<p>Does anyone out there have any first (or second) hand knowledge of Ithaca's program and it's faculty? My D's teacher said that she should consider the program since it seems to fit a lot of her criteria. D is just starting her Junior year so we have some time - but we'd like to get some of the tours/sample lessons done this coming year. Others on her (very) short list are Carnegie Mellon (first choice) and UMich. She's a soprano coming from an Arts High school and is looking for a higher level program and some safeties. </p>
<p>She would really like a smaller program. We visited Jacobs this past weekend (my S is a grad student there - non music) and it was just way too big. By the time they finish the new building and refurbish their old practice rooms - they will have 400 of them plus all of the ones in the dorms! Beautiful facilities - but better for her for grad school :). I know that UMich is larger - but she went to MPulse there last summer and said that it felt a lot more intimate than Jacobs.</p>
<p>I would also love to try and figure out some other schools that have the same size demographics that are LAC's with conservatories. </p>
<p>I've tried reading through older threads but some of them are so outdated that I'm not sure if the information is still valid.</p>
<p>Oh - and we're in the Mass. now and would love not to go more than a 10 or so hour drive from here but if the right school was further away....:)</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Jansmom-Sent you a private email regarding IC</p>
<p>Ok. I did not send you a private post. My computer does not want to let me do that this morning and I cannot figure out how to make it work in my pre coffee state. We know quite a bit about IC. We live in Ithaca and I am a musician and we know a number of the faculty there. My son, after an extensive search will be going there for a double major in cello performance and compostion in the fall. He spent a good long time deciding between Indiana and IC and Lawrence and he picked IC. He decided Indiana was too big for undergrad. We looked at many schools throughout the country and having spent so much time at IC we sort of took it for granted but as we looked at other schools we came to realized how much IC had to offer. We have a friend who is going there next year for VP/Education and she applied early decision.
We also know another vocalist who is entering next year. We know a couple of the voice teachers there at bit but we know much more about instrumental and compostion program than the vocal part. There are a lot of ed majors at IC and for us this was a drawback but the quality of the orchestra is very good. Feel free to p.m me if you like.</p>
<p>Would you share whether you were considering either of the SUNYs? Could you share what Ithaca offers that makes it superior considering the difference in tuition? I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>mom22girls-I think you are asking me this question? We would have looked at SUNY Purchase but you could not do double in comp. and cello there. We looked online at Potsdam but took off list early and I do not remember why. We were looking closely at who taught at each of the schools. The Potsdam thing was likely about the comp. program. He applied and got into Fredonia. There is a very fine and well trained cello teacher there that he really liked which is why he applied there. He was not crazy about level of orchestra and level of seriousness of players there and it seemed the composition department at Fredonia had some limitations for him. IC was his most expensive option by far and it was a tough choice. I do know IC has a very good reputation for teaching placement and I know their grads are very well thought of. (Nice to know although education is not what we were looking at.) He picked IC becasue he liked cello teachers and compostion teachers very much and felt he would have more opportunity to play and have his music played there.He also liked orchchestra conductor at IC . At Indiana is was unclear when he would find out who he was studying with and it was so big and we decided Lawrence was too far away for us.</p>
<p>Mom22girls: Since you asked about SUNY Potsdam, son is a current performance/music ed major at Crane. His friends who are vocal performance majors love the program. They have a festival each Spring bringing in major choral conductors (Spring 2012 Ann Howard Jones) who work with the students for a week and then perform an on campus concert and often off campus (this year Lincoln Center). They have an active Opera program, too. Potsdam also offers good academic and music scholarships along with the low state tuition. If your daughter has strong SAT and grades, they offer 5 full ride scholarships along with many lesser ones. The campus is in a very rural area but the music school is so active and the students form so many groups themselves that she will probably be too busy to worry about the small town. Plan a visit, including meeting with a studio teacher and sit in on some classes and see what she thinks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I didn’t want to hijack the thread, but it seemed like a great opportunity to hear some reasons as to why the $$ of IC would be worth it. My daughter is looking at music ed (violin). Trying desperately to get some schools on a final list. We have concern about the level at SUNYs schools (she went to all-state this year and had a high seat). She also doesn’t like the cold!</p>
<p>momof 22girls: There are many, many previous All State particiapants as well as former Youth Orchestra members attending Crane and Fredonia. For Music ed, both Suny schools and Ithaca will certainly provide excellent foundations and training for music ed. Both Potsdam and Fredonia will tell you that they’ve trained about 50% of the NY state music teachers. John Lindsey, the senior prof for Violin at Crane, is beloved by current and former students! A friend of mine who is a music teacher had him when she went to Crane and he still keeps in contact with her and many former students. Crane has 2 orchestras and for violin it is quite competitive to be seated in the Symphony. Also, the best students often are asked to play in the Orchestra of Northern NY (ONNY). Secondary or Tech instrument training is quite intense. By the end of the first semester, your d will be playing at a NYSSMA level 5 or 6 on the secondary. Then as a sophomore you coach the instrument(s) to the incoming Freshman. As a junior, you get to go out to local schools and practice your skills and then do student teaching as a senior.
As for weather, I went to school in Ithaca on the other hill and Ithaca gets very windy and cold in the winter, too. So don’t rule out Potsdam or Fredonia over Ithaca due to weather. You’ll find that most of the music ed majors in NY apply to one or both of the SUNY’s and Ithaca. Usually it comes down to fit and finances.</p>