We recently visited Ithaca college with my D. She really liked it. She is looking at the BM in vocal jazz. I would love to hear from parents or students who are completing that major to get feedback on the program.
I am not a jazz vocal major, but I think I could offer some insight. I’m a piano major and work closely with singers in the jazz vocal ensemble. From what I have seen, Ithaca’s jazz program is quite small (I’m actually in the process of looking into other schools I can transfer to which have better jazz programs). A small program can definitely mean working closely with the instructors and guest lecturers/professors (for example, Kim Nazarian from the New York Voices is currently doing an ongoing workshop with the vocal majors). However, the contemporary music scene is not huge compared to Ithaca’s predominantly classical atmosphere. I also have a friend who came to Ithaca as a jazz vocal major about six years ago and then transferred to UNT her sophomore year because she didn’t feel like Ithaca’s program offered enough for her.
Things might have changed since then. But being a current Ithaca student who is looking to transfer to a different school with more opportunities in the jazz realm, I would really urge your daughter to look into some other schools before turning to Ithaca. A few worth considering would be Berklee, UNT, NEC, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Hope your daughter finds the best place for her!