Figuring Out which School to Transfer to.

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hi Everyone,
I need some help with figuring out what my options are:
First a little History. I played Violin in 7th and 8th grade, then when I arrived at the high school's Orchestra I switched to Viola for a year, and again a year later I switched, for the final time to the Cello. I played Cello for the rest of my time there, played in the District Honour Orchestra (that is the only thing I have done other than school Orchestra), and was offered the first chair a few times. </p>

<p>At the end of High school I originally wanted to become a Physics Major, and as such neglected playing for a year (Do not let your kids do that, well, they're not my kids so I will be quiet, but really). A year into my community college adventure and I realized what little fun I was having with the science major, the massive amounts of fun playing music was, and smacked myself in the head for not coming to this conclusion faster.</p>

<p>So at the beginning of this school year I switched majors, picked up my lovely cello, and much to my chagrine I found out that my cc has no classical music program, the only way I would be able to play would be to join one of the cities youth groups, which I am happy to do. But as the last year moved on I became quite rusty. So I am in the midst of getting myself back to an acceptable level through study under a teacher and nothing much else, I feel I am not ready to rejoin the playing world yet, though in a few months I definetly will be.</p>

<p>Here is the current situation,
Recently, my father has had me looking at school's to transfer to for music study, performance I should say, the problem is that I have no clue on where to get started, what to look for, etc.
I have read most of that stickied thread about what to look for with mostly the Teacher being the deciding factor, then location, other students and the like. But what else should I do, every place I have looked at state that they are the "best," which means some one is lying. I think that I will be playing comfortably in a year or so, much sooner if I can find someone to play with, the mirror does get boring.</p>

<p>Any help will be greatly appreciated,
No really,
It will.</p>

<p>Thank you for reading this far, sorry if you read the half post, clumsy fingers make for sporatic posts.</p>

2

<p>Kiwi- I'm unclear as to what it is you're asking. I'm assuming you want to pursue music in college? You are currently in the first or second year at a community college?</p>

<p>From your brief description, you've played violin, viola and now cello? At what level of proficiency are you now playing? Have you studied privately, and are continuing to do so? What are your goals and aspirations?</p>

<p>I'd suggest you read the threads at the top of the page undered featured discussions, as well as the "pinned" threads. This will give you a pretty good overview of the application/audition processes.</p>

<p>Take a look here <a href="http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/%7Enavmusic/careerpaths/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~navmusic/careerpaths/index.html&lt;/a> for an overview of potential careers in music.</p>

<p>Repost with a bit more detail and some more specific questions. There are plenty of knowledgeable posters here that can offer a myriad of suggestions. Good luck.</p>

3

<p>I am in my second year at community college. I should have left out the violin/viola information, sorry about that. I do not know my level of proficiency, I have never really been tested or have compared myself to others in competitions or things like that. I played cello for 3 years in high school, took a year off from it, and came back to it about a year ago. I have been privately studying for about 5 months and plan to keep doing so. I would like to go for a Music Performance degree and then, or concurrently, join an Orchestra.</p>

<p>Basically I would like to know on where to get started with choosing a school to transfer to for music study.
I will take a look at those threads and then ask some proper questions.</p>

4

<p>Kiwi, I do not want to disuade you, but if you have not studied privately, and have basically taken a year (or more) off from serious playing, you may be at a serious disadvantage.</p>

<p>You began cello in high school, and that's 4 years of study, maybe at a medium level, possibly a high level. For a perspective, by the end of high school, many string players have been seriously studying their instrument from 3rd grade, sometimes earlier. Let's say eight years. They've taken private lessons, may have engaged in high level summer programs, played in youth symphonies, some in local or regional (pro) orchestras, competed in and possibly won or placed in some serious competitions.</p>

<p>Many at the college level pursuing performance are at conservatories such as Juilliard, Curtis, NEC; others are at conservatory level schools within university/college affiliations such as Oberlin, Peabody, Eastman, Rice, Michigan, Indiana. These and other high level programs are extremely tough admits for players of excellent skills and potential. You will be up again some tough odds.</p>

<p>There are numerous other great music programs out there where you might be fairly competitive, and have a great chance of honing your skills with the proper teachers. There are also grad level and professional degree programs that would allow you to fine tune performance schools beyond a BM in performance.</p>

<p>Please be aware that even with the best of teachers, mentors, schools, and degrees, many highly trained and skilled performers never make it to the ranks of professional orchestras, let alone those that pay a salary that by itself is enough to live on comfortably.</p>

<p>There are many paths within music that allow to you pursue music and performance as a career, but not necessarily as a top tier orchestra player.</p>

<p>The link from Rice will give you some options to consider.</p>

<p>My son is a violist with an '07 BM in performance from Hartt, planning to go to grad school for further specialized performance study next fall. He is highly talented, but he is not guaranteed he will ever play in Cleveland, NY, Philly, Berlin or Vienna.</p>

<p>I am not here to sway you from your path, but to suggest you research the pros and cons of wanting to follow your Muse. I wish you luck.</p>