<p>Our son wants to be a Jazz Musician & someday teach at a university or conservatory..... He has been admitted to SUNY Purchase and Eastman School of Music: Jazz Studies-Performance - Drumset. </p>
<p>We would very much appreciate your input about which one he should attend. Help us make this decision!</p>
<p>I also have a drummer son, who went to the Eastman summer jazz program last year and was very impressed with the Eastman jazz program. We don’t have experience with SUNY Purchase, but I would imagine the most important factor would be where your son felt most comfortable, and which drum teacher(s) he is most eager to study with. My son enjoyed Rich Thompson and Harold Danko very much at Eastman. Eastman has a fantastic reputation, but it is in more of a remote place (Rochester) in NY than SUNY Purchase, which has nice access to jazz in NYC. I would imagine that U of Rochester, which Eastman students can access, has a better academic reputation than SUNY, but the most important factors would be quality of the jazz program and the drum faculty. I guess decision time must be right on top of you: what does your son’s gut say?</p>
<p>Eastman has a more conservative “straight ahead” approach to jazz, with an equal emphasis on classical (so your son also performed exceptionally well on the classical part of his audition). For students who are looking for more avant garde, “cutting edge” play, Eastman is not the place. I think of the two, Purchase would definitely fit the bill for “edgier” play, plus John Riley, from MSM, teaches there, and he is a fantastic teacher. Rich and Harold are also great, but very different stylistically. For my son, the style differences were huge, and would make this decision easy. But we know great jazz musicians who prefer playing standards and such, have chosen Eastman and done extremely well. Your son has two fabulous choices. Best of luck to him as he decides (didn’t he have to make a decision by May 1, or are these waiting list admits?).</p>
<p>Hi Drummermom2009,
Isn’t there a huge difference in the tuition and living costs at these two fine schools? That difference (if it exists) would be a deal breaker for our family, right now.
I agree with SJTH about the proximity of SUNY to the NYC jazz scene. It seems to me that our 17 year old jazz drummer has made a great deal of progress (and gained invaluable contacts) playing and jamming with “mentors” in our local jazz scene. After all, jazz drumming has many aspects which transcend pure academic training and many of the best learned their trade from the school of hard knocks. If teaching is the ultimate goal (rather than a fall-back position) then the prestige of Eastman may make getting an academic appointment easier.
I wish your son continued success.</p>
<p>As a parent who seriously considered Purchase for her son–along with her son, I should say–the price of tuition is unbeatable. It’s a great music education for a great price. The jazz studies program is small and students get plenty of individual attention. I do not think that NYC is really as much a part of the scene as you might like to think. It’s a good hour away and college kids don’t tend to stray that far. Which brings me to the only negative at Purchase: the campus and student life seemed lacking. You are really in the middle of the suburbs and a real jazz scene is not terribly accessible. It was tough to choose not to go to Purchase–I actually still have pangs of regret about it (but I don’t think my son does because he loves where he is). I believe it’s an outstanding education for a price that will not put anyone in the poor house.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your input. Each of your inputs was very helpful. We met with 2 of the 3 Purchase Professors that our son would be studying with if he went to Purchase. They were outstanding! We all walked away thinking that the educational opportunities at this school were terrific. We got in the car & our son was ready to talk and make an informed decision… He decided on Eastman - he loves jazz and classical and is definitely not “edgey”. Eastman’s instructors, size, program offerings and location is a good fit for him. Indeed a lot more money (he did get a wonderful scholarship) but we know that his head will be in the game at Eastman & for anyone pursuing this type of career - that has to count for a lot.</p>
<p>We were really impressed with the jazz program at Purchase when my son visited for jazz piano. But, if I recall correctly, jazz students do not generally study or participate in the classical side of the Con and visa-versa. For piano, we felt this was a potential negative although again, we felt the faculty and students were outstanding.</p>
<p>Greetings. Brand new to CC and would love some guidance. My son is a senior who would like to pursue jazz studies. He plays the drum set. Many of the obvious music schools require a classical audition as well as jazz. He has absolutely no interest in classical. Any thoughts where he could attend and get started right away with jazz? Thanks so much.</p>
<p>We’re looking at: Berklee, New School, Oberlin, SUNY Purchase, Mason Gross (Rutgers), and William Paterson as good places to do jazz drumming. . . we’d be interested in other suggestions as well.</p>
<p>momofgtm</p>
<p>Also consider USC, Cal State Northridge, University of the Pacific, University of Miami, Tulane and, of course UNT</p>
<p>Drumset parents–I’m happy to answer drumset-specific questions, as we went through this last year. My son applied to New School (NYC), Columbia, Tulane, Northwestern, Oberlin, Peabody, and McGill. None of these places had a classical audition.</p>
<p>Why not Manhattan School of Music if you are applying to New School and other NYC area schools?</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the great suggestions - much appreciated. SJTH - did your son rent a studio for the cd to be sent in to even be considered for an audition?</p>
<p>Momofgtm, yes he actually did rent a studio, and he was lucky enough to have several local pros perform with him (friends of his teachers). After getting great advice here on CC, we decided that the investment of the studio (and we were getting a discount) in order to present the best-quality CD was our best bet. We were also told to get the best quality students/teachers we could find to play with him. He had two sessions (one to add two songs) that recorded songs that would work for all applications/pre-screens. In the end, given the nice merit offers he received, the investment in the studio was well-spent. Note: the recordings cannot be edited, though they can be mixed (I think we turned up the drums so they could be heard better only.)</p>
<p>SJTH,
That’s a nice list of schools. . . I’m curious as to where your son ended up, and how he likes it.</p>
<p>He is at Oberlin, and is very happy one month in. He’s also working his rear end off!</p>