Spring Break was a lot of fun and we came away with her loving 2 of the schools.
Loyola in New Orleans is starting a great Popular and Commercial Music program with emphasis on Music Business, Entrepreneurship and how to make a living as a performer. Admissions was great and set up faculty discussions and we got to sit in on a couple classes and ensembles as well as lunch with a current non-music student. She liked New Orleans as a city and the urban campus just off the street car line. The students were excited about the program including many upperclassmen who had transferred from other institutions. While the dorms were âjust okâ she loved just about everything else about the school and it will be a definite apply.
University of Memphis was outstanding, and as Dad it jumped to the front of the line so far. We sat in on an International Music Business class that was just phenomenal where the students gave feedback on a local music festival they had just organized, managed and performed in during the past weekend. We met the professor afterwards and he had great insight into todayâs music business as he current owns and manages a bi-coastal production and artist management company in NY and the Bay Area. He discussed the importance of original content, image, marketing, social media and branding. My daughter also sang for the director of Jazz vocals and was invited to audition for an exclusive ensemble that offers full scholarships to accepted members when she applies for next year. She liked campus and the dorms, but one drawback was what we saw of Memphis, she thought it seemed like a pretty small town but we did tour and have dinner on Beale Street. One of the students invited her to a recording session that evening which was a nice experience for her and other students were very welcoming and wanted to know more about her and her music.
I was hoping sheâd like Middle Tennessee State but there seemed to be lots of confusion on how the Music Industry, Vocal Performance and Recording Music and Music Business programs interact. We met with Dr. Dent who was great but it seemed to be lots of back and forth between programs and not a clear perspective on how she can do Popular Vocal Performance and Music Business navigating the different schools. While the campus was pretty, it was very suburban with some outdated facilities in the Music Department in sharp contrast to the Recorded Music program on the Technology side. While she hasnât completely ruled it out, its not high on her list. She did like Nashville though and we enjoyed Music Row and the urban feel to the city.
We also visited Tulane, University of New Orleans and Tennessee State but walked away not very interested.
We got good news from Colorado Denver in the form of a modest talent-based scholarship for their Summer Camp and sheâs excited to attend and see how the University is.
Looking to schedule an official visit to Berklee next month as well as The New School, New Jersey City University and Five Towns College over the next several weeks. Hoping to make it to Columbia College Chicago and McNally Smith this summer.
Great summary ⊠Glad you and your D are getting to tour so many different types of schools. Keep us posted, as many future students benefit from your experiences.
Summer is off to a roaring start with 2 more schools added to the apply list. D had a great time at Colorado Denver Music Industry Camp. She was the only vocalist in the Latin/Jazz Ensemble and did a great job at the end of camp concert. She enjoyed the faculty and urban setting of the campus as well as the modern dorms. The food and train passing by the dorms wasnât the greatest but she did like the facilities, recital hall, and recording studio. She made lots of friends and got to see the Red Rocks amphitheater and go hiking outside Boulder. The admissions portion of camp was pretty lacking on specifics but we researched beforehand to learn about Music Business and Vocal Performance majors at UCD.
After Denver we flew out to Los Angeles for a few days and got to visit Cal Arts and Cal State Northridge. She loved Cal Arts, especially the artsy feel and inter-connectivity of all the programs. While the school is super small (about 1400 students), she liked the atmosphere and openness of the Vocal Program. Its infused with Music Business and has lots of performance opportunities on campus, in downtown LA at a Cal Arts owned theater and during a yearly recording project with Capital Records.
Northridge turned out to be different than advertised. While the Music Industry studies info online and video of the program alluded to having a contemporary focus, vocal students study classical all 4 years with no instruction in popular and commercial music and very few ensembles.
Before the trip we visited Five Towns College close to home in Long Island and felt it was very much like high school. The professors didnât seem very knowledgeable and were trying a little too hard to sell the school. After the music business professor showed examples from the 1980s on acetate overheads, we left.
Scheduling her official Berklee visit for later this month and planning to head to the midwest to visit Columbia College Chicago and McNally Smith before the summer ends. Weâll be rounding out the visits by attending New Jersey City Universityâs Fall Open House.
Hereâs her definite apply list so far (with no clear front runner)
Berklee
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
Loyola New Orleans
Memphis
University of Colorado Denver
California Institute of the Arts
Cal Arts is rarely mentioned here, but they are well connected to whats happening in LA in so many interesting ways.
Been following this thread and wondering if your D has a final list yet or has started applying yet @PopPrincessPop ? My Dâs list changes by the day and we didnât get to visit as many places as we would have liked. Time is running out and panic is setting in! Seems her list keeps getting smaller and Iâm not sure if thatâs good or bad!
Thanks for checking in @dbandmom , my D is getting close to finalizing her list. Like your D, thereâs been some pruning but also a couple of additions. We werenât able to make it out to the midwest over the summer and havenât included those schools on her list. Weâre in the home stretch for visits and will be finishing up with the last 2 by next weekend.
Unfortunately we had to take Cal Arts off the list, they require a portfolio of original material for commercial voice and my D is still a fledgling songwriter. We took a second look at Univ of Hartford and she still wasnât wowed and visited SUNY Purchase on Monday and had the same reaction.
Hereâs the list so far as close to priority order as we have todayâŠwhich could change tomorrow.
University of the Arts - Philadelphia
Berklee
Loyola - New Orleans
New School Jazz - NYC
Memphis
University of Miami (will visit if she passes the pre-screen)
Colorado - Denver
UMass - Lowell
College of Saint Rose
Yet to visit
William Paterson - New Jersey
New Jersey City University
Sheâs officially applied to U Arts and has a confirmed audition 11/14. Sheâs also already applied to Saint Rose and are filming her Miami pre-screen this week. Looking to get apps out to Berklee, Memphis, and Loyola by the end of the month and schedule auditions. So, the craziness has begun but sheâs pretty calm about it and on top of all the logisticsâŠwith a little help from Dad 
Good luck to all the Jazz, pop and R&B vocalist out there. @PopPrincessPop I would be curious what you and your D think of the New School for Jazz. My D visited there but didnât feel particularly appreciated as a jazz vocalist as they seemed more enamored with instrumentalists (in 2008). She let that one fall off the list after that visit even though it was in NYC.
The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music initially excited us (excellent tour and director welcome), but fell down to the bottom of my sonâs list (he was accepted for jazz guitar). For the right kind of student who needs to be in NYC now, it could be a good fit. But the jazz facility and, by extension, the program seemed overcrowded and disjointed to me. The classical program is moving into the building which could ultimately be a good thing. As for U Miami - during my sonâs audition, I heard some amazing jazz vocalists. They were both current and prospective students, male and female. It was exciting to have the vocalists incorporated into the jazz jams!
My D really liked New School a lot @SnowflakeVT and @drummergirl99 - we attended an info session in late August and had a great student tour guide and faculty discussion. What we both liked about it is that Jazz defined at New School extends to lots of other genres with ensembles in Drum & Bass, Electronic, R&B, Pop, Funk, Afro-Brazilian and many more. Our student guide (jazz drummer) said that vocalists are actively sought out and welcome in these ensembles and that bands / groups spontaneously form on campus that find gigs throughout the city. He mentioned an Electro / Neo-Soul group with a similar vibe to what my D is interested in that has a regular gig in Brooklyn.
Their facilities werenât the most modern weâve seen, but certainly not the worst. Also my daughter likes it because one of her performing arts school classmates whoâs a jazz guitarist just started there as a freshman this year and loves it so far.
Good luck to all applying and auditioning this fall. For what itâs worth, my son just started at Berklee. He loves it! We were super impressed with move in and Parent Weekend just 2 weeks ago. We felt so at ease leaving him there. Roger Brown and his staff are fantastic and their fairly new Dean of Students, Betsy Newman is extraordinarily in tune with the students and has really made great strides in many changes at the school. Leadership presentations we attended were excellent! Good luck!!! If anyone needs additional info on Berklee, please feel free to private message me.
Just read a good tidbit that relates back to the New School:
The Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition just announced their semi-finalists and Jazzmeia Horn of the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music is one of the semi-finalists. She is originally from Dallas, Texas.
I think I wasnât very clear about my impression of The New School because it had more to do with a lack of gathering and rehearsal space than the condition of the building (I know, âthe city is your campusâ etc etc). Also, you canât help but be influenced by the way a school conducts auditions and this one was completely impersonal
Drum roll please, College Tours concluded in New Jersey without any additions and D has decided on a final list of 9 schoolsâŠ
University of the Arts
Berklee
Loyola - New Orleans
New School Jazz
Memphis
University of Miami
Colorado - Denver
UMass - Lowell
College of Saint Rose
Next stage - AuditionsâŠ
Sheâs looking forward to her U Arts audition in a couple of weeks and weâre scheduling a February trip south to audition for Loyola and Memphis. Waiting for confirmation from Berklee and status on her Miami pre-screen. Looking to schedule Saint Rose in December and UMass Lowell in March. New School has a pre-screen due 1/15 and Colorado Denver requires a video, not a live audition.
Meanwhile in High School, she has her Senior Recital this week and will get a dry run on her audition repertoire.
Thanks to everyone on CC for your advice, comments and suggestions on getting to this point! Sheâs applied for the November 1st early action deadlines to 7 so far with the New School and Colorado Denver remaining that have deadlines in early 2016.
Good luck ⊠The hard part is over now she just needs to put all that hard work into action. Enjoy the time together on these audition trips. The cards will fall where they will now.
Wow! Thatâs great. You both seem much more organized than we are! My D is applying to several of the schools on your list, but we didnât get a chance to visit most of them. We figured weâd spend a little extra time there when sheâs auditioning. Good luck!
Although my son did not end up going there, we were pretty impressed with the Music Business program at St. Rose. He has since met a kid who is in the program who had good things to say about it.
First audition at UArts in Philly is under my Dâs belt. She felt it went pretty well, the music students were given an overview of the program and performances by a few ensembles. She took a theory placement exam most of which she felt she did well on but felt some of it was challenging. That was followed by sight singing and her 3 audition pieces. She was told upfront sheâd be able to sing the first selection all the way through and then able to perform snippets of the final 2. She commented that the accompanist played her 2nd selection faster than how she normally practices it which took her off guard but she adjusted quickly. The reviewers were courteous but not overly chatty. She was asked about her experience and goals.
While all this was going on, I went on a Parentâs tour and sat in on a Student Q&A panel. All the students seem to love the school and are enthusiastic about it. Many like the cross disciplinary aspect of the university where students are encouraged and in some cases required to take courses in the other arts.
She wasnât given a timetable on a decision and of course is anxious for feedback.
Next up are auditions for Berklee next month, St, Rose in January and Loyola and Memphis in early February.
Got good news this morning, D was accepted academically to Memphis! Still need to go through the audition process but nice to have part one of an acceptance under her belt!
Congrats! I remember my Dâs first academic acceptance. It was funny how good it felt. No matter what happened in the audition process she had a college to go to the next year. What a nice gift at the holiday time. Enjoy it with your family.