<p>We have read similar threads and they have helped a lot, but I'm going to ask a specific question to try to get more info. I'm not the most informed about vocal performance schools; sorry if I sound really naive.</p>
<p>My daughter, a senior in high school next year, wants to study opera. We know that the relationship with the voice teacher is the most important consideration, and her current voice teacher is encouraging her to apply to the school where she teaches and has not supplied other names. We like her a lot, but are just exploring our options.</p>
<p>My daughter has a big range, no one is sure where she'll end up - maybe a mezzo or dramatic soprano, but a good low range too. We have decided not to go to a conservatory at this point. We also don't want to go to a school where undergrads rarely get a chance to perform. </p>
<p>We have come up with the following list. It's a wide variety of schools, and we're trying to narrow it down a bit. Any comments, good or bad? Thanks so much for your help!</p>
<p>Chapman University
Florida State
Illinois Wesleyan
Michigan State
Rice University
SUNY Fredonia
SUNY Potsdam
U of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign
U of Maryland - College Park
U of Michigan
U of Minnesota
U of Southern California
U of Texas Austin
Vanderbilt</p>
<p>I have never recommended NYU before, but they probably have one of the best opera programs. I’d also look at Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, USC, Texas, Vandy, Rice, and Illinois Wesleyan…so that helps you eliminate Maryland, SUNY-any campus, Mich St, Florida St, and Chapman. Chapman is just an overpriced private school that few have heard of outside of Cali.</p>
<p>For opera I’d especially consider Vanderbilt, NYU, Texas, Minnesota, and Illinois. Michigan would be great but if you’re OOS your ACT had better be at least 33. Texas has great theater programs, and lots of opportunities in Austin to collaborate with professional organizations. OU-Norman actually has some of the best theater programs in at least the Big 12, if not the nation, and OOS admissions/tuition is really easy at Oklahoma universities (it’s just that there aren’t any respectable colleges beyond OU-Norman and OSU-Stillwater). OU overall is a very good school for performing arts, as they even have an “Arts District” portion of their campus with a new PAC, a new art museum, and all of the art/theater academic buildings.</p>
<p>piperlady, I’ll second librarian377’s suggestion, and I’ve requested the moderators considering moving this thread to cc’s <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/</a>. There are plenty of well informed parents and students and numerous threads within. Specific programs, performance discipline nuances and caveats tend to be beyond the scope of knowledge of even the most well informed parent/student seeking a typical academic college.</p>
<p>You can contact a moderator directly (they’re listed at the bottom of the page), or hit the “report problem post” link and ask to have it moved.</p>
<p>Piperlady—where are you located, is in-state tuition an issue, are you looking for financial aid? Im just wondering, since your selections are “all over the map”. It might be helpful to furnish us with a little more criteria. Happy Hunting!!!</p>
<p>There are so many good choices for opera that I think you have to narrow it down by personal issues regarding location, size, cost, type of campus, etc. Would you like to be close enough to see performances and recitals?</p>
<p>osucowboys- Do you really know anything about majoring in classical voice? </p>
<p>My daughter is a vocal performance grad (Rice) and applied to a number of programs. There are plusses and minuses to programs with a lot of grad students- you DO learn from them, but it is true that you don’t have as many performance opps as an undergrad. This is the case at Indiana, but the program is still strong. She chose Rice over Oberlin, Indiana, Cleveland Institute (Wake dual degree), Boston U and several others because she loved the teacher and liked the size of the program. I’m not sure all the schools mentioned above even offer a BMusic degree as opposed to a BA with a major in music. It may not matter to your daughter. There are a lot of avenues. Poster lorelei can give you some good information.</p>
<p>I second MOWC’s question to osucowboy - the recommendations there don’t seem to reflect knowledge of vocal performance programs. I’m sure there are many who would argue that Chapman has a better opera program than NYU - a school not particularly well known for classical voice but also defended by many. Ruling out all the SUNYs with a broad brush hardly makes sense. Many undergrads do not choose schools known for catering to grad students such as Indiana, Maryland and FSU, but that doesn’t mean there are not undergrads there who are thriving - it is a much more personal decision.</p>
<p>I know you said that you don’t want a conservatory but I think you should take a look at Oberlin. I have been incredibly happy there for the last two years. I also have gotten a ton of performing opportunities including a lead in our spring opera and singing in the oratorio as a soloist at the year. The fact that it is also right next to the college makes me feel as though I’m not just at a conservatory.</p>
<p>All of the schools listed do offer a BM in VP. We live in Minnesota, which makes the U of Minn the most affordable of the options, but my daughter wants to “go away” to school. We will need financial aid to attend many of these schools - maybe some of you have some experience in that area. Are some schools freer with scholarship aid than others (both for music and academics)? Regarding size of campus…my daughter doesn’t have a strong feeling either way, and I learned from my older daughter that what you THINK you like may not be where you end up.</p>
<p>I realize I’m being kind of … vague…here. My goal at this point is to try to narrow the list down a bit, so I’m seeing if anyone has experience with the schools on my list.</p>
<p>Thank you cartera45 and coloratura_as for your specific information. I didn’t know that U of MD and FSU cater more to grads - that is good to know.</p>
<p>DD is currently at Rice and chose it for the same reasons MOWC’s DD did. She chose them over Peabody, NYU, Westminster, UCLA and several others. She also liked the university atmosphere, the residential college system and the general environment at Rice. It is a growing program and although it has graduate students that get most of the opera leads, it is not always the case and there are other performance opportunities. I have come to realize that trying to do things like a lead too soon would not be good for her voice. She has had singing roles. </p>
<p>She learns a lot from the graduate students in the studio and it helps to see what the path for her voice could be when she is frustrated with her own development. The studio is like a family with older siblings who have had your issues themselves and can sympathize, provide helpful suggestions beyond what the professor has, or just provide a shoulder to lean on. She has enjoyed it so far. She enters into the more intensive opera training starting this coming year as a Junior. We’ll know more after that.</p>
<p>piperlady - my post there did not really say what I meant for it to. I meant that, even though many perceive certain schools as focusing on grad students, others find those schools to be excellent choices. While some are concerned that performance opps go to the grad students, others really like having a strong grad program because those students can be mentors and can raise the bar for the undergrads. </p>
<p>I think it would be great for her to learn to love Minnesota if that is the best choice financially since graduate school may be in the cards. If there is a teacher there who really works for her, then hopefully she will give it a chance.I have read very good things about the program. My D’s voice teacher received her doctorate from there. It would be great for her to be close enough for you to see performances.</p>
<p>CCM is a great school, but unfortunately very stingy when it comes to undergrad financial assistance. Chapman, in the past, has been pretty generous (but I’m not sure how things have changed in the new economy). Rather than UT Austin, you might want to investigate the VP dept .at UNT.(North TExas, Denton) It’s a VERY good music school, with some fantastic voice teachers, and if your D is what they are looking for, she might qualify for in state tuition. Even UNT’s out of state tuition is pretty cheap.</p>
<p>CCM’s “opera program” per se, is for those seeking an “Artists Diploma”, graduate and doctoral students, but they do have an undergrad Bach. of Music degree. The latter has a 6hr/week Opera Workshop senior year requirement, something that can be found in the junior year at other schools. CCM is a great place, but, given what the OP has said,and musica’s info on FA, I’d suggest leaving it for later years and look elsewhere for undergrad study.
Also, MomofWildChild, I think, with regard to CIM, you meant to say “dual degree with Case Western” not Wake Forest, which is in NC as opposed to Cleveland!</p>