<p>Yeah I'm seriously considering stanford as my first school but I'm really interested in the music department. I love jazz and I fully intend to continue studying it at Stanford (maybe not as a major but just for fun) and I was wondering if the jazz scene there is big, small, nonexistent? I recently found out about the Stanford Jazz Workshop program and it seems pretty intense (I'm trying to apply but unfortunately it seems as though all the spots have been taken..) and I was wondering if during the school year Stanford has relatively intense jazz programs like that as well. That's also another factor that I've heard Berkeley has over Stanford. I have repeatedly heard about Berkeley's thriving jazz community but not that much about Stnaford. If any current enrollees or alumnis could inform me about this that'd be great and very helpful in my college decision.</p>
<p>I'm curious too.
I'm interested in majoring in music at Stanford (my first choice) How big of a role does music play in Admissions compared to other schools (like the Ivies for instance). How important are the supplemental cd evaluations?</p>
<p>I'll join the curious group. :-) My D considers double-major in music and something language-related (she plays piano and violin, but mostly leans to music theory); she generally likes Stanford very much (grew up near it :-)), but there are some rumors around (musically inclined community in Bay Area) that music at Stanford "isn't that good". There are no, however, more precize information about what's good and what's not so good about music departmet there. Could anyone elaborate on that, please? Thanks.</p>
<p>I've also heard that Stanford's music department isn't exactly stellar, though I don't know specifics about it.</p>
<p>what about the overall music program, no just jazz as im interested in more concert style music</p>
<p>I don't think that Stanford is particularly known for music or arts programs. There are probably better programs at normally less prestigious schools. You should check for yourself though. Stanford is amazing in almost every department, but I don't think the music department is up there.</p>
<p>If Stanford's Music Dept. isn't so great, would it help in admissions, if I apply for music major?</p>
<p>I don't know if it would necessarily help you. Schools say that your intended major does not affect your admissions chances. You should try to be honest, I'm sure there are hundreds of people thinking the same thing as you.</p>
<p>Stanford's Music Department is so-so, but if you aren't necessarily looking to have a career in music, then it's definitely good enough. I just finished my freshman year at Stanford, and I'm planning on double majoring in International Relations and Music (probably clarinet performance, possibly conducting). After researching and auditioning at other schools, I know that Stanford's music program isn't as rigorous or prestigious.<br>
So if you want to be a professional musician (say, play in the New York Philharmonic), then Stanford is not for you. But otherwise, the theory program is really awesome (Professor Giancarlo Aquilanti is reeeeeally cool), and I've been taking lessons with the principal clarinetist of the SF Opera (and currently in the running for principal of the SF Symphony). The Wind Ensemble is pretty much at the same level as my high school band, but the Orchestra is pretty good.
Most music majors at Stanford have a second major or at least a minor. But there are students who do go on to study music as grad students, especially those who are MST (Music, Science, and Technology) majors. CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics) is supposed to be one of the leading computer/electronic music centers in the world. They have these really cool free concerts and workshops every month.
And of course, the a cappella scene is quite large at Stanford too. So there are a lot of musical opportunities at Stanford, but your degree is probably not gonna mean all too much in the musical world. And also note that you cannot get a Bachelor of Music degree at Stanford, just a Bachelor of Arts in Music. There's a huge difference.</p>
<p>I'm a student at Stanford; I have a friend from Cal State Long Beach (ever even heard of it?) who recently graduated as a tuba major. He is already substituting in the LA Philharmonic.</p>
<p>He put it very well - "If you're good at anything else, don't be a musician. It takes so many hours of practice, so much discipline, and a musician's life can be predictable. And you know, it makes sense that Cal State Long Beach is the best school of music west of the Mississippi. We're too busy practicing so we don't study for school. We're damn good musicians, but not that bright otherwise."</p>
<p>From my experience with the Stanford Wind Ensemble, it's a group of individually talented musicians who usually have other priorities, and the way they are brought together is not spectacular. By that, I mean the conductor is so-so (sorry Giancarlo) and it's more like a bunch of good solo players, not an ensemble which truly understands how to work together. Pretty lax.</p>
<p>I’d have to agree with everything you mentioned. Not a performance school, but fine for those who have other interests. Wind ensemble concert I witnessed, pretty bad. Tuning issues that middle schoolers might have. fullerton and Long Beach much better. SF Conservatory is light years ahead.</p>
<p>True. I hear Indiana University-Bloomington has a wonderful music school. </p>
<p>[Indiana</a> University Jacobs School of Music Home](<a href=“http://music.indiana.edu/]Indiana”>http://music.indiana.edu/)</p>
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<p>RCMan13 wrote:</p>
<p>I don’t think that Stanford is particularly known for music or arts programs. There are probably better programs at normally less prestigious schools. You should check for yourself though. Stanford is amazing in almost every department, but I don’t think the music department is up there</p>
<p>University of the Pacific is probably better in music…jazz is big there, I know.
You can get a Bachelor of Music degree, as well as a Master’s in Music.</p>
<p>[Conservatory</a> of Music - University of the Pacific](<a href=“http://web.pacific.edu/x1458.xml]Conservatory”>http://web.pacific.edu/x1458.xml)</p>
<p>I’d like some more information on this issue. Is Stanford’s music program really that sub par?</p>
<p>Would like some more input. have things changed in 6 years?</p>
<p>^ just to add on - yes, Stanford’s music scene has changed drastically in the past few years. When this thread was created, SICA didn’t exist (it was launched a few months after the OP was made, funnily enough), many facilities didn’t exist, and Stanford didn’t recruit heavily for arts students. Now it does. Consider also that Stanford just finished the Stanford Challenge, in which it raised $6.23 billion, making it the most successful fundraising campaign in collegiate history (and it did it in 5 years; by comparison, Yale also just finished its 5-year campaign and raised $3 billion). One of the main initiatives for fundraising was arts & creativity:</p>
<p>[The</a> Stanford Challenge | Final Report | Highlights in Engaging the Arts and Creativity](<a href=“http://thestanfordchallenge.stanford.edu/highlights-by-initiative/arts-creativity/]The”>http://thestanfordchallenge.stanford.edu/highlights-by-initiative/arts-creativity/)</p>
<p>So the arts community, including music, has changed a lot in the past 6 years. It’s rather easy to build up the arts, which are very inexpensive. By contrast Yale, which is strong in the arts, has been working on improving engineering for years and is still struggling, because engineering is very, very expensive to build up.</p>