<p>Our son, a HS Junior, is looking for a small or medium size school with a good music program. His primary interest is contemporary music composition and recording, but he also plays/sings classical music. He is a pretty strong student, mostly As in AP/Honors class and probably will get low 700s on each SATI test. He likes history/political science and lively classroom debate. While not a deal breaker, he would prefer a warm or moderate climate and I would like him somewhere near the West Coast. Spring break is coming up; where should we visit?</p>
<p>What's his interest in music? Is it just a pastime or something that he's committed to pursuing as a career?</p>
<p>A West Coast LAC that I would recommend especially for music in the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Great music program and facilities. Also fairly generous with merit money -- for both academics and talent.</p>
<p>You'll find many threads about LAC's with good music programs on the Music Major thread, but not much about West Coast schools. The Claremont Colleges share their music programs. Harvey Mudd has some really interesting New Music music courses. The main composition professor is one of the organizers of an annual Southern California Microtonal Music festival. If your S were a student at any of the Claremont Colleges he could take music classes at Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>However, when you say contemporary - do you really mean Popular Music? For that, I would check out the new Popular Music Program at Thornton School of Music at USC. (I know, not an LAC.)</p>
<p>Another small college with a music program in Southern California to look at is Redlands.</p>
<p>Definitely check out the Music Major thread. It's full of useful information, for majors and non-majors alike who are interested in pursuing music in college.</p>
<p>There are some great ones in the midwest and on the coast.</p>
<p>Luther, St. Olaf, Oberlin and Lawrence are all in the midwest and rank as some of the top Music Schools in the entire country.</p>
<p>Thanks for your resonses. Answers: S says he would like to compose/perform for a living, but will be a lawyer if that doesn't work out! His interest is popular/world/jazz music. I will check out the Music Major thread. He isn't positive that he wants to major in music, but definately wants to take music classes and be around people who take music seriously. I will look up the schools you mentioned. Any other suggestion?</p>
<p>Not on the West Coast, of course, and not the most temperate of climates, but Wesleyan has a longstanding strength in ethnomusicology, including a significant PhD program. I think it has stuff you might not find elsewhere, like a student gamelan orchestra (or whatever you would call it) and a student steel band. That tends to attract students with a serious interest in non-traditional music, even if they aren't music majors.</p>
<p>The best by far is Bard (with the Bard Conservatory sharing much of its faculty with Curtis in Philadelphia, and the head of the composition program is probably the most famous female composer in the U.S.), but it isn't warm or moderate in clime, nor near the west coast.</p>
<p>Some schools that are less "famous" for music programs can be sometimes friendlier to non-majors...
Kenyon could be good, as far as I know.
Oberlin will have some good opportunities for non-music majors, though he might not be able to play with the kids in the conservatory.
Vanderbilt has some nice scholarships for music majors, and he can double major in something else. The weather is warmer there too...</p>
<p>any other thoughts for a liberal arts college with good music programs?</p>
<p>Here are 2 in SoCal that would be worth looking into:</p>
<p>Loyola Marymount - I met someone whose daughter is a voice major there and is very happy with the program.</p>
<p>Chapman University - its film and drama programs are strong, so it would be worth looking into the school of music.</p>
<p>And one in NorCal:</p>
<p>College of the Pacific - supposedly a strong music program. I know a kid who is majoring in music there, she wants to teach band in hs (masochist!)</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and if you're a Calif. resident you should definitely look into the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara. UCSB is certainly not small, but the CCS is.
College</a> of Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara - Music Composition</p>
<p>Can't qualify in the warm or West categories, but I would second Weselyan and add Williams. Williams has an excellent department and many performance opportunities even for non-majors. Double or even triple majoring is workable. My son had several friends who were serious musicians, both in jazz and in classical arenas.</p>
<p>Wherever he applies he should submit a performance tape, even if he doesn't intend to major in music. This is especially true for small liberal arts colleges. See the individual college websites for instructions on submitting supplemental materials.</p>
<p>Does he plan to major in music? If not, before you visit, check to see what his music opportunities will be. This really varies from college to college.</p>
<p>Oberlin is a great music LAC, but my S, who is interested in jazz, found when he visited that there are limited opportunities for students not in the conservatory to take some music classes or study with the top conservatory professors.</p>
<p>momofgrowingkids, you've gotten a broad range of suggestions, and there are plenty more.</p>
<p>Please spend some time in cc's music major forum <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/</a> and read the excellent overview post here as well <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=258796%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=258796</a></p>
<p>I also recommend the Peabody article here Peabody</a> Institute - Conservatory Admissions: The Double Degree Dilemma which may help you and your son put the Muse in perspective.</p>
<p>You'll also need to be aware of the degree variants, the differences between a BA and a BM, and the depth of immersion each type provides.</p>
<p>I will second SpiritManager's caveat that there is not tremendous detail about west coast schools in the music major forum but there are posters who are quite knowledgeable of the options in composition, new music, and jazz options.</p>
<p>Fiske's 2009 Guide only mentions two small colleges/universities that are strong in music and on the west coast. One is Mills (female only) the other is University of the Pacific. There are a lot more choices if you are willing to travel further.</p>