral training, but likes to play jazz for fun. The BoCo/Berkley merge, according to them, should be official this summer with students being able to take classes in both places in the fall. We were told both boards have approved it, they’re just waiting on the accrediting agency to give them the go ahead. The merger actually makes it a more appealing option for us. But we will see.
Thanks again for your thoughts and calming a mama’s nerves. This process is so stressful!
Agreeing with StacJip–my S has found NEC incredibly supportive–from students to faculty, it has been a wonderful environment to be a part of for him. As a parent, I have felt welcomed as well. And, the education he has received has been stellar.
BTW, one nice thing about the Boston music scene is that even if you attend BU, NEC, Berklee, Emerson or BoCo…there are plenty of opportunities to collaborate and play with musicians outside your institution. My own son has played with people from each of those listed institutions in his four years at school. The same is probably true for musicians going to NYC, although the geography and smallness of Boston makes it a bit easier.
Also keep in mind there is more nuance than a school being toxic or not. Teaching styles and approaches to music matters a lot. My own son did not apply to Juilliard when he was in high school because the specific program did not suit how he wanted to approach music and Jazz. Had he gone there he might have found that the environment was toxic…but that would be TOXIC FOR HIM!!! He talked about applying there for grad but when he looked at the requirements he decided it was not right FOR HIM!!! But there probably is another Jazz Bass player for whom that environment is just right. Same with Eastman…my son was interested in the way a Jazz student could combine Jazz studies with classical studies. But when he was deciding where to go he realized there were nuances about how Eastman implements that program that did not work FOR HIM!!! Had he gone to Eastman he might report that the environment was TOXIC.
In other words do your research and find the best fit, not necessarily the name that everyone says is the best or the right place. Find a place where your musician will grow and flourish.
FYI…this is true not just for musicians but for all undergraduates and for those applying to graduate school. Colleges and Universities work hard to build up their “brand” recognition. But when it comes down to undergraduate education sometimes a student is better off going to place where they are a big-fish in a little pond rather than always feeling as though they are just not good enough. Example, my middle son desperately wanted to go to graduate school in mathematics. But he had a horrible high school career due to illness and learning disabilities and a host of other challenges. He landed at a small liberal arts school that had a good reputation but was not known for producing students who got accepted at top math phd programs. It is very competitive to get into math phd programs. Being at a small non-competitive school allowed him to flourish. He got attention he would not have gotten had he gone to a more prestigious school. He was able to work really hard and impress his teachers, mature and learn how to advocate for himself, get top REUs in the summer and despite having AWFUL GRE scores he was accepted at some of his Reach schools and all his safety schools. Not all 18 year olds are in the same place in terms of development and maturity…just like not all toddlers walk at exactly 12 months. We take for granted that there is a range in timeframes of normal development when children are young and we tend to forget that there is also a range of normal development among adolescents. Not all 18 year olds are equal…but by age 25 they all will be young adults.
StacJip and musicprnt pretty much covered it but I’ll add that my son’s at NEC and could not be happier!
@trumpetmom99 my son is in his first year at Berklee and he is very excited about the Berklee/BoCo merger. The schools have always collaborated in a small capacity but I believe the merger is going to just make each entity more diverse and exciting. BoCo already uses Berklee’s Caf. My son loves Berklee and the music scene is pretty welcoming. He had already been able to play a bunch of gigs in Boston area since beginning there in the fall. Boston is a great town for college students. Good luck to you and your son!
mmmarimba, is your only experience with NEC the SICPP?