My daughter, currently a junior in HS, is looking for a small to midsize liberal arts college where she can combine strong academics with her passion for rock music. She plays both electric guitar and keyboards quite well, well enough to try to go pro, she has been told. But she doesn’t want to go the “starving artist” route, nor does she want to turn a wonderful passion into a business. That’s the main reason she does not want to pursue rock music by attending a formal music program, such as the popular music programs at USC or Berklee.
So, the idea is to find a top liberal arts college (she has a 4.0+ GPA and scored a 31 on her first ACT practice exam) that has a particularly lively and active rock music scene where she will be able to pursue her passion informally. I realize that pretty much every college will have a few rock bands around, but there must be some colleges where this is more true than at others. Specifically, I am wondering whether there are any schools that have a history of supporting rock music, be it by making available practice space, sponsoring an annual battle of the bands, or whatever. Unfortunately, I have had not luck ferreting out that information from college websites or other Internet sources.
Preferably, I’d like to hear about rock music at the following colleges on my daughter’s list (as it currently stands):
Brown University (not a liberal arts college, I know)
Wesleyan University
Vassar College
Bard College
Oberlin College (I am aware of the music conservative, which caters to classical/jazz students only)
Grinnell
Beloit
Macalester College
Carleton College
Colorado College
Reed College
Lewis & Clark
Pitzer College
Occidental College
But if there are other, similar schools with an active rock music scene, I’d like to hear about those, too.
Thanks a lot in advance for your input!
Robert