<p>My daughter is a graduating senior and a talented soprano who wishes to pursue a career in vocal performance. She's had numerous confirmations of her talent, winning awards,etc and was accepted to the only 3 audition based progams she applied to . She's also an excelent student.
Her choices now boil down to an Ivy-League Institution near our home where she can continue to study with her excellent voice teacher , or to attend a dual degree program at
Northwestern(Bienen and Weinberg Arts and Science).She's not had a lesson there.
My question to the group is which is better in the pursuit of a major career in voice. Any imput would be appreciated.</p>
<p>What does your D prefer? Each of those options could be excellent for her. My D’s voice teacher would tell you that as far as career is concerned, the quality of your D’s audition will be the deciding factor in getting professional work–“they only care about how well you sing.” She says, get a good voice teacher and get a good education. As an undergrad, your D could do very well choosing IVY league and staying with her current teacher. That way, she gets a great education, has excellent voice training, and can later specialize in graduate school by attending a conservatory–stand alone or associated with a university. A 22 year old soprano is not ready for a professional career anyway–further training will be needed after her undergraduate degree. Good luck, and congratulations to you and your daughter.</p>
<p>I have no qualifications to even pretend to be vocal performance knowledgeable, but some general thoughts from the father of an instrumentalist:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>perhaps it’s time to “move on” to a different teacher? A change in perspective, an alternate viewpoint may be in order.</p></li>
<li><p>you mention an Ivy “near home”. I’m assuming she’d live on campus as opposed to living at home/commuting. Just had to ask this question.</p></li>
<li><p>Quality of peer groups, ensemble participation at the Ivy? Without knowing the specific institution, the quality can range from exceptional to potentially lacking in depth. Instruction, as you know tends to be have to be privately arranged.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>FYI, the poster Linnlew has a daughter in vocal performance at Northwestern. She hasn’t posted recently, but you may consider pm’ing her for her thoughts.</p>
<p>Good luck with whatever you decide.</p>
<p>I am not a big proponent of switching voice teachers if things are going well. If the teacher is a mature teacher/artist who knows style, languages, performance practices, etc., and if your daughter has made steady vocal progress in terms of control, tone, range, flexibility, projection, musical style, and she can get good performance opportunities continuing with this teacher (as opposed to studying with a teacher on campus), it is not necessary that she change just to change. The best singers know their own voices, what they are doing with them, and how to coax them into best form every day. Changing teachers disrupts self-knowledge, and it is not always for the best. Be careful. </p>
<p>Has your daughter had a talk with her current teacher about whether the teacher thinks she needs to move on? A good teacher will assess what they can offer and what they cannot and how the student can get the missing elements. Vocal coaches can enrich what the technical teacher does, and if there is communication amongst all involved, this works really well. One person needs to help funnel all of this together and be in charge. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Congratulations! Your daughter is in a very envious position, and you must be very proud! As a vocalist, her principal teacher would be of very paramount importance in this case, and the decision should be a very personal one. The advice so far given have all been very good, but of course there’s no simple yes or no, one or the other, answer.</p>
<p>Not all Ivies are created equal when it comes to musical community and instruction. Which school are you considering? Yale and Harvard, for example, are particularly active musical schools at the UG level.</p>
<p>And Northwestern comes pretty darn close to the Ivy league in terms of teaching and selectiveness, as many posters here have personally found out! Also, the Bienen school is one of the top music programs, and she’ll no doubt be surrounded by a more active musical community and a higher ability of peers and more performance opportunities. </p>
<p>Do consult her teacher on this. Most teachers should be pretty frank and candid when it comes to this subject - and are far more concerned about what’s better for the students than they are about “keeping” their students. Have your daughter seriously consider what her life would be like either living close to home, or living in Chicago. Does she REALLY want to double major in music and another subject, or does she just want to lead a normal Ivy academic life, while just taking lessons back home?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the comments thus far. You’ve all pretty much covered all the dilemma’s.
My daughter loves her present teacher and has made great progress. The Ivy is Brown and there really isnt any other choice for teachers there besides the one She has. She plan’s on visiting NW and perhaps taking a lesson.
I am course am biased because I’d like her close to home, but I do want her to be happy. Thanks again.</p>
<p>Congratulations on Brown. :)</p>
<p>It doesn’t have much of a reputation for overall music performance. However, the Graduate electronic music program is one of the world’s best and most innovative, plus I hear Providence has quite a happening singer-songwriter scene.</p>
<p>Over the years I have had two students from Brown, both of whom got good undergraduate educations, and both are good musicians, inquiring minds, well rounded, etc. Neither of them have been disadvantaged vocally for the Brown experience. One went on to graduate degree in voice, did quite well. The other is more recent, and she is quite a well rounded musician, plays all kinds of instruments, writes music, etc…good voice, not a terribly mature technique, but nothing really wrong with what she is doing…she can be as good of a singer as she wants to be from this point.</p>
<p>I would pick Brown and remaining with her current teacher providing you have a good idea(by the talent/success of the other students in her studio) that the teacher can meet your daughter’s needs for the next 4 years, meaning she will not outgrow her in that time. My daughter chose to remain at home and stay with her current voice teachers and it has turned out to be an extremely wise decision for her. Her teacher is on the roster at the Met for the Lindeman program plus we are close to Manhattan where there are other excellent teachers to choose from so she had the backup. That’s the only reservation concerning this path - your statement that “there really isn’t any other choice for teachers there besides the one she has.” Congrats to your daughter - she’s in a very nice position, although nerve wracking as well.</p>
<p>Remember - it’s only a 1 year commitment - not a 4 year one if she feels her choice was not the right path.</p>
<p>I am in awe of the sage advice given in this forum. Good to know that the Brown graduates are doing ok. Our decision is also complicated by the fact that my D is only just turned 17. I am a musician myself and believe she has the goods to do well. It will be her decision , however.</p>
<p>It’s really a very individual decision. My D is also 17 and a brilliant student, yet she knows that a conservatory is the proper path for her. Because of her APs and dual-credit courses, she will be able to take more languages and perhaps some additional history courses at Case-Western while she takes her degree at CIM. It was also time to move in to another voice teacher, although that will be very hard as she and her teacher of these past four years are very close. She’ll still sing with her when she’s home for vacations, but she needs another “take” on things now and was lucky enough to find a great teacher whom she “clicked” with right off at CIM.
Good luck to your D and let us know what path she chooses.</p>
<p>My D is in a similar situation and wants to stay with her current voice teacher also. However in her case The IVY is Columbia University. Anyone know anything about music there?</p>
<p>I know Columbia has a well regarded PhD program, but I don’t think it’s particularly well known for voice at the UG level.</p>
<p>idk, my son got a very fast response from the jazz dept. head at Columbia responding to a list of specific questions. I would definitely try contacting the vocal dept. first.</p>