Classical voice career with a liberal arts degree

College Majors Music Major
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If a high school student is sure she wants to obtain a masters in music in classical voice performance and pursue a singing career, it makes a lot of sense to go to an undergraduate BM program. But, I imagine some choose to attend liberal arts colleges and still realize their dreams. On this forum, I have read about a number of instrumentalists who were very advanced in their craft and didn’t feel the need to go to an undergraduate music school. I get the impression that this is harder for singers who tend to have more to learn. Does anyone here have experience with students going from a liberal arts college that does not offer a performance major to top MM programs in VP? I think it should be possible, I just don’t know how common it is.

To get into a strong graduate program, students will need, first and foremost, to nail the audition. A great audition should make up for a lot, but I assume they also need to show that that have covered most of the curriculum that VP majors in a conservatory would have taken, such as diction, theory, music history, aural skills, acting, French, German, Italian, keyboard skills, etc. Many liberal arts colleges offer voice lessons with strong voice teachers, languages and at least basic music theory, but not necessarily all of the other expected prerequisites. Perhaps one could supplement at a local college over the summer, but getting all of these undergrad VP classes in, might be a challenge at a LAC.

A possible advantage of being in a liberal arts school, is the “big fish in a small pond” situation. A strong vocalist should get a lot of attention and performance opportunities in a school that does not offer performance degrees. However, they will not be pushed as much as they would be in a conservatory where there is strong competition for every role. They also would not be surrounded by other singers and musicians who love music and can imagine doing nothing else as a career.

This question is relevant to my daughter who is somewhere on the dual degree dilemma spectrum, but I’m hoping it is also of general interest. I asked specifically about classical vocalists, but feel free to make the thread broader if you like.

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Music majors at liberal arts college, at least the ones I have experience with, get more than “basic music theory.” The BA curriculums (that I know of) tend to be strong in theory and history, and, often aural skills are part of the curriculum as well, sometimes rigorously. Keyboard skills as well, to the extent demanded by the theory curriculum. Clearly language would be available, but perhaps not geared to VP needs. A good teacher, whether provided by the school or in the community, is obviously a must: some schools will pay for lessons and give credit for both lessons and performance.

I really think it takes close scrutiny of each school’s curriculum, course offerings, access to lessons and performance, and so on. Also look at how many gen eds there are: a school with fewer or no gen eds will give more flexibility.

There are many on this board who know a lot about VP and I am not one of them :slight_smile: But I have had some experience with BA music programs. Others will come along with better answers!

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It seems you would find good course availability in music topics such as history, theory and aural skills at conventional liberal arts colleges. I’d like to know what you encounter in the catalogs of, as examples, Skidmore, Smith, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Kenyon.

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@compmom - Thanks this is helpful feedback. I’ll seek my daughter’s views on the curriculum and not make my own assumptions. I don’t have a music background and can’t easily interpret the names of some of these classes. For instance, I have no idea what aural skills are, but I know they are required and I don’t see a class with that name at a couple LACs. Perhaps they call it something else. I was just comparing the required courses for voice students at a few conservatories with the course offerings at a couple liberal arts colleges that my daughter applied to. I’ll need to spend more time on this comparison (or better yet encourage my daughter to do so).

@merc81 - In our case, the applications are all in. She’s just waiting for responses and will then have decisions to make. She did look at most of the colleges you mentioned (as well as many others). Of your list, my D was most impressed with Skidmore for voice. I suspect she was looking at LACs primarily as a fallback in case she is not admitted into a BM program, but she has lots of other academic interests and I wonder if an LAC might actually be a better fit for her even if she is accepted at a conservatory. However, she would not choose an LAC over a conservatory if she felt it would close the door on a performance career and the chance to be accepted at strong MM programs in voice performance four years from now.

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@HRoFan - anything is possible. Once I say that something would be difficult, someone will respond with a story that it was easy for them!! So, yes anything is possible. A BA to a MM in VP is certainly do-able. But here is some food for thought.

I’m not sure that the concern for the MM should be on the academic side bc as always the audition is king. I would not be so concerned about what is missed on the academic side (with the exception of language/diction study). I’m sure that she would be able to get a good basis in theory in a BA and hopefully languages. And she can do some remedial work in grad school if necessary.

I would be more concerned about being up to snuff on the performance side. So I would highly suggest going to summer programs to stand next to kids at BM programs to be sure that you are advancing as necessary (note that good programs do require an audition). My D did get placed in opera chorus Freshman year, mainly I think because she is so naturally loud…and mezzos are usually in demand. She always stuck out in high school choir even as an alto/mezzo. The first time she sang with a lot of grad students, she was stunned. She could not hear herself since everyone’s voice was so large. She was very disconcerted…and told me she had no idea what she sounded like. Also the school’s auditorium pulled your voice out to the audience so even in auditions (done each semester) it was really difficult to hear yourself. In other words, you better know your notes and have good muscle memory. This would even trip up some new grad students on occasion. Freshmen were told to wait on auditions due in part to this. My D did audition second semester Freshman year as she was getting used to the stage and growing her voice…she had no choice as her peers were showing her what could be done.

More than a concern about academics, I have heard (from my D) that schools do look at where/what you have “performed”, meaning school, roles and summer programs to get an idea of your performance ability. My D did note that from selective BM programs, most students worked at a similar pace (fast) to a similar quality. She did do a summer program in Europe that had more a mix of students and did notice that the pace was slower and the expectations lower. The end product was fine…but the process was definitely different from her school…and not bad when you are in Tuscany! But at other selective summer programs, she found the pace and quality high.

For grad school, they are looking for “performers” at the selective schools. My D got a good deal at her school (less selective explained below) bc they needed a performance-ready mezzo for the upcoming year. So I would be more concerned with the performance side of the equation.

And…one other thought…it is really difficult Senior year of high school to know how a vocalist will grow. No matter how hard you work as a vocalist…you don’t have full control over the development of your voice. Soprano grow faster. Mezzos take longer. If your D is locked and loaded on opera, it may be best to follow the beaten path…meaning a BM at a selective school.

However if your D is undecided about opera, there is a lot you can do vocally that is not opera. In that case, you don’t need to necessarily worry about the selective programs. My D got off the beaten path for grad school, choosing a less selective grad school (which covered tuition) despite getting into some selective programs (that at best covered 50% - still good but no guaranteed to perform…my D wanted roles and was promised them at the other school…she did not want to take the chance to pay big bucks and get one supporting role…right or wrong it was her choice). She felt that she could be happy doing other work besides opera and wasn’t sure she wanted to put the work into her voice for years for the slim chance of making it…her opinion after watching some “giants” in opera get most of the opportunities. She questioned if she would really get there…and was OK with maybe not. Now she continues to do some regional opera but also does a lot of other interesting works vocal work as well as theatre, MT, commercials. So it’s not always an “all of nothing” proposition to perform vocally. But to “make it big” in opera…you do need to “hit” certain basic performing opportunities at certain schools/festivals in UG or be very, very “special” vocally. At least that’s my opinion.

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My family was knee-deep (neck-deep?) in this topic a year ago, also classical voice so we reached out to people we knew and people who knew people we knew, to ask them their thoughts and experiences. These included a current MM candidate at a highly-regarded voice program who came from a BA at a liberal arts college, a singer who attended the BA program D18 was considering who made the Met Council Finals last year after having gone on to a different well regarded MM program after undergrad, and another classical pro who’d gone the conservatory route undergrad. Thankfully they were all quite generous and helpful to us.

I think these decisions ultimately come down to the micro-specifics of the programs you’re deciding amongst, but I can paint you some broad strokes-

  1. There was agreement among the BA undergrads that you can keep up your training during undergrad in a BA program enough to go on to a performance MM. Also agreement that it's harder and less convenient than having it all right there for you and organized as it is in a BM program. One singer commuted a fair distance every week for voice lessons by the time it became clear they were going to go for a performance masters (junior year on, I believe).
  2. Mild disagreement over whether once you get to the Masters program you feel "behind" your peers who came out of BM programs in grad school. One BA singer did feel behind upon arrival at the masters program, one downplayed that aspect.
  3. Maybe unsurprisingly, the conservatory undergrad pro said that's the only way to go if you're sure a performance MM is the direction you're headed. That said, many 18 year old singers aren't completely sure.
  4. Ensemble levels will be much higher at a BM program, and just more general high level projects going on. So I'd recommend you try to investigate as fully as possible what those theorized extra performance opportunities in the small pond actually would be before weighing them in your decision.
  5. Other relevant factors are depth and breadth of faculty (generally deeper at music schools- programs at BA schools can have wonderful teachers, but tend towards the boutique scale), and availability of music scholarships (available at music schools, not so much at LACs).

You can probably guess from the tenor of my reporting which way D18 went. I will say that the audition process itself - visiting all the schools and going to all those info sessions and tours on audition weekends - was hugely clarifying, as was going to admitted students day at the BA school. She just felt that while the students were wonderful people and friendly, they didn’t quite “get” her in the way the music kids did. She’s now quite happy in her BM program, and as a bonus she hasn’t had to give up her liberal arts interests either.

Good luck, and my best advice is to make sure your kid is paying attention to their own feelings and reactions (within the confines of reality, financial and otherwise, of course) during the process and not trying to please others. They’ll know what to do in the end.

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Glad bridgenail and NYCMusicDad responded since they know a lot. Just wanted to say that “aural skills” can be hidden in a theory or musicianship class, and also you see “dictation,” and"solfege." Maybe “sightreading.”

Also, just as orchestral work does not have to be the end goal for instrumentalists (or composers), there are many other opportunities for vocalists outside of opera, and not just MT or theater. Chamber music and areas of new music present interesting niches for singers (including a lot of solo work) and there are MM and DMA programs for contemporary classical performers out there.

If your daughter has academic interests, it can be rewarding to do a BM on a campus versus freestanding in some cases, though a lot of freestanding conservatories do offer classes at nearby universities or are part of consortiums. Perhaps on the other side of things, that would be something to look at:)

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My D just started rehearsals for a new works performance by a group of composers. She’s very excited for it.

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@bridgenail - We are done with the application / audition process, so now we wait and then she will have decisions to make. I suspect it will be hard for her to say no if she is accepted at one of the BM programs she applied to. If she goes to a BA program, your idea of attending summer programs with BM students is an excellent one. She can judge her own progress and gain some experience. I have heard from several excellent singers that they were initially overwhelmed when they arrived at BM programs, because everyone else is so good. They are used to being the top singer in their world and need to adjust their expectations and work hard to keep up. No doubt this is hard, but also a good thing if you want a career in singing. Thanks for your thoughts. I’ll let you know how it pans out.

@NYCMusicDad - These is very helpful. Thanks so much. What a great idea to ask different people who they got to where they are now. Their feedback and your summary of it is excellent. Your last point is probably the most critical. I sense that our daughter has a lot more thoughts about this than she has shared with us. She has two months to make a decision. I’ll encourage her to think through what is most important to her and also to communicate her feelings with us.

@compmom - She is reaching out to voice teachers at a couple of her top LAC choices. These voice teachers have a BM, MM and DMA, so they should be able to help her navigate their school’s curriculum and hopefully provide an honest assessment our our D’s chances of getting into an MM program after getting a BA at their school. Because of her academic interests, she only applied to dual degree and BA programs. There were no standalone conservatories on her list.

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PM’ed you