Did you look into USC Thornton school of music? Your son might be able to get a trustee (full ride) or presidents (half tuition) scholarship.
Thanks for all of the input here, and I will say that as we are at the beginning of the search, these are the kinds of things we need to know. We are aware that this is an eclectic mix of favorite schools (then again, he is pretty eclectic) at this point and are hoping that once he looks in depth, it will help him to decide what his best fit will be. As you say, Oberlin is a conservatory with no business, and UChicago and Cornell have economics, which at this point still leaves them in the running.
I suppose the real question we have is that here is a kid who is a natural leader, whip smart and loves to be involved with people and organizations. He also is in love with performing and music. Our goal is to find the best trajectory for him to mesh the two passions. It would be equally tragic imo for him to only pursue one and not the other. Wouldn’t be a happy individual. What we have talked about is a career in management, even upper in the music industry which would keep him involved with his passion for music while still utilizing his other love for leading, organizing and building success. I know that a logical path might be say, pursuing a degree in music business. However, he then loses out on the performance aspect. Some might say then to minor in music, but in my research I have seen that limits performance opportunities as they rightly give priority to majors. I could be wrong.
Cake and eat it too, anyone?
My D is at UMichigan, attempting to have her cake and eat it too. 
She’s a dual degree - music performance and biomedical engineering - in her second year, and currently projecting to finish both degrees in 4.5 - 5 years. It’s challenging academically, musically and logistically (scheduling classes with labs around symphony practices). But she loves it, and she’s thriving! In her case she does not expect to combine the two areas, but she has a passion for music and wants to pursue it as far as possible while also studying math and science. She is insanely busy, but fits in time for extracurriculars, concerts, friends and dating. Not sure she sleeps much! Her music professor and both her advisors are extremely supportive. FYI, she knows about a dozen kids pursuing dual degrees in music and another area. So it’s doable, but it takes a lot of hard work.
Thank you,thank you, thank you! cries a little
Oberlin has a major in economics and has a significant number of dual degree students. SpiritManager raised an important point. Oberlin and TCU on the same list? Your son will be spending four or five years at his choice. thus, he must be comfortable with the atmosphere of the school. One could probably spend four years at TCU and not realize the middle letter stands for Christian. Nevertheless, it is a largish conservative university in a very conservative town while Oberlin is neither large nor conservative. Depending on his leanings, the list could be shortened a bit.
Great comment!
You are, as you say, at the beginning of this long process, and people are asking clarifying questions, which may be helpful. And I hope the link to the Peabody essay is helpful too. There is no one path.
I d personally o not think that a degree in business is necessarily the best, and certainly not the only, way to address his skills and interest in leadership and management. Honestly, I would consider putting that aside for now. After undergrad he could decide on an MBA, or arts management or music industry/business studies, but chances are there are other ways to address this interest at the undergrad level as well.
If he wants to work in administration of a music organization, he can intern or volunteer with one during his undergrad years. My daughter did that and gained a lot of skills applicable not only to cultural organizations but non-profits in general. Also, on campus, he can organize a concert series, or seminars, or an ensemble. Finally, he can participate in outreach programs that are often offered by music schools or through a volunteer organization at the school. And conservatories do offer entrepreneurial studies.
So he has a number of options, depending on what ends up being his priority. If performance is his priority, then applying to conservatories or other BM programs makes a lot of sense. This kind of music study is intense and can be very absorbing for these 4 years. Why mix it with business?
He can also attend a college or university for a BA or BS, rather than BM. At a college or university, he can major in music, an academic major with theory, music history, composition, ethnomusicology, technology etc., with or without a performance component. Many schools offer lessons and at those that don’t, private teachers can sometimes be accessed if the school is in a city or near a conservatory. Some talented kids do go to great grad schools following this path.
He could also major in something else entirely, and still do music via lessons, performance in extracurriculars and off campus. If he is academically inclined, he could major in anything that really interests him, and do music privately. Sometimes English majors, just as a random example, are more likely to end up in upper management than an undergrad business major. There is a reason many selective schools don’t offer business.
He could double major or major/minor at either a music school or a college. Meaning, it might be possible at, say Berklee, or other free standing conservatories or university-based music school, to do both performance and music business. Look for consortiums as well: for instance, can NEC students take a music business class at Northeastern?
At most any college or university he could major in economics rather than business but that is geared more to consulting or banking type work, for those kids I know, than arts management. There are excellent grad degrees in arts management. But getting out there and working with organizations during undergrad years can be very clarifying.
Overall, specializing early in something like music business might result in a job short term but my personal opinion is that that particular idea could wait while he does undergrad study.
If he wants to perform as a career, a BM program is best. If he has strong academic interests, then either a college/university BA or a double degree would be best, I would think. Which kid in the Peabody essay does he most resemble?
No matter where he goes, factors like size, location, and also “vibe” are very important- and of course teachers!
Editing to add that thorough perusal of web sites will be important. And people here can suggest programs when things are clear. The kind of suggestion that Spirit Manager offered, about Syracuse, is an example of a specific school offering an option that would be hard to discover on one’s own
Excellent take on this @compmom . I encourage the OP to really understand how intense undergrad study in classical vp can be as well as what arts management requires. I think HS parents tend to see a vp major as a joyous continuation of a wonderful EC. Frankly it’s not. Take the intensity of an instrumental performance major and add A LOT of language study, history, stage craft etc. All good stuff but frequently precludes a double major. And all that performance that he wants to do? In a good program the opportunities are few and far between for undergrads. But if you are developed enough for those opportunities, the rehearsal time is un godly and again, good luck with those business classes. If he specifically wants to be in music management consider undergrad study in economics. Then on to an MBA in arts management. Find a school with performance opportunities for non majors. (Yale!) While he is pursuing this path continue weekly private lessons in voice. Because if it ends up that he does want to go on for his MM in voice and be a professional opera singer, an undergrad degree in VP is not required. It’s still all about the audition. Nothing tragic about that!
At IU, there is the BSOF (Bachelor of Science in Music with an Outside Field) degree offered through the Jacobs School of Music. You may want to go on the music school website to learn more about it. A popular outside field is arts administration. It is for music students who want conservatory level music training with room to study another area as well. A BM student would spend about 75% of their time in music study and 25% of their time in general ed classes (with AP classes - this number can be reduced to allow extra study in music or elsewhere in the school). A BSOF will spend 50% in music study, 25% in the OF area, and 25% in general ed (or with AP classes you can do more in music or your OF).
At IU if he went into the business school, he would have little to no opportunity in music besides general choirs.
So important questions: Knowing the above, what does he want to lead with - music or business? Or is it truly both - dual degree? How do schools accommodate this? There are some LACs that would allow him to go into the business program and still have great music training. Would he prefer that? And what would a class schedule for 4 or 5 years look like in the various program? Class schedules are available and very informative - BM vs BS/BA vs BM&BS etc.
You’re getting a lot of good advice. And it is very true that music is different and intense at the college level. So just be open to hearing that…but that doesn’t mean he can’t do it. Looking at class schedules and understanding performance demands should help him decide (Note: at IU you have to be in an ensemble each semester which meets in the evenings - this often conflicts with the OF area that requires evening meetings - scheduling is REALLY an issue to be aware of).
He has a great background and will end up at the right place in the right program soon enough.
And…just one more thing…if he does do sample lessons, the teachers may ask questions that we are asking…like the list of schools or his goals…so not a bad idea to be thinking these out now - not to give the “right” answer but to show he is knowledgeable about programs.
BTW–speaking of teachers, money and opportunities. You have a very good bunch of well regarded voice teachers right in your own backyard. It’s the lucky music student who can reap the benefits of in state tuition.
Have you visited the conservatory at UMKC? At the minimum you might want to get a lesson for one of the teachers just to get a feel for what vp performance programs are looking for. We know of two west coast students who took advantage of their grad program and they are doing very well indeed.
“you might want to get a lesson FROM one of the teachers” The perils of posting with a “smart” phone.
So to remake your list…not that you have to take my advice…here goes:
Universities w/ conservatories - possible dual degrees (double majors)
U of MI
IU
KU - not a bad idea to check out the local school, have a sample lesson. I’ve heard KU has a decent program…and if money is tight and grad school is in the future, it deserves a look/see. There may be a good teacher for him there. (KU may not be a conservatory but a music dept - still OK)
LACs with dual degrees
Oberlin
Lawrence - known for music and dual degrees (?)
Puget Sound - recommended earlier(?)
Conservatory - just for fun and to learn more - a sample lesson opportunity for your son?
UMKC - I’ve heard it’s up and coming
All of these schools would “make sense” from what you described (except the conservatory). I missed quite a few on your list. So the above is just an example of “categories”. You can fill in the rest as you research.
Then you have the more solely academic schools:
Chicago, Cornell etc…mainly an academic focus - of course you could do music on a private basis as others have explained
As for money, many of the music schools will give merit aid … to a degree. They still aren’t cheap though…no free education. And with his test scores, he could get additional dollars probably at LACs and maybe at the Universities. You will need to research each school. As for NYU…it’s not known for much aid at all…so unless you have deep pockets, you may not want your son to fall in love with it! But again it’s up to your research.
Just want to add that sometimes kids apply for more than one option and decide in late April of senior year In other words, a straight conservatory BM, an LAC with economics, and a business program- for example. It is great if your son is clear before applying, but my own kids weren’t and they applied to both conservatory and college and decided at 11:59 on April 30th!!
Also, if he goes the college route, sometimes the presence of a conservatory or school of music means fewer opportunities for the BA students, including music majors- but sometimes not.
The specific programs that posters are writing about, that cover both his interests are a great example of what this forum can do.
And we all have our personal preferences. For business, I am in favor of a broader education first. But a kid who really knows what he wants to do might want to get right to it. As for music, well, I have learned on this forum that voice can be a little different. I defer to others on how focused he needs to be on VP as an undergrad
I also know many kids who did do straight performance BM but are working in the “entertainment industry”, as agents, in tv, theater, curating, running non-profits. One in med school. None of the ones I know did any business study, so that may be a bias on my part.
As far as performance opportunities for the OPs son. It’s different for young men. They are a much rarer commodity.If he has as serious capabilities as the OP implies he may very well have some real chances to perform even if he does not major in voice (but just continues to study privately)
Another field for a really bright musically inclined person? Law. Specifically as an intellectual property attorney in the music industry. One of the very few real growing opportunities in the music business.
So if he really wants undergrad business and can do voice privately, as musica musica clarifies, maybe the question is what would be the best university or college with a good undergrad business degree, that also affords access either in the school or in the community, to an excellent voice teacher?
Cornell? (Cornell and Ithaca are in the same town and Cornell has an undergrad business degree I believe).
Even Babson near Boston.
If he specifically wants music business, that is a different story. Many threads on that.
You’ve gotten some great advice above. One thing I will say, though, is to not go blindly into an undergrad “business” program without really understanding what kind of course work is involved. IMO, most of them have very little correlation with becoming an industry “leader” in any field, much less music. There’s a reason why many of the top schools consider “business” a graduate school field and not an undergrad one. Companies will hire graduates from top schools for their business side because they have confidence in their potential; they don’t actually expect grads to have acquired the needed skill-set in college as undergrads.
It may be worth doing a survey of the kind of industry leadership roles he’s interested in pursuing and looking up bios of people who’re in those roles today. Is he thinking, let’s say, Dean of a conservatory? President/CEO of audio companies? Entertainment producer? Artistic director? For these types of roles, my guess is that many have performance backgrounds plus advanced degrees.
I work for an audio company and what I see is that the leadership team comes either from domain expertise (i.e. music and engineering) or, if they don’t have that background, they tend to have MBA’s or law degrees. Quite a few MBA’s with a music undergrad degree. I think that demographic is quite common in music-related industries.
Btw, if finances are a significant factor, keep in mind that the application process is not free. From application fees to the cost of pre-screens to the cost of auditions – they really add up. So, budget accordingly because there’s enough stress involved without worrying about how to pay for applying/auditioning. There is also the significant time factor. More isn’t always an advantage, imo.
Great advice about looking up backgrounds of leaders your son would like to emulate.
Our daughter has her “cake and eat it too” @Sarajanine. She is dual degree at Lawrence. Someone mentioned looking into how much the institution supports two interests and I agree with that. We have found Lawrence is very geared towards driven, multi-interested students. She has two advisors and it’s very individualized. Our d was a very high achieving high school student and wanted to continue with a high level of music as well. She is happy as a clam, pursuing a performance BM and BA in math. She may pursue arts administration or performance in graduate school (doing an internship in arts administration in the Spring may influence her path). I think one aspect of the choice is finding an environment where you are surrounded by like minded folks. She is an athlete as well; a full schedule but she wouldn’t be happy any other way.
Lawrence is a great school, for academics, for its conservatory, and for double degrees. However, it does not have undergrad business.
If business is not the main criterion, there are many options for school with conservatory or music school, and the double degree option. Oberlin, Lawrence, Bard (which requires conservatory students to get double degrees), Tufts/NEC, Harvard/NEC (MM), Ithaca, Michigan, Eastman/Rochester, Peabody/John Hopkins, many others.
So if the best option is double degree and a business program is not a requirement, there are a lot of choices.
The schools I know of with business undergrad programs include U. of Penn. and Cornell, where music could be pursued in a few different ways. Others can suggest more. Babson is a college focused on business but near music opportunities in Boston.
Goucher, BU and UMass Amherst are schools I know of with grad arts management programs. There are of course many more and others can chime in on that too. But doing an internship, like clarinet13mom’s daughter, can really help to clarify things and a straight arts management - or business- degree may not be the best route, or even necessary.
Lots to think about!
Yes, @compmom is correct, due to the dedication to the liberal arts, Lawrence (and other LAC’s listed) does not offer a business major. They offer a major called “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” that your son might like to read about on their website. Lawrence is also committed to developing what they call “21st century musicians” (again, the website has a good description and the dean of the conservatory, Brian Pertl, has a strong business background and is quite inspirational IMO) and that may spark his interest. I would agree that there are different ways to go! My d had similar interests at that time and had also applied to UPenn.