Choosing a Vocal Performance Program

College Majors Music Major
1

My S is auditioning at a number of classical vocal performance undergraduate programs to start in the fall of 2019. He is having difficulty choosing the school he wants to attend. He had a list of preferences, but the schools’ rankings seem to change often. He has been offered admission to three schools so far and may be offered admission to all of them. He’s auditioning at: TCU, Houston, CCM, NEC, Peabody, Oberlin, MSM, and Curtis.

@dramasopranomom offered the criteria I’ve pasted below that her D used to select a program that I thought were helpful.

I’m looking for input on key factors to consider. Cost is one factor, but that is more of a factor for us than it is for him. He seems overwhelmed by the choice. He likes every school he visits and seems to like the one he most recently visited.

What are your thoughts?

1/#2 (in equal measure) Undergraduate focus/performance opportunities and teaching quality/reputation of vocal faculty. (Faculty performance experience plays into teacher quality/reputation.)#3 (a huge surprise that this became so important)

3Positive collegial “feel” within the Vocal Faculty as a whole. We encountered some very icy and almost unprofessional attitudes when finalizing her list during Junior year, and my D was absolutely, completely turned off by departments where there seemed to be stress or infighting. This extended to how students behaved and responded to each other within the VP department (by reputation and experience during visits and audition weekends).

4 Quality of Academic instruction; music and non music.

5 Availability of Vocal Coaching, masterclasses, Collaborative Pianists, etc.

6/#7 Access to acting/ dance classes AND, big for my D, access to audition for roles in Musical Theatre (generally a friendly feeling between Classical/MT as a department philosophy).

2

Hello @basso_texas - our daughter was pretty tight-lipped about her thoughts and preferences until well-after auditions were done and acceptances started rolling in, so give it some time. You can start adding those key factors to a spreadsheet for purposes of ranking but it’s perhaps difficult for the singer to evaluate/rank until they’ve experienced all of the schools and have had a spare minute to process. (There is school to catch up on, competitions, the musical, friends… you know - important stuff!) :slight_smile:

Our singer selected a vocal program WITH grad students. She has benefitted from their support and example in studio every week. Yes, it’s daunting as a freshman and sophmore, but she’s feeling very confident now as a junior.

Location of practice rooms to dorm/apt and music school is another consideration. Opportunity for a standing church gig is also nice.

3

After acceptances came in, my son was most influenced by which specific teacher he wanted to study with. He knew what he needed to work on, and after attending numerous sample lessons he had an idea which type of teacher and personality he preferred/needed.

4

I think that once you have a list of reputable schools that your kid likes…the list for best choice becomes very “individual”. One student’s list will be different from another’s. So I agree with the above…that he probably needs to wait for all the offers. The money and the teacher were big deciding factors for us. The teacher’s enthusiasm for my D was the most important factor for her.

If you are looking for “things” to consider, it may be a good time to do a deep dive on the curriculum and ensemble requirements at each school. This will give you a good idea of how your kid will be spending his academic time…and you can be sure the classwork matches your and his wants/needs.

Also don’t discount the social environment of the school and the surroundings. This is really up to the student…does he feel like this can be “home”. Peers are so important so he may just need time to figure that out…and only he can do that.

I would just give him space and simply be a sounding board as he tries to pick a school. He may have favorites but may not be ready to admit them. He may just need all the information (money and teacher) to make a decision…and it may be just too early now…he’s in audition mode not decision mode. Do note that some kids spend ALL of April in indecision…before they finally decide at the last moment. So that happens too…

5

Yes, yes, yes to @bridgenail 's comment above on peers. Our daughter’s view of potential peers at the school skewed her opinion of the school heavily - right or wrong. One stray singer on a student panel with a diva personality sunk a school to the bottom of the list. Very subjective of course, but the student’s impression of whether they will fit in socially and whether the kids are nice is really paramount. I’m remembering the “aha” moment I had when the list was down to the 2 schools and I finally understood what she already knew in her heart - the school 600 miles away was going to be a much better fit for her personality than the school 150 miles away. It all worked out. :slight_smile:

6

Just to echo a couple points made above-

The voice teacher will be a very important factor in the decision, but the overall strength of the faculty is also something to consider, as teachers sometimes retire, take sabbaticals, have health issues, or even leave for other jobs, and since undergrad is four years the risk of that happening is maybe more of a consideration than it would be in picking a two-year grad program. Of course after the program admissions come in, you’ll need to find out what studios at each school are an option- that can help make the decision.

The quality and number/availability of practice rooms turned out to be a bigger factor than I expected in my D’s decision. What I hadn’t really considered (and she explained) is that VP students need to make big sounds sometimes (frequently) and the ability to do so without feeling like you’re performing through the door all the time is very helpful. Also, nice practice rooms you enjoy going to facilitate more practicing.

For my D the availability to pursue some other academic interests outside the music building was important (I realize it isn’t to all music students). The convenience factor of having those options nearby on the same campus became important because in her mind it increased the likelihood of success should she pursue that (which, by the way she is, so far, and enjoying).

Cohort I’d think about in terms of the spirit of the institution, as the specific personalities shift every year. What types of students do they attract? My D also picked a program with grad students, which has been fine, she still has plenty to do.

Cost of attendance, of course, especially if grad school figures in the plans.

We also sought some outside advice from whatever extended academic and professional networks we had some access to, which proved helpful in giving another viewpoint on the various programs from the other end, even if we didn’t follow that advice completely. I should add that in each case we had good reason to believe these folks knew what they were talking about.

I’m sure your S will be fine, although part of his conflicted thoughts I’m sure is that it can be hard for these kids to let go of admissions after putting all that effort into earning them, and picking just one. If my D could have cloned herself last April she probably would have.

Good luck!

7

@basso_texas - This looks like a good list of criteria for choosing a program. One thing that jumps out at me is the lack of quantitative measures. Most colleges provide lots of statistics to prospective students, such as percentage employed (or in grad school) within 6 months of graduation, initial salary, salary after 5 years, 10 years, % admitted to med school, to law school etc. I don’t know what the right metrics would be for conservatories - perhaps there aren’t any, but it jumps out at me that the music schools don’t throw around statistics like everyone else does. Honestly, I would even appreciate something “soft” like a 5- year post graduation satisfaction survey.

Do some schools provide helpful statistics? I haven’t seen any at the schools we have visited.

8

@HRoFan - you can sometimes find soft information by studio. Some teachers will post information in their bios about where former students have gone or awards won. So a good place to start would be the teachers’ bios.

For UG, it would be worth asking a prospective teacher about where their students go after 4 years. Are students successfully launched into grad programs and which grad programs? Teachers should provide this information if asked…but in most cases it would probably not be a statistical analysis.

You can also go on the music schools’ websites and look for alumni information. Most schools post information about what former students are doing and where. So that can give you an idea…but again not statistics. I would suggest this type of “research” as you narrow down your choices.

We did get this information in general from an MT program, particularly pay (which is rare I think). It did make me think…maybe it’s OK if my kid gets NO acceptance … lol. But I have not seen it for music schools. Hopefully someone else can enlighten us all…but it seems to be a real “word of mouth” type of deal…meaning once in school your kid will learn more from older students.

But for UG voice, I think a key item would be: do most students go on to grad programs and which schools.

9

Does anyone have recommendations for vocal performance faculty at Peabody?

10

Someone may have sent a DM with some recommendations. If not, you could do the following (and this assumes your son has been accepted).

1.) Work through the teachers’ bios with the current private teacher. He/she may have connections or opinions about teachers.
2.) Check if you or your teacher/school have any connections with current music students at Peabody to get “intell” on teachers.
3.) Contact the head of the voice dept for assistance. You can ask for help finding the right teacher. This is often part of their job. They will know based on voice type, current studio sizes and make-up etc who may be available and good for your son.

Edit: I would have your S contact the head of the voice dept (not the parent). You can of course hang over his shoulder or help edit a short and sweet email…but I think it should come from him.

Note that once you have a teacher or two in mind and visit if possible, you can also ask the music school or teacher for names of any current students that would be willing to answer questions. These students are usually enthusiastic about their school/teacher…but like most young adults more brutally honest. They could say something like…“he’s the best, all his students love him, he’s not around a lot bc he’s so famous and in demand but those connections will be really great in the future!”…which may make you want to look for another teacher or not. Also if there are two teachers in consideration, most teachers will politely try to sell themselves…and let you know why they think they are a better fit. All worth listening to.

Good luck!