<p>D is contemplating removing Eastman from her audition list. We haven't visited the school or taken a lesson with the flute teacher yet. D does not like cold weather. The news of recent snow fall in Buffalo scared her. We also heard that Rochester is not what it used to be. Any information about Eastman and Rochester will be appreciated. </p>
<p>FluteMomLiz, you mentioned in other post that two big jobs went to Eastman graduate flutists lately. Can you tell me about that?</p>
<p>Rochester is in the NY "snow belt" being down wind of Lake Eire, so snow and cold are winter realities. At one point they were very tongue and cheek about this and had something on their website that went along the lines of "the winter weather helps you want to practice since you'll be in a warm and cozy practice room..."</p>
<p>From my visits, Eastman is just on the "edge" of a "good side" of town. You can walk multiple blocks in one direction (west, I think), but I really wouldn't want to walk more than a block in the opposite direction, and I'm pretty comfortable walking around cities. I'm not sure if this demarcation has any time component or not. However, it is a fact that Kodak has been going through some bad times and that has not helped the Rochester economy nor philanthropy at all.</p>
<p>My $0.02...
Zep</p>
<p>pointegirl: My son is a freshman trumpet performance major at Eastman. So far, he is extremely happy, and he's definitely a tough customer when it comes to music experiences. After summer programs at Interlochen and Tanglewood and spending his senior year at Interlochen Academy, he had very high (almost unrealistic, I feared) expectations for college. One of the things that seems to please him most is the curricular emphasis on producing well-rounded musicians, with requirements for wind ensemble, orchestra, and chamber music as well as opportunities for jazz, new music, and just about anything else you could want. Although is first love is orchestral performance, he's practical enough to realize that competence in other areas will broaden his job prospects in the future. Another positive aspect (in our opinion) of the instrumental performance program is that fact that there are separate orchestras and wind ensembles for freshmen/sophomores and juniors/seniors/grad students. Unlike many programs, freshemen are not competing with seniors or grad students for ensemble placement, everyone is guaranteed both orchestra and wind ensemble experience every year, and upperclassmen are very willing to help the younger students.</p>
<p>Regarding the city of Rochester, we had heard similar comments as you, but were pleasantly surprised when we took our son to school in August. The city is certainly not the most beautiful I've seen, but Eastman is located in what appears to be the cultural district, a vibrant, artsy area with theatres, galleries, restaurants, and enough night life that it is relatively safe to be outside in the area after dark. There's good public transportation to malls and big box stores in the suburbs, and the student life committee plans free field trips with buses to parks, Lake Ontario, Six Flags, etc. on weekends. My son also takes a bus for a liberal arts class at the University of Rochester main campus, which is about 20 minutes from Eastman. He really enjoys the opportunity to make friends with non-musicians and experience some of the more traditional college activities like attending sports events, hanging out at the student center, etc.</p>
<p>As for the weather, I have no words of encouragement about that. My son reported minimal snow in Rochester during the Buffalo storm, but I'm sure his luck won't hold out for the entire winter. Truthfully, after spending last winter in northern Michigan, he was not looking forward to going to another city notorious for snow. But, of all his musical options, Eastman seemed to be the one that excited him the most, and I hope the weather will remain a low-level annoyance. From my perspective (here in a nice mild southern climate) one positive thing is that the Eastman campus is compact, basically consisting of the student living center and two other large buildings all located in the same area around a major intersection. There's also a very nice YMCA with special student deals/policies right beside the dorm, so in bad weather there's not nearly as much outdoor walking as you would experience on most college campuses.</p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter. I would suggest keeping Eastman on your list and making a trip to Rochester to see and hear for yourself.</p>
<p>I believe Curtis and Peabody are also fairly close to the border of the rundown part of town. Maybe someone can give details but it cant be more than a few blocks.</p>
<p>Two of Bonita Boyd's students won auditions last spring I believe it upped Eastman and Boyd's status in the flute community. I dont remember which flute publication it was in or which jobs they were, sorry. But it clearly put Eastman back on our list from being on the bubble. I will try and find that information and post it later.</p>
<p>Rochester would not be my first choice of cities either but you have to weigh how important climate is to the pick of schools. Also I believe the problems Kodak has had over the years are a negative.</p>
<p>pointegirl -- </p>
<pre><code> Time to start making that spreadsheet. Audition dates, pre-audition screening CD requirements, audition repertoire, faculty, cost, etc. All the important data you can put together. Sometimes the schedule itself will preclude auditioning at some schools, sometimes other factors will take a school off the list.
Do that before you cross off an excellent school because of the weather.
Your D needs to visit schools. My S is at Peabody, and before we visited he wanted NOTHING to do with Baltimore. (too far, too urban, on and on). Saw it and liked it. Attends and loves it. Now, everything is "Better in Baltimore." DH and I joke that if this music thing doesn't work out he can always work for the Baltimore Chamber of Commerce.
</code></pre>
<p>I can understand taking Eastman off the list because of the snow and bitter cold. Sorry, but I don't think you can use declining quality as an excuse. In terms of overall quality, I think Eastman is pretty close to the top - - right behind Curtis and Juilliard. By the way, Eastman has a pretty small "campus" consisting of three buildings all within a 100 yards. There is no necessity to be outdoors for long.</p>
<p>Can't comment on Curtis, but Peabody has a much more generous "buffer zone" between it and "less desireable" areas than Eastman.</p>
<p>Curtis is in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>FMLiz,</p>
<p>I suppose it depends on what you are used to, but the immediate neighborhoods around both Curtis and Peabody are pretty nice. Having grown up in one of those rundown parts of Philadelphia, I can say I would not have had a problem sending my daughter to either of them.</p>
<p>Curtis is right on Rittenhouse Square, one of the nicest neighborhoods in center city Philadelphia. There are parts of town where I would feel uncomfortable walking alone at night, but that is not one of them. You can get to some less desirable neighborhoods on foot from there, but there would be little reason to do so and you would be likely to notice and turn around before getting into too much trouble.</p>
<p>Peabody is in the Mount Vernon section of Baltimore, which is also a pretty nice neighborhood and seems to be on the way up. I don't know Baltimore as well as Philly, but there are some parts of town where I picked up a negative vibe or two while walking with my daughter from a recital at Peabody back toward our hotel. No big deal, but I thought it wiser to cross the street so as to stay in the well-lit areas a couple of times. On the whole, much nicer than some of the areas around the Hopkins Homewood campus.</p>
<p>We haven't seen Eastman yet, so can't comment on that, but I thought the area around Peabody was lovely, and there are great restaurants to boot. It is a nice distance from the inner harbor, although I confess that we didn't walk there from Peabody.</p>
<p>My son just graduated from Eastman in cello. I can't comment on the flute department. My son very much enjoyed his experience there. His classmates were very supportive of each other and competition was with himself, not other musicians. He took classes most semester at UR and enjoyed the chance to do something intellectual each day. </p>
<p>Downtown Rochester is not the best place in the world. Campus security, however, is excellent and son reports that very few students have problems as long as they use common sense. Security will respond to any student even if they are living in a private apartment. The school is composed of three buildings, each on a corner of the same block, so walking distance is not a problem. One building is the student living center which is a combo dorm, student union and dining hall. Students are not allowed to practice in the dorm. The other building is classroom building with all the classrooms, studios, practice rooms and performance spaces. Students spend most of their time in these 2 buildings. The third building houses the library and bookstore. </p>
<p>Rochester does get a lot of snow, but they deal it with it quite well. Son says that the sidewalks were almost always clear when he needed to go between buildings. (Having grown up in Wisconsin, he loved having snow that he didn't have to shovel!) </p>
<p>My son grew tremendously as both a musician and a person from his experience at Eastman. They really stress that musicians must be versatile and able to share music with many different audiences in lots of different venues. They have an excellent music education department and also give students an opportunity to learn about the "business" end of music while still earning a performance degree.</p>
<p>Sorry if I overstated the proximatey of Curtis and Peabody to the run down areas. I know the area to the north if I have my directions correct was very good and nice, but coming in from the south it seems like we were driving through less than desirable section until just 3 or 4 blocks before the school. My memory is probably faulty and why I asked others more familiar to give a better description. Then again most urban schools can be approached through such neighborhoods. </p>
<p>And yes once you know where and where not to go, it probably is not a problem. Have not been to Eastman but it just seemed that situation from the description was not that different than other schools.</p>
<p>Again sorry for any confusion my description may have caused.</p>
<p>Thank you for everyone's comments. I will direct D to this thread. It has been very helpful. D and I will discuss the pros and cons before making final disicion.</p>
<p>Curtis is in a very nice area. D's YO rehearsal is only one block from Rittenhouse Square. Housing is more of an issue. D's friend is a freshman at Curtis. His father told me that it is getting more difficult to find an apartment close to Curtis since more and more apartment buildings were turned into Condos. You do need to live close to the school because some of the concerts/recitals may end late at night.</p>