<p>I am looking for an Independant College Consultant who has a strong knowledge of Music Departments at Liberal Arts Colleges (and perhaps music conservatories) to assist my son in deciding on schools to apply to. My son is a passionate pianist and is very strong academically. His High School advisor is capable of providing some assistance but I was hoping to get him some additional professional input. Most college consultants I have talked with do not have sufficient knowledge of the music piece to be helpful in this area. Any suggestions of consultants to consider?</p>
<p>Welcome, julie.s</p>
<p>Will your son major in music? Performance? Education?
I can't help with specific college advisor that specialize in music majors.
We relied on advice from our son's current and previous private music lesson teachers. They knew his music level and gave him suggestions for colleges/conservatories to apply to.
They didn't have a handle on his academic level but that we could manage ourselves.</p>
<p>Can your son talk with his private teacher? If he has attended summer music programs or precollege programs, those folk could help too, perhaps.</p>
<p>I'm sure you'll get some help here on CC. I wish you luck.</p>
<p>Thank you musicmom. We will seek advise from his current music teacher. </p>
<p>My son will probably major in music performance. I know he wants the stimulation of being around many other musicians and fellow students who have an appreciation of music and other arts. He wants the musical intensity of a conservatory but at the same time really enjoys a broad array of academic courses. The dual degree programs sound ideal but I have my misgivings that he would be short changing himself by trying to do both degrees simultaneously. So I (we) are looking for a consultant who has been though this process with other kids to help give us some useful advise and guidance in the process.</p>
<p>This is a niche market. I've never run across any true professionals and I[ve yet to see one recommended here. If your child wants to go to an Ivy or try to get an athletic scholarship, there are plenty of people to consult.</p>
<p>Additionally unless you child is at an arts high school, the GCs at most HS are totally clueless in the music arena. </p>
<p>Your best bet is to read this BB, as well as the many great articles at the Peabody Institute website, <a href="http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/admissions%5B/url%5D">http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/admissions</a></p>
<p>Try to PM BassDad; he is a wealth of music admission information.</p>
<p>While julie.s or anyone else is welcome to PM me, I'm afraid I do not know the piano world all that well. I can tell her in general about music schools and conservatories in the eastern half of the country, but she would do far better speaking to people who really know the piano teachers.</p>
<p>I agree with IZ to save your money as I would be highly skeptical of anyone who said they were an independent college consultant for music programs. Each instrument is its own specialty, so I think it is impossible for one person to be able to offer sufficient expertise for every instrument and style of music. Even guidance counselors at arts high schools can't give that kind of advice. We got it mainly from D's teacher and other professionals on her particular instrument.</p>
<p>At the very beginning of this "journey" with D, I bought Carole Everett's Performing Arts Majors College Guide. There is a new 2007 edition that I have not seen, but the earlier edition was somewhat helpful to me as we started this process.</p>
<p>If you read through much of the info on this forum you will discover that the most important thing for a performance major is who the student studies with, not where they go to school. In many ways, it is more related to looking for a graduate program than an undergrad program. The idea of reach, match, and safety are almost impossible to gauge. Your best bet is to consult your son's current private teacher. Also, if you have a state university that has a piano performance department, teachers there are often willing to hear your son and help him develop a list of teachers to consider. And I, too, would recommend Carole Everett's book. However, it is not the be all to end all, just a good place to start.</p>
<p>Maybe there's a new profession in this for BassDad!!</p>
<p>No thanks, that would cut into my own practice/performance time too much.</p>
<p>Are you near any conservatories? Almost all have a pre-college program. A few private lessons with those teachers would help you figure out what he needs to do to be accepted. Find out who is the top teacher you can get him to for a few lessons.
For better or worse, it is sort of
who's your teacher? Who's his teacher? What summer programs are you doing? Who is teaching you there?
What pieces are you practicing? how many hours per day are you practicing? For piano isn't it also what competitions have you entered?<br>
DD went to pre-college with a pianist (who is now getting lots of solo/performance stuff) They went to the movies near here and her mom was complaining to my DH that her D was only doing 5 hours a day on the piano, which would NOT get her into conservatory. ughs. soooo much work.
You might want to look at who has won the biggest piano competitions. Look at who taught them. Then you can google who, if anyone, in your area was trained by the same teachers, or which college piano instructors were taught by the same teachers.</p>