<p>Hey guys, I'm asking this question for a friend of mine who is interested in studying music. This might be a bit long so bear with me! =D Her goal is to attend a prestigeous university for Grad school, for a degree in music technology (or something like that). But as an undergrad, she's quite confused about what to do. She's considering getting a BA in music performance, but wants to know if this is the best course? She wants to know:</p>
<p>Should she minor/dmajor in computer science to do music technology in grad school?</p>
<p>How is the Music program at Berkeley? I know their music library is incrediably amazing, but how great does their program rank?</p>
<p>Also, perhaps the most important question, someone told her that Berkeley's music program is more Music Composition and Theory oriented, but not so much in performance? Is this true? And to pursue her goal of Music Technology in Grad school, should she concentrate on Music Performance as an undergrad or something else...?</p>
<p>Berkeley has one of the best music history departments in the country and is one of the only departments that has a specialist in Russian music (Richard Taruskin, who authored the multivolume Oxford History of Music, to great acclaim). The undergraduate degree offered is called, generically, Music: it requires study of music history, ethnomusicology, as well as performance and harmony, keyboard, etc. The composition program is for graduate students but there are classes for undergraduates with composers, for example in Counterpoint. Cal does not offer Theory per se (unlike University of Chicago or Columbia, for example, which also have excellent musicology departments). The classes are relatively small, taught by professors for the most part, with the assistance of GSI's for small sections. Students can write an honors thesis. There are many music performance opportunities: an excellent symphony, conducted by a former assistant at the San Francisco Symphony, that performs many times each year (far more times, and with a far more challenging program, than many comparable orchestras); there is also an excellent chorus, jamelin, a noon concert series that has a strong local following and offers opportunities for solo and chamber music performances. Students under 21 can audition for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, one of the premiere youth orchestras, which tours every few years (e.g., France, Germany, etc.) playing in top concert halls (e.g. the Concertgebeouw in Amsterdam). Cal has a chamber music program with coachings by professional musicians. There are loads of musicians at Cal, within and outside the department (it is a large school). Students can audition for concertos with the orchestra. The music department subsidizes lessons for majors (a small subsidy), with local teachers, many of whom are first rate. The department offers a scholarship (the Hertz fellowship) for performance for graduates to spend up to a year studying performance abroad or in the US. That said, it is not a performance school or conservatory. There are students who go on to get masters degrees in conservatories, students who go on to graduate school in music history or ethnomusicology. Check out the website for more information.</p>
<p>So...if I were to plan to go to MIT for Graduate School for Music Technology, would you recommend I go to Berkeley as an undergrad for Music, or San Francisco Conservatory of Music</p>
<p>I have a friend who will be starting at the SF Conservatory soon for grad or post-grad (classical singer), I will ask her about it.</p>
<p>Off-hand, it might be worth rounding off a misic curriculum with some other arts, humanities or sciences, and Berkeley would be great from that perspective.</p>
<p>Cal has a music technology offering, called CNMAT (<a href="http://www.cnmat.berkeley.edu);%5B/url%5D">www.cnmat.berkeley.edu);</a> I think SF Conservatory is strictly a classical music conservatory. The educations would be vastly different: Cal is an academic institution, with low tuition for California residents, offering a 4 year B.A. in music; SF Conservatory is a 4 year performance program with minimal academic offerings, preparing students for careers as performers and teachers. The qualifications for each are very different: Cal admission is based on grades, SAT scores, extra-curricular activities -- no auditions for admission, though you could send a CD to the Music Department as part of your application; SF Conservatory admission is based on auditions on your instrument.</p>