My Junior son plays the bari sax and has fairly wide-ranging tastes…mainly jazz, but he’s into writing and playing some more out-there kind of stuff and enjoys free jazz and experimenting with different kinds of sounds. Any suggestions for a music school or program we should start to look at? He has around an A minus average at the moment.
Is your son still looking for a LAC or has he opened up the parameters?
We are exploring everything at the moment, though we’d prefer a place that also offers some kind of liberal arts education.
Has he or have you read the Double Degree Dilemma Essay posted closer to the top of this forum? It can be helpful in clarifying, though it sounds like your son already knows he would prefer a BA.
I wonder if Oberlin would be a good environment for him. There is a recently enhanced Musical Studies BA there as well as the conservatory BM, with a lowish wall between them. Oberlin tends to be progressive. Oberlin also has the TIMARA program which might interest him in some ways.
Does he want to be near a city or in an area where he can gig outside of school?
In terms of the experimenting he is doing, sound art/sonic art is something to look for in the course listings. Unfortunately the terminology for this kind of experimentation varies.
It almost sounds like he could end up veering into some areas of composition, electronics, music technology or music production.
Many liberal arts programs will offer courses and studio access to develop along these lines.
Performance opportunities for free jazz is something I don’t know much about and hope someone who does know, will come along 
Aside from Oberlin, Cal Arts? NYU? UNT? Northwestern? Columbia? SUNY Purchase, New School, Frost, Berklee if for BM.
I know a jazz performer who went to Tufts and gigged in Boston. He didn’t do the double degree with NEC, but that is a possibility. Harvard has a double degree with Berklee.
With multifaceted interests I agree it may be wise to find a liberal arts college or university that offers a broad range of choices which he can expand or narrow as he wishes during the undergrad years. But clearly you are researching all options!
Thanks! I do think Oberlin might be perfect for him. Some composition or music tech/production have seemed likely to us as well as possibilities. I just don’t see him wanting to take on a double degree right now, though I wouldn’t stop him if he did!
Also, I’d be interested to know if playing the bari helps him at all with admissions to very competitive conservatories.
I don’t think a double degree would be necessary at Oberlin, or several other schools with excellent BA programs, and there might also be more flexibility in focus. It is hard with COVID to investigate access to opportunities outside of the classroom, but I know that often students take one class in, say, electroacoustic composition, and then have access to the studio and to mentorship. Internships can also develop skills.
Oberlin recently enhanced their BA in Musical Studies with more access to conservatory resources- as you probably know.
Do music schools even allow you to audition on bari? If saxophone is anything like clarinet, you major in clarinet (saxophone), not a particular clarinet (saxophone) instrument. At the college level, you definitely need to be proficient on all. Maybe it’s different for jazz, though, I don’t know for sure.
Maybe add Loyola New Orleans to your list.
No idea re: auditioning; he can play alto sax as well, but he’s a big, strong kid and has no issues handling the size of the bari, and it’s his preferred and best instrument, so I was wondering if that would be helpful for him. It has been so far with various jazz bands, and I know that instruments like the tuba are helpful in the classical world. Loyola is a great idea. Should have visited on our last trip to NOLA (we toured Tulane right next door!)
We toured both schools and I found Loyola to be far superior to Tulane in so far as music goes. Tulane is just too expensive for what you get, musically. The two schools share a lot of resources, have some class reciprocity, and your kid can participate in Tulane marching if that appeals.
Really good to know. We all love New Orleans, so that would be a definite plus! (And being a jazz musician there can’t be beat.)
This forum usually has a lot of jazz folks on it but lately it has not been very active. Hoping you have gotten some helpful suggestions (like Loyola NO)!
My son is majoring jazz studies. I can’t tell about BA but can tell some about BM at conservatories. Almost all jazz “performance” major students should be able to compose their own tunes before or right after entering BM jazz program since they are required to be proficient or higher “improvisers” to start with. Some jazz musicians are more into a different / less traditional jazz but they all need to be able to play any kinds / style of music like, funk, hip-hop, latin, electronic, etc (except high level of classical / orchestral). Some jazz students have classical / orchestral training before choosing “jazz” path. Compmom already listed schools that are in my mind. At any schools, big or small, there are jazz students who aren’t doing only jazz. So your son should be able to find a group(s) to play together.
“Jazz” saxophonists all have a main instrument but always multi-instrumentalists add more value, such as being able to play all sizes of saxophones, plus clarinet (or bass clarinet) and/or flute especially in big band settings. But not all saxophonists are multi-instrumentalists and some are brilliant with only one instrument. Your son should keep working on baritone as his main instrument that he will he auditioning with. Be ready to be a great improviser on baritone. Build up his artistic resume with his original compositions. In typical jazz big band, there are two alto, two tenor and just one baritone saxophone so I am not sure if baritone is less competitive to get admitted compare to alto / tenor saxophone students. Think about “tuba” in orchestra. It is a very important instrument but they need only 1 or 2 in 80-100-piece orchestra. Wind ensemble / concert band need more tuba but no more than trumpet. I just don’t simply think that tuba students are easy to get accepted to BM. It may depend on the level and openings at particular schools / programs in a particular year.
BA might have big or small differences from BM.
BTW: I love New Orleans!
My son didn’t apply but has jazz friends at U-North Texas, Temple and Michigan State. Great jazz (and all other music) programs.
A BA is 1/4-1/3 classes in music but lessons and extracurricular performances can offer opportunities. Sometimes performance is integrated into academics.
A BM is 2/3-3/4 classes in music with a focus on performance, and liberal arts classes are 1/4-1/3 of classes taken.
The OP knows this but just to clarify. There are other differences too, in terms of audition versus music supplement for admission, and the structure of the day.
It is unclear whether the son wants a BM on a liberal arts campus that has a conservatory or school of music, or wants a BA program, in which case, with some exceptions such as Oberlin, a campus with a conservatory or school of music might be better avoided.
It is fine to apply to all options and decide in late April!
A musician who likes performance, composition and “experimenting with different kinds of sounds” could go in several different directions but it sounds like a jazz BM program on a liberal arts campus (or Oberlin’s BA and others like it) are good options.
Thanks, this is all really helpful. Making a long list, and as compmom just mentioned, we may very well apply everywhere and choose in April. (He’s a junior, so lots of time.) I am encouraging him to keep his options open for now, i.e., keep studying hard and “shedding.”