<p>I was wondering how good Carnegie Mellon's music program is (specifically, for violin performance), and also how selective the program is...thanks!</p>
<p>One of dd’s music theory teachers was a violin performance/composition student there, and went on to a symphony position. The school seems really competitive to get into, however is incredibly expensive to attend.</p>
<p>I am a Pittsburgher and my husband attended CMU many years ago for French Horn.</p>
<p>CMU is a competitive program, very small and expensive. For violin, please note that Andres Cardenes, concert master of the PSO is stepping down next year. I believe he wants to devote more time to teaching, though you may want to check out what this means for his studio at CMU.</p>
<p>Also a Pittsburgh resident and also a cello mom. My son has lots ofr friends at CMU music dept. Yes it’s expensive but like most of the other conservatories/music schools, kids do get funded and financial aid.</p>
<p>Best to visit and try to have a lesson with one or more teachers.</p>
<p>My son will be attending CMU in the fall and did receive a music scholarship. CMU is very up front with saying if you get another offer from another school send it to them. My son was trying to decide between BU and CMU and BU offered a large music scholarship which we did send to CMU and CMU matched it. He did visit and have a lesson. It’s much more conservatory based than BU or Northwestern. And many of the students that were auditioning at BU, Northwestern, University of Maryland, etc. were also at CMU auditions. Good luck!</p>