Hello, I am currently doing a bachelor’s degree in composition at University of Montreal. (Its faculty of music is arguably one of the very best music schools in the french speaking world).
I would like to do a Master’s degree in America, especially at Yale School of Music (but I’m of course interested in other schools like Juilliard, NEC) and here is my situation :
Since the beginning of my studies I have worked very hard to get the highest grades possible, which worked pretty good. I have A+ in almost all my classes (the averages are often of B, B-, even C+). I have no B’s, and very very few A, A-'s. (I got these in composition classes, where teachers virtually never give A+ since it’s “impossible” to do a “perfect” composition.)
My GPA is of almost 4,2 out of 4,3. I have won “excellence schoolarships” and stuff like that.
Will all that seriously help me getting in if I manage to present some pretty good compositions too? Or a student applying for composition should have won a lot of competitions, done a lot of festivals, already be semi-profesionnal, etc. ? Because, I don’t have anything like that on my resume, I don’t have a career, I am not played, etc.
Thanks.
I’m not a musician, so take my advice with a grain of salt. But, in my experience, graduate programs are looking for people who excel - and top graduate programs like Yale School of Music and Juilliard are looking for the absolute very best top students in music.
Yale doesn’t say, but they do say this for the resume/CV section of how to apply:
Your résumé or CV helps give us a full picture of your musical background and experience. It is helpful to include information such as: your schools, private teachers, musical experience (solo, chamber, orchestral), music festivals attended, and teaching experience.
Your competition will have good grades, too - AND they will have the extra stuff. So I’m guessing to be competitive you should have had your compositions played at some festivals or other music events, perhaps won some competitions, etc. You know, the things that would make you stand out in an applicant pool. Simply having good grades won’t be enough unless your work samples are truly magical. (You also have to submit recordings of your compositions, so they would’ve had to be performed somewhere first!)
Thank you for your answer, it makes much sense. I definitely should start thinking about doing things of that kind.