<p>I've heard it from several Columbia students. For one thing, their repertoire hasn't been particularly adventurous, for another, they rehearse only once a week. They also don't have a particularly exciting performance venue. Of course, year to year, it is going to be different; the conductor, Jeffrey Milarsky, is quite good.</p>
<p>I normally agree wholeheartedly with mamenyu, but I think her assessment of Stanford v Berkeley is not correct, at least this year. I think Stanford's top orchestra sounds very good. Again, it probably varies from year to year. Also, in addition to playing in college orchestras there are opportunities to play in community orchestras and in San Francisco Youth (at least in the Bay Area). My son attends Stanford and plays in San Francisco Youth (and he's one of three students who do that). SFYO is just plain amazing. Their principal horn player (a Stanford student) just played a Wagner solo that was on a professional level as far as I'm concerned. DS has a friend who attends Williams and plays in the Berkshire Symphony, for example, and says that there are professional musicians from the area who also play in that group. So there are opportunities outside of school as well as win school.</p>
<p>i'm curious if this is true or not. I have multiples..both seniors in college. DD was valedictorian in hs..goes to a nice private school..DS..same age, goes to a private conservatroy........Alot of our friends assume DD is the brighter of the 2 kids........personally, I think its the opposite. DS, speaks/understands 5 languages..blah blah...DD is brilliant in her field, but it is so much easier for her to find a place out in the hard cruel world.....she's being recruited left and right....at the same time, her brother is auditioning at all of his first choices for grad school. Yet, everyone I know thinks DD is the brilliant student.........I think they are totally eqaul..(in their own thing)..does that make any sense? lol....Maybe having multiples makes it more intense...I dunno!!
My personal opinion as mom....DS had a way harder road to Hoe(hoe?) then DD!! lol.</p>
<p>I am happy to defer to symphonymom on the quality of the Stanford orchestra -- I haven't heard it in awhile - since Ann Krinitsky was the conductor (she was great as the conductor of the Berkeley Youth Orchestra); Stanford also has the advantage of having a resident chamber group; I just heard the violinist perform in Kafka Fragments, and he was terrific. I agree that SFSYO is a wonderful orchestra - I helped chaperone one of the tours a few years ago when one of my kids was in it - unbelievably wonderful experience. The Cal orchestra has its ups and downs too -- I heard it recently and thought it had gone down a notch, but the conductor is excellent (used to be conductor of SFSYO) and adventurous in his choice of repertoire, and they rehearse twice a week...Cal also has noon concerts, which give opportunities for performance. But they don't tour, which is too bad.</p>
<p>Mamenyu, we should hit the concert trail together and hear some of these groups! :)
Papengena....DS definitely has it harder, no question. How they are perceived at large just reveals the general public's ignorance....I would not at all take it seriously. You know them better than anyone. Musicians tend to be very bright....and completely undervalued by society. I'm hoping that changes. But in the meantime, your kids seem both successful in their own rights, which is, to me, the pinnacle of success when it comes to raising multiples!</p>
<p>when I was visiting Amherst I spoke with the orchestra director & heard their group play & I have to say I was really impressed, and I think it was almost all Amherst students or some from the university in town…I think other than an Oberlin (which is a major music school but also liberal arts) or Bard (which has a conservatory) Amherst is the best all-student group so a non music major or someone not wanting to go into music could get in and play great stuff like Shosti, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Tchakovsy, etc </p>
<p>Hereis the link the guy gav eme for recordings to listen to</p>
<p>[Amherst</a> Symphony Orch - Tracks - SoundCloud](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/amherst-symphony-orch]Amherst”>Stream Amherst Symphony Orch music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud)</p>
<p>hope that helps</p>
<p>ikemarrus, I agree with mamenyu in that I have noticed that wherever you have strong math/science/engineering programs you will likely find strong student orchestras. We just visited University of Michigan and they have amazing engineering and music programs.
I was also impressed with Northwestern. You have easily dozens of options.</p>
<p>Williams College has the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra, which combines whatever (good) players are at Williams at the moment with hired professional players. They are excellent and their repertoire is fascinating: [Berkshire</a> Symphony Orchestra | Williams College Music](<a href=“http://music.williams.edu/node/340]Berkshire”>http://music.williams.edu/node/340)</p>
<p>Cornell’s orchestra is also outstanding. You can hear them performing big pieces like Shostakovich 10 and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances here: [Cornell</a> Orchestras - InstantEncore](<a href=“http://www.instantencore.com/contributor/contributor.aspx?CId=5131090]Cornell”>Cornell Orchestras - InstantEncore)</p>
<p>I know the Amherst conductor, and he’s able to pull off very ambitious programs without hiring any outside ringers. It’s quite an achievement. </p>
<p>Given his other academic interests, these schools should be in the mix, but only if he’s an outstanding student. I also conduct the college orchestra at Bard College, and what violadad says applies to most LACs: enrollment varies from year to year, and that affects artistic consistency.</p>
<p>Besides the programs in schools, as others have written about, there are some really great youth orchestras out there that have students through the end of college (22 or 23). If someone goes to school in the NYC area, there is the New York Youth Symphony, who play on a level that is incredible, and there are programs in other places on an equal level that are as good or in some cases better then some conservatory orchestras and even some pro orchestras. So if someone goes to a school where the orchestra program doesn’t look so hot, there can be other alternatives.</p>
<p>As a former member of New York Youth Symphony (and a current member of their Chamber Music Program!), I have to agree with musicprnt. There are a lot of students at the local universities (NYU, Columbia, Stony Brook, etc.), that are in NYYS. They may be in their own school’s orchestra program as well, but it is hard to beat the experience of playing at Carnegie Hall and performing with other high-level players (and it’s free!). There have also been players from Juilliard, Mannes, MSM, and Purchase as well (there are many that are in the pre-colleges too), so the level of the orchestra is quite high. </p>
<p>I’m sure this is also true of youth orchestras around the country, so don’t count them out as an alternative!</p>
<p>Btw - my son is playing in N8Ma’s orchestra this semester (the college orchestra - not the conservatory) and I want to thank him for the adventurous programming! Lots of fascinating 20th and 21st century works - including many by female composers. It’s great to have a youth based orchestra not just playing the warhorses. Pete Seeger was at the last concert to hear a piece by his stepmother, Ruth Crawford Seeger.</p>
<p>LA > San Francisco Bay Area</p>
<p>Thanks SpiritManager! That concert was a real jawbreaker but in the end, a lot of fun to pull off! (I sure wish I had the budget Williams has for ringers…)</p>
<p>Just heard son play in the Vassar College orchestra last night. Amazing- just as we heard them before. The strings are excellent and they rotate the winds and brass so everyone gets to play principal (all of them are strong players). There were 5 french horns and the wind and brass sections were 3 deep just as the music required (Turina’s Danzas Fantasticas). The Vassar College orchestra is audition based and consists totally of Vassar students. The orchestra was one of the biggest draws for us to Vassar. Vassar is another great option for those who want a liberal arts college experience with strong music.</p>
<p>I heard Temple/Boyer orchestra a few years ago. We all commented that they looked bored and lacked fire, although the quality was good. </p>
<p>Just heard the Princeton University Symphony play Mahler 6 to a very appreciative audience. Very big, ambitious…and successful. I think it was very close in quality (but not quite) to a performance of Mahler 7 that I heard last year at MAW (Music Academy). Many of the musicians study in NY or Philadelphia at the conservatories while attending Princeton. It shows.</p>
<p>I just had to revive this thread. Visited Hamilton College recently with S2 and heard the orchestra and jazz band. Both are excellent. Many strong woodwinds in the orchestra. They have a full orchestra and jazz band. It was great. So you can add Hamilton College to the list of LACs with good, solid orchestras.</p>