<p>We are currently lining up lessons with Professors at as many of the following as we can:</p>
<p>UNT
UT Austin
SMU
TCU </p>
<p>Can you comment, contrast, suggest others we have missed for a Senior in HS who wants to study Clarinet Performance? He plans to follow Undergrad with a Master's program. </p>
<p>Prefer to keep it very affordable using 529 and Texas Tomorrow funds/credits. </p>
<p>Looking for feedback on your experience with these schools of music, areas of caution, so we can add to our list of questions to ask.
What should he bring to the lesson (is it appropriate to work on that school's audition music at a lesson, or should we bring an orchestral piece to a Professor that plays in an orchestra, etc.)? </p>
<p>Some lingering concerns I already have that you may be able to address:</p>
<p>UNT - too large - may not be able to study under the Prof until jr or sr year - may have lessons with a grad student. Positive - super affordable. </p>
<p>TCU - hasn't built world class music facilities yet, and limited practice spaces. Scholarship funds may get cost comparable to public. </p>
<p>SMU - Professor of Clarinet there plays for the DSO a plus. Expensive. </p>
<p>Welcome lots2do. What a great name. There are not too many Clari-parents in this forum. I don’t feel as up to date on the programs these days so I apologize for not being much help. I will mention that my D has worked with people out of Baylor and they were impressive players. I don’t know if their faculty has recently changed though. UT Austin has had solid consistent faculty for a number of years.</p>
<p>I saw your conversation in the other threads and I totally sympathize about Rice. I will tell you that the teacher there is wonderful, probably one of the best in the country. If there is a way for you to figure out the caliber of student there to see if it is realistic for your son, it might be worth it to apply. But I agree you have to size up the reality with the time commitment and Rice’s audition requirements at least a few years back were heavy and different than everyone else.</p>
<p>If you are considering any programs outside of Texas, I have heard that Eastman, Oberlin, Peabody and Miami/Frost give sizable scholarships and have good clarinet teaching. There are lots of great clarinet programs around but I limited my list to programs where I have heard that money is easier to find. </p>
<p>The teachers will tell you what they prefer to go over in these introductory lessons, if you ask. When my daughter was going through this they seemed to mostly ask for Rose etudes. Be prepared for scales and sight reading.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the most important question to ask when you go around visiting the schools is “What happens to your students after they graduate?” If the top grad programs are listed, or if students are out in the real world making a go of it then you know that you are looking at a serious program which prepares its students well to continue in music. Also you should consider the overall playing level at each school and what type of environment will best drive your student. If they start out at the top from the beginning then they will need to be highly self-motivated to keep moving forward. Some of the smaller, lesser known programs that are trying to build themselves may contribute the most money but that self-motivation factor will need to be especially strong at these schools. There are tons of other factors to consider and if you have not yet read the thread by BassDad called “So you want to be a music major” then please read that.
Best of luck.</p>
<p>Thank you for your suggestions - and for replying to my somewhat narrow view of the Clarinet Performance world. </p>
<p>I looked at the acceptance thread for a while in Music Majors and I got discouraged that it seems most here are heading to Julliard, Oberlin, Eastman and Curtis. And we don’t even have those on our radar. </p>
<p>We will definitely take a closer look at Rice after we get some feedback from our first couple of university visits. </p>
<p>I took private lessons from John Scott at UNT years ago, and he was wonderful. Although UNT is large, the music school is very tight knit and a great inviting community.</p>
<p>lots2do: This forum is great for information but don’t let it “get” to you. There is a lot of support here. Just figure out what your student’s goals and priorities are, how you are going to set your limits, and start visiting. Reality does not always match reputation.</p>
<p>Hi lots2do, I’m jumping in late and see that you have already gotten advice from others. All the best to you during the audition/admissions process. I see that the audition repertoire for Rice has not yet been posted–only last year’s on the site. But, I assume it will be much the same, as it includes the basic ‘standards’ that clarinetists need to know. These are pieces that will be required elsewhere as well. So, if your S has not studied the Mozart Concerto (at least 1st mvt) and Rose etudes, now is the time to do so, as they are essential. Rice also includes a piece of choice–i.e. anything your S has worked on and plays well–this will overlap with other schools as well! And, if your S is not already working on the standard orch. excerpts, now is the time. Every clarinet performance major will need to know all of the things on the Rice audition list. So, even if not auditioning at particular schools, it is good to check out the audition repertoire to get a sense of the ‘road map’ of what is needed for the upcoming journey. I am on the next step–S is preparing for grad school auditions now. But, if I may be of any help, please feel free to PM. Again, all the best to you!</p>
<p>My comments regarding Rice were before they had updated their audition page. So I see now, thankfully, that auditions are on a Friday - which makes more sense! This is the only school on S’s list that requires a prelim recording be sent in - to be selected for audition. He has looked at audition material and not a big stretch from others he is preparing for. </p>
<p>He will plan to do the prelim and go from there. Thanks!</p>
<p>One might consider Texas State as well! Texas State has a fantastic school of music. It’s large (about 600 music students), however nowhere near as large as UNT’s school of music. The faculty and facilities are top-notch!</p>
Jumping into this thread 3 years after the last comment. My user name is deceptive. My son #2 is a sax major at Frost (a senior now) and when we were looking we lived in NY. Now my daughter who is a junior in HS is looking for clarinet performance. We now live in FL and we are considering quite a list! Hoping some input especially from Clarimom and CLRN8MOM might help us narrow it down. Ironically she is not interested in NY schools. Locally we are looking at Frost (or course), Lynn (John Manasse from Julliard is the prof there), and as safety’s FSU and (extreme safety as her private lesson teacher is the prof there) USF. Out of state schools are Oberlin, Peabody, CCM, Rice, Baylor, UNT, Belmont, ASU, University of Denver