My son was accepted to 7 music schools for music education. He has narrowed his list down to five (schools that will allow him to focus on Jazz Drumset as his primary instrument rather than orchestral percussion). Loyola New Orleans, Frost at Miami, Setnor at Syracuse, Boyer at Temple, and Michigan State. It’s a great list. We can afford any of these choices. All but one school has been very generous with merit. It’s completely his decision. However, with COVID restrictions…this decision has to be made with limited in-person visits (or no visits on campus at all). The jazz culture of New Orleans and the small catholic community that appears to be very loving and supportive is attracting him to Loyola New Orleans. However, Frost is a close second. Syracuse is in the top three. Does anyone have insight for me as a parent or for him as a prospective student? Input about Loyola New Orleans Music Education and/or Jazz Drumset would be greatly appreciated.
Loyno, Syracuse and Temple will all be on my sons lists for music ed. Financially, Loyno could end up high on the list for us so I will be following. Congrats on all the great choices!
I know @cathljack is headed to Loyno in April I believe as her son is interested in their contemporary music program.
My son is considering Loyola for commercial guitar. He got an almost full tuition scholarship. We are visiting next week.
Our son is a junior at Loyola New Orleans majoring in Music Industry and minoring in Jazz Studies and is living his best life, I must say. He was admitted to Berklee, Belmont, and Syracuse and chose Loyola. Honestly, we could not be happier with his college experience so far, outside of having to deal with the challenges of Covid. There are so many great performance opportunities in New Orleans and our son has definitely taken advantage of them. The faculty and staff seem very compassionate and committed to their students. And he’s made great friends along the way too, friends who support each other as artists - there’s a real sense of community. The other cool thing is that while his main passion is drumming, he’s also expanded and honed his skills in piano, bass and guitar. Additionally, and most important to us, we’ve seen the benefits of him receiving a well rounded Jesuit education where he’s challenged to become an adult who thinks critically and makes ethical decisions. Although Loyola is a Catholic University, the school is inclusive of all beliefs - we are not Catholic.
Congratulations on the scholarship! Please post your thoughts after your visit.
I’m so happy to hear this. This type of feedback is very helpful. The performance opportunities in New Orleans and Miami are certainly the big draw for him over his Northern options. He is the product of a private Catholic education (Christian Brothers/La Sallian, not Jesuit) and I truly want to believe their commitment to collegiate education will be similar to his high school experience. I hope any other parent (or student) that has been looking for a forum to discuss Loyno will contribute. Thank you.
My son is headed there in the fall and will be majoring in popular and commercial music. His focus is guitar but he also plays drums and bass.
We visited for their open house last March just a week before everything shut down. We had visited a number of schools and had never been to New Orleans before. (We are from California.) My son loved it! As he walked out he said there is no need to look at any other school. This is where he wants to go. So much so that he refused to even apply anywhere else. He said if he didn’t get in he would work hard and reapply the following year, causing ME a ton of stress!
The program seemed great with lots of practical and theoretical music classes with the ability to take liberal arts classes he likes in history and philosophy. The music studios were great. They have a very high percentage of music students so he will be able find his people to play with create bands. Also there was something about the tone of the teachers and other students. It didn’t feel competitive but very down to earth and that really appeals to my son. The dorms were really close to the music building which is a nice plus for a kid who often runs late. I loved how easy and cheap it is to get around to downtown. Going out to concerts when his favorite bands come to town would be so much easier and cheaper than back home in the San Francisco Bay Area where mass transit isn’t very convenient and very expensive.
Luckily it all worked out and he got in and even received a nice merit scholarship. Maybe he will see your kids there.
Very helpful @Topeysmom .
Question about any overlap or intermixing with Tulane. Would Loyno students go to football games?
Musically loyno could be a great fit. However, my son also has a strong love of football.
Since my son is going to college for Music Education it was concerning that this was the only school on his list that did not have a marching band/football team (a key component to music education should he find a high school job with a marching band). As it turns out the musicians from LOYNO are welcome to join the Tulane Marching Band and on a recent Zoom call I was told a number of students take this opportunity. I cannot comment on the general attendance of LOYNO students to Tulane football games but from my 2 years of personal experience living in the deep South everyone seems to love college football (and the NFL gets little attention).
Perfect!
That’s what I figured but didn’t want to assume. My son prefers voice and musical theater over marching band but he does play some instruments as well (flute, guitar, adding back in piano lessons this summer, and in time he wants to learn sax).
This thread may be helpful. You have to pick through it but I know there are comments on Loyola. Maybe it will help.
My son committed to LOYNO after narrowing his list down to Frost/Miami and LOYNO. (He did have generous offers from Michigan, Syracuse, Temple, Penn State, and Gettysburg.) After a live visit to Miami and texts/phone calls with many students/alumni at LOYNO it was clear that New Orleans and LOYNO were a much better fit. He will be majoring in Music Education with emphasis on Jazz drum set. He has already contacted Tulane to join the Marching Band. He started informally looking after sophomore year and Loyola was on his first day of college touring and his first admission interview (Gloria Hill in admissions is great) and his first acceptance. I believe he had about 50 pre-audition/audition recordings for 10 different music schools. We learned quite a lot during this process. We hope live in-person auditions resume for next year. If anyone has any questions about jazz percussion auditions we would happy to provide advice. If you’re reading this a year from now and want to speak to a current freshman - don’t be afraid to reach out - my son would love to pay it forward (thank you to Momofadrummer’s son).
Congratulations! My S22 is also a drummer (jazz, classical, and drumline/marching). We took my D20 to see Loyola (she is now studying clarinet elsewhere) and she absolutely hated it. My son, on the other hand, thought it was great and I would like for him to apply. Do you have any thoughts on the school’s financial stability? Was that addressed in any of the sessions you attended? Are there any plans to improve the athletic complex?