<p>Just a question for all you parents who might have been through this with their kids... what exactly does a meeting with a music faculty member consist of? What should I do/ prepare? Thanks for any advice :)</p>
<p>You need to provide some more specifics. It sounds like you should be prepared for a lesson/audition. If you are being evaluated for admission, then the format can vary, but you will be evaluated on your music knowledge but mainly skill level, interest and potential.</p>
<p>My d., the composer, met with music faculty (especially the composition faculty) at every school to which she applied (and any school that wouldn't extend her the courtesy was immediately crossed off the list - there weren't many.) Simply be prepared to discuss your interests, your hopes, your aspirations. Ask about your peer group. (Try to find some of them, too)How many majors? Of what kind? Performance opportunities? What do upper level electives look like? If you have side interests, like music therapy, have there been students doing double majors in music and psychology. Or music and languages?</p>
<p>If the meeting goes well, you come out thinking this would be an interesting, exciting person to study with, and the faculty member comes out thinking this would be an interesting, exciting person to teach.</p>
<p>D arranged for a lesson at a few of the schools she visited. She had an intro from her voice teacher at Interlochen, in several cases. The teacher at Rice spent a lot of time with D and with us. She discussed all the top voice programs with us- she had either taught at or attended most of the major programs. She gave us honest and thorough information. D is now a junior at Rice and has studied with this teacher the entire time. D had a good lesson with a teacher at Lawrence and a brief meeting (also attended a studio class) with a teacher at Oberlin. She met additional faculty on her audition trips. You should ask how big the studio is, what performance opportunities are available for underclassmen, what the ensemble requirements are and how all the time jives with academic courses.</p>
<p>My D met with the orchestra director at Smith, just to discuss the orchestra in general terms. What was unexpected was that he invited her to come back that night and sit with her section during rehearsal. That in itself was cool but moreover it gave a window into the "let's make this great for you" attitude that permeates the whole college.</p>
<p>When she tried to set up a meeting with the orchestra director at Columbia, the e-mail response was "Get admitted to Columbia, come to the audition, then we can talk." Stark contrast.</p>
<p>Being even more interested in ballet than orchestra, D did take ballet classes at a couple of the schools as well as meet with the lead ballet teacher.</p>
<p>My D had sample lessons with voice teachers at all the colleges/conservatories to which she applied -- Ithaca, CMU, Oberlin, Lawrence, CCM, BU, Northwestern. For performance majors, the teacher is the most important connection to make before making a decision where to apply and where to go if accepted. It also helps to have a friendly face among the auditioners if and when you go back to sing! My D is now a sophomore at Lawrence in their double-degree program and is happily in the studio of the teacher with whom she had her original sample lesson.</p>
<p>Because of help and suggestions I received here, son met with the music departments and teachers of 5 of the schools where he applied. He had lessons with one and that is where he ended up. He is pursuing a double degree at Lawrence in Music Compostion and Government. His studio instrument is the oboe. He just started this week and already had a little solo on the recorder with the chorus. He is very busy.</p>
<p>My son is a trumpet performance major. He waited until after acceptances and then visited the top four schools on his list--U of North Texas, Lawrence, U of Northern Colorado, and Indiana U. He arranged for lessons at three of the schools; the other was one where he knew he would not immediately be able to be in a professor's studio anyway (UNT), so he did not arrange a lesson. (It was also a special admit weekend at that school, so lessons probably would not have been available.) He spent time talking with the professor, as well, asking questions he had about the program. The ones he visited were all quite willing to spend time with him, which he found encouraging.</p>
<p>In addition to the lessons, he got permission to sit in theory classes and orchestra rehearsals. He made use of the practice rooms and found music majors to hang out with and talk to. This gave him a good feel for what the school would be like.</p>
<p>"Meeting with the music faculty"...well, what are you applying FOR? If you are applying as a music education major, an interview with the department faculty is a requirement at most schools and is done usually on the same day as your audition. DS is a performance major and the only "meeting" (and I use the term loosely) he had with the faculty was during his audition. He did, however (as others have noted) have private lessons but these were not conditions of his admission...these were his choice so that HE could evaluate the schools to which he was applying. LadyLazarus...give us a little more info here??</p>
<p>I'm a classical vocalist (mezzo- soprano; top 10 for All State and such), and I plan on minoring in music and participating heavily in the music scene on campus... are meetings with the music department only for music majors (I haven't scheduled them yet, so if they are I won't bother meeting with them)?</p>
<p>Depends on the school, I suppose. But I think as long as you're serious about what you're doing, the music faculty would be happy to meet with you.</p>
<p>Line inserted into an opera ("The Grand Duchess") I heard the other day: "With this plot of murder, you'd think I was a Soprano...which is funny, because I'm a mezzo."</p>
<p>Please don't be offended, my comment is meant to be helpful and possibly other students and parents may read this. In describing yourself musically give general terms (vocalist, instrumentalist) or more specific terms(mezzo soprano, clarinetist). Give some general interests (classical, jazz, musical theatre, soloist). Describing yourself as "All State" to anyone other than your peer group or the parents of your peer group is meaningless. Often it is seen among collegiate music circles as being naive. No one is interested in anything other than how you perform. The talent level of high school musicians around the country differs greatly. A top "All State" musician in one state may be an average musician in another. You may have found that in the large states selection to the All State ensembles is much more competitive in some areas of the state than other areas of the state. Let your performance speak for itself.</p>
<p>Haha, TheDad... it's like "Sexy Lady" by Susan Graham... maybe my mission will be to write an opera with a mezzo lead : )</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the help... what exactly is the format of these meetings? Will they introduce themselves, talk about the music program, and then ask me questions/ answer my questions?</p>
<p>Thanks Swathman... no offense taken. I'm from Northern NJ (suburb of NYC), if that's any indicator. I'll just send in my tape and a resume and see how it goes.</p>