double in composition/piano performance

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Could anyone recommend some of the best places to study for an undergrad who wants to major in composition and piano performance. He would also like to continue taking violin lessons on the side, maybe be a part of some chamber group. He is very advanced on both his instruments, studying with some top teachers, and is progressing well in composition, sort of on his own. This past summer he participated in a very intense composition program with California Summer Music Festival, which solidified his desire to make composition a major component of college study.</p>

<p>I think he would prefer doing music at a university, as he loves to read and write, and would enjoy taking other classes besides music. </p>

<p>We have heard mentioned USC and more recently Univ. of Michigan, and possibly Yale. </p>

<p>Thanks for any help/suggestions/experiences.</p>

2

<p>Welcome to CC, heleta.</p>

<p>That's a tall order for four years. Are both you and he willing to consider an additional semester or two to fit all of that in? There are a lot of schools that have composition, piano and violin programs, plus chamber ensembles and entire other fields of study. The problem is going to be that there are limits on the number of classes per semester that he can take, as well as on the hours in the day available for classes, rehearsals, practice on two very different instruments and homework, let alone things like eating, sleeping and so forth.</p>

<p>I would suggest you start by trying to find schools that have both a piano teacher and a composition teacher that your son can work with. For music students, it is really more about the relationship with the teacher than it is about the name on the school. It is a good idea to take sample lessons with teachers at several different schools to get an idea of which appear to be a good fit and which do not.</p>

<p>Of the schools you mention, Yale does not have an undergraduate BM program, but they do have a BA program and some excellent ensembles. That may work well with his desire to take non-musical classes, but I do not know if it would give him enough time on music to cover composition, piano and violin. Yale School of Music is a graduate school and it is rare that undergrads get to study with the applied teachers there.</p>

<p>Michigan and USC are well-regarded both for their music programs and their academics as a whole. If he wants a large institution, both would be excellent possibilities to investigate. Some other large schools with very good music departments include Arizona, Arizona State, Boston University, DePaul, Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), Indiana University, Michigan State, Northwestern, Texas (Austin) and Wisconsin. (That's off the top of my head and there are certainly some great ones I have left out.)</p>

<p>There are also some smaller schools that might satisfy both his musical and other intellectual interests, including places like Bard, DePauw, Lawrence, Oberlin, Rice and St. Olaf.</p>

<p>If you are unfamiliar with the whole process of checking out teachers and schools, might I (immodestly) point you to my series of postings at <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-family-s-experience.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-family-s-experience.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Good luck, and I hope others will chime in with some more suggestions for you.</p>

3

<p>If you are from California, look at UCLA and UCSB -- which both offer piano performance degrees and also have composers on the faculty.
Harvard would probably be a better option than Yale, as far as the uberselective schools go.</p>

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<p>Some schools may welcome auditions for more than one area but will only give admission to one instrument or area of study (it won't tell you explicitly). Most of the time, the school will make the decision which program they'd accept you. Form our own experience, the Univ. of Michigan school of music is a great school for students with multiple music talents. D is currently a double performance major. She will be able to finish in 4 years due to 32 AP credits and exemption/advanced placement of several music major courses.</p>

<p>PM me if you have any questions. I will be leaving for Ann Arbor tomorrow and won't be back until 8/31.</p>

5

<p>While I don't often disagree with mamenyu, I'd say that Yale's music experience is the best among the Ivy schools for undergrad. Realize also that Yale School of Music is a grad level program, although there is a 5 year BA/MM combo. Acceptance details and parameters are on Yale's site.</p>

<p>Again, just my $.02 based on our experiences and observations.</p>

6

<p>Double performance majors are definitely frowned upon, but seemingly not impossible to do, and not even at conservatories or schools of music that state that students will be unable to pursue both; we heard that this was the "written" rule, but at one school that happened to know my son's level on both, for example, they said that they could only accept him on one, but that he would be actually able to pursue both, starting the second year...(the "shhhhh unwritten" rule! ;)). A couple were more open and welcoming to both, right from the get go.</p>

<p>The point is that very little is impossible, even that which some people say is so. Much depends on the drive and ambition of the individual.</p>

<p>Much good luck to your son!</p>

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<p>I'm just relaying what I've heard from students at Yale and Harvard -- but certainly there are strong performers at both who can make their own opportunities (neither school has an undergraduate performance program); as a practical matter, it may be easier to find a top level private teacher at Harvard, through NEC and other local conservatories, than at Yale, where undergraduates are often assigned to graduate students (who may be only a few years older) and there are few other options (trying to get to New York city for lessons on a regular basis would be a real drag); Harvard also has very strong extracurricular opportunities for conducting and composing. Both schools offer BM/MM opportunities for a couple of students a year; both are extraordinary reach schools for just about everyone.
For pianists, there has been a problem at Yale finding practice rooms. Perhaps that has changed.</p>

8

<p>here's an excerpt from the Yale student newspaper about piano practice rooms -- apparently, they expect to have ameliorated the problem by 2010:</p>

<p>"In search of a place to practice the piano, Madeline Blount ’08 visits the Davenport common room, the Pierson common room and then the Branford basement, hoping to find an instrument that is both unoccupied and unlocked.</p>

<p>“I feel like I have to go piano-hunting,” she said.</p>

<p>Blount is not alone in her time-consuming search, as many of Yale’s student musicians — especially pianists — struggle with a lack of practice space. Administrators said they are attempting to allay the problem with an upcoming renovation of Hendrie Hall, but frustrated undergraduates said the crowding in Sprague Hall, the deterioration of pianos in Hendrie and the inaccessible or ill-equipped residential college music facilities can make practicing their instruments a stressful proposition.</p>

<p>Part of the problem, students said, is the preference given to graduate students at the School of Music over undergraduates with regard to practice space.</p>

<p>Only graduate students are allowed to sign up for a time slot in one of the 14 piano practice rooms in Sprague or the 20 rooms at another building at 320 Temple St., said Thomas Masse, deputy dean of the School of Music. Undergraduates taking lessons for credit can use any vacant room they find, though they may be kicked out at any time if the graduate student assigned to that room arrives.</p>

<p>Masse said he is aware that some undergraduates have difficulties finding pianos, but that students seem able to coordinate their schedules to take advantage of less busy hours of the day.</p>

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<p>I concede ;). mamenyu is right. I forgot about the piano/practice room issue. I saw violin and I was immediately thinking strings. </p>

<p>Just strung out I guess.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your helpful advice. As much as my S enjoys other subjects, I get the feeling that the conservatory route might be the only option if one wants to keep up multiple musical disciplines, which he does. This past summer he worked alongside a student composer from Curtis, who was also studying piano and cello there. So I guess it is possible. </p>

<p>I really appreciated your blogs, BassDad, via the link you gave. Is it advantageous visiting institutions and having lessons with a prospective teacher in your JUNIOR year?</p>

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<p>It depends on the student somewhat, but I think that spring break of junior year is an excellent time to do visits and sample lessons at schools that are not on break the same week. By the time he gets to senior year, he is going to be very busy with applications and auditions and the days away from school can really start mounting up. Anything he can get done in the junior year is a real help later on.</p>