<p>I am an artsy type of person (really love languages, art, and music!), and would like to pursue my passion in music further in university along with my other areas of interest (art and languages)! I have been playing the flute on and off a couple of years but have had no significant formal training; most of what I know have been self-taught. My parents don't have the money to afford music lessons, and therfore I never really took any formal music classes and had any training whatsoever. To top it off, my parents are rather conservative and have never approved of my love for the arts, so I never took any music courses at school either. Despite all of that, would it still be possible for me to gain admission into schools such as the New England Conservatory and Juilliard? Can anyone list other top music schools (I would prefer to be in New England)?</p>
<p>I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but without formal training it will be impossible for you to get into most any audition based program, let alone one of the top ones. Students who get admitted to top programs have been studying for years. Flute is also one of the most competitive instruments. </p>
<p>That does not mean that you cannot study music in college. You can take lessons and classes at many different schools. You might even be able to get a bachelor of arts in music as some schools. However, if music is your goal, you need to see if you can find a way to get private lessons if at all possible.</p>
<p>The short answer is that you have to be very good indeed, particularly so on flute which is an extremely popular instrument represented by very few chairs in the orchestra. Let’s have a look at the requirements for the auditions you are talking about.</p>
<p>Juilliard:</p>
<p>First you must pass the pre-screen round to get invited to audition live. For the pre-screen, you need a recording of yourself playing</p>
<p>1) The exposition sections of the first two movements of the either the Mozart G Major or D Major flute concerto
2) The scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2 meas before P to the end)
3) Two orchestral excerpts selected from Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony or Leonore Overture #3, Brahms’ Symphony #4, or Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun
4) Two contrasting movements from other works of your choice</p>
<p>If you then make it to the live audition, you must then play</p>
<p>1) A complete Bach sonata, partita or suite
2) A complete Mozart sonata
3) four standard orchestral excerpts in a variety of styles
4) two complete works of your choice from contrasting styles and periods (no Bach)</p>
<p>NEC:</p>
<p>Same pre-screening requirement as Juilliard, except #4 not needed</p>
<p>Live audition
An etude of your choice
The first two movements of the Mozart G Major or D Major concerto
A major contemporary work - a complete sonata or concerto
Three orchestral excerpts displaying a variety of styles.</p>
<p>I would be frankly amazed if you are playing material like the Mozart concerti, Bach sonatas, major contemporary pieces and some very demanding orchestral excerpts up to performance tempo, with demonstrated musicality and very few mistakes after a couple of years of self-study. Your competition will have studied for many years with top professionals and put in hours of practice every day to get to that level.</p>
<p>I have learned over the years to be cautious about telling a young person that something is impossible, and have been proven wrong more than once when I did. Unfortunately, I do not see a lot of room here to offer any hope of success without raising unrealistic expectations.</p>
<p>As shennie points out, there are some intermediate goals to pursue before reaching for the stars.</p>
<p>If you say you’d like to do it “along your other aread of interets”, maybe schools like Oberlin, Lawrence, Bard, who have a conservatory and a college would be better for you, rather than Juilliard or NEC which are only conservatories with very few liberal arts classes.</p>
<p>I think if you try applying to let’s say Oberlin Conservatory and don’t make it the first time (I’m not saying you can’t or you won’t) you still can take private lessons there, hang out with musician, listen to a top orchestra, and try to join the conservatory later.</p>
<p>That said, I know people with 3, 4 or 5 years of intensive training (4-5 hours practice a day, excellent teacher, orchestra, theory classes and all) who got into top schools.</p>
<p>I’ll chime in with shennie and BassDad and concur that the odds are not good. The absence of formal training, the associated development of organized programs, and the assessments of professionals who can gauge your talent within an extremely competitive international applicant pool all work against you.</p>
<p>That particular multi-discipline focus and exploration is not to found in any of the straight conservatories, but more likely within the broad spectrum curriculum approach of a liberal arts college. Given your description of background and training, you would be best served investigating non-audition BA offerings that would allow you to study and devlop further musically.</p>
<p>The answer is that you have to be really, really good to be accepted to the top music schools. You will be competing against students who have been taking lessons for years, play in competitive youth orchestras, have attended audition summer programs, etc. I don’t think it is even remotely possible for someone to be accepted to Juilliard or NEC in flute without a lot of training, unless a teacher saw prodigious potential and enormous natural musicality. </p>
<p>I think a BA program, so that you could work on music and your other interests, would make the most sense. You could develop your flute skills with a good teachers, while simultaneously studying your other areas of interest.</p>
<p>Flute is a highly competitive instrument and even though woodwind players usually start studying a bit later than string players ( “wind capacity” needed!), students applying to major programs have years of lessons and ensemble work behind them.
In response to Bassplayer08’s comments: Oberlin would be a no-go here too. It’s considered a top level conservatory also. While you may, indeed, know people with just a few years of study who “got into top schools”, it’s unrealistic for a flute player in the US to think that’s possible. While the applicant pool varies each year, even those applying to performance programs at LACs and universities are going to have years of formal training and ensemble experience. And then, there’s the matter of the quality of the instrument: students at the higher levels are playing expensive instruments with excellent sound quality, while the OP is most likely using a student-level flute. So it’s the “whole package” which has to be considered, talent, current level, experience, instrument, etc.
here are the audition requirements:
Flute</p>
<p>Two or three selections—including movements from sonatas, concertos, and other solo pieces—of contrasting styles from standard repertoires; major and minor scales. Compositions chosen should demonstrate the applicant’s ability in phrasing, sustained playing, and technical facility, including legato and staccato at varied tempi.</p>
<p>Lawrence: Flute — Three pieces of contrasting styles, which may include movements from concerti, sonatas, and solo repertoire; and major and minor scales. Sight-reading may be requested.</p>
<p>And Bard had no openings for the 2010 school year in flute.</p>
<p>OP- if you are still in high school, instrumental lessons are usually provided free of charge from the music dept or band director(s). If there is a particular teacher you are interested in, you may be able to arrange a barter arrangement for lessons (baby sitting or yard work in exchange,etc). And then there’s the matter of your family- Are you thinking that they’d only “approve” of your interest in music if you were accepted into a top conservatory? You have to be prepared to face their displeasure and at least take some music appreciation/music history courses.
I really don’t think that its within the realm of possibility to obtain a performance degree in flute from any good college program, unless you are in 9th grade and prepared to work harder than you ever thought possible for the next several years to prepare for auditions. It will take hard work, hours of time and quite a bit of money. Getting into a top conservatory is just as hard as applying to medical school; no one would dream of applying to Harvard Medical without having the necessary schooling, so why should music be thought of in a lesser vein?
This doesn’t mean that you can’t take courses in appreciation and history in college and you can certainly take lessons at any point in life. It sounds like a Liberal Arts degree might be the way to go-that way you can take courses in all of the areas that interest you.</p>
<p>flute is very very competitive. it is the most competitive of all woodwind instruments. it is just like the violin of the woodwinds. however, on a personal level, i think violin is less competitive because an orchestra needs around 15 violinists while it may need 1 at most 3 flute players.</p>
<p>You might consider starting your journey by attending a (non conservatory) college with a good flute teacher who can take you to the level you will need to be to compete for either a spot in a second bachelor’s degree (BM) or a master’s degree program. I keep thinking of composer Jennifer Higdon who was a largely self-taught high school flutist and attended Bowling Green State in Ohio for college. There she got the kind of support she needed to nurture her natural genius so that she could go on to get degrees at Curtis and UPenn (which has a great graduate composition department.) She is now one of the most prominent composers in the world, with commissions booked for the next decade and a slew of major prizes. She also did learn how to play the flute competently enough to perform professionally. Anyway, my point is that at this stage you need to find a mentor who will help to nurture your talents so that you can grow musically. Playing catch-up at a conservatory, if you are even able to win admission, might be extremely stressful and not to the advantage of your overall growth. Good luck!</p>
<p>I really wish you the very best in your musical endeavors. Perhaps you can try to audition for some youth orchestras in your town. Here in San Francisco, the San Francisco Symphony youth orchestra is completely free but it is very difficult to get in.
That could be a good place to see how you stack up to competition. Also, All State high school bands and orchestra competitions given you a good idea of the caliber of other players.</p>
<p>You could try schools like Wooster, Knox, & St. Olaf with respected programs in music and top notch ensembles that aren’t conservatories that you try out for. Oberlin or Bard might be difficult because I know the former is an extremely competitive conservatory and I think Bard’s is newer but is growing in competitivity very quickly.</p>
<p>glassharmonica, are u talking about getting a music degree in a non-conservatory school and then another second bachelor’s degree in performance? is that possible at all? i am a violin major at a major school but am considering a second bachelor’s degree in violin performance.</p>
<p>Other threads indicate that you are interested in architecture and premed. There are many schools that have ensembles (wind ensembles or orchestras) that are for students who are NOT music majors. This would give you the chance to enjoy playing your flute without having to major or minor in music. At the same time…as others have suggested, you could find a private teacher (if you college has grad students, someone may be willing to take you as a student) either through your school or the community.</p>
<p>OP, I suggest you have a look at Sarah Lawrence. It’s a great school for a smart student who loves the arts. You can get lessons, play in ensembles, and also pursue your interests in art and languages at a high level. If your musicianship develops to a very high level, you could aim for grad school in performance. In the meantime you’d be getting a strong liberal arts BA. Also, Bard College (Not the Conservatory) is an excellent choice. Neither of these, however, is likely to appeal to “conservative” parents, depending upon what you mean by that.</p>