<p>Hello,
I was very happy with University of Rochester when I visited this spring. My only concern is that I will not have enough musical opportunities. Of course, the info session advertised a close relationship with the nearby Eastman school of Music, but I heard later that this is bogus and Rochester students can't play in their orchestra. As a Rochester student, how much can I do at Eastman? Can I get lessons from an actual professor, or just graduate students? And more importantly, can I be involved in Eastman's musical ensembles?
Also, how is the music program at University of Rochester?
Thanks,
Ben</p>
<p>My daughter just graduated from the U of R as a music/english major. She is a vocalist. She had lessons with an Eastman grad student for all four years. The grad students are doctoral students, many are also teaching at other upstate colleges. You will audition first semester and get placed for secondary lessons. At the end of freshman year you will have a jury to either advance to primary lessons (full hour) or continue with secondary lessons. You can audition for any Eastman performing group-however be aware that rehersals for Eastman performing groups are at Eastman as are lessons by and large-although sometimes at the U of R campus. There is a bus that goes back and forth on a regular schedule… although that said, the timing has to fit in around your class schedule, not always the easiest. The U of R performing groups are actually quite good and you will be required to participate if a music major. The theory and history classes at the U of R are also excellent and are challenging. Many faculty go back and forth at both campuses. Many Eastman students take music history classes on the River campus. Practice rooms for non-majors are in the building next to Sue b. residence. The practice rooms at Strong Auditorium are for upper class majors and they are quite nice, as nice as many we saw when we toured various conservatories. At the department graduation this past spring, the faculty joked that they should have had
“I survived Music History Four” t-shirts made… no joke.</p>
<p>Do you play an instrument? The River Campus has a large wind ensemble, a large orchestra, and a smaller chamber orchestra. Members of all of these groups take free weekly private lessons at the Eastmen school. D has done this for three years so far. She has also taken a world music course at Eastman and raved about it. </p>
<p>The chamber orchestra rehearses two nights a week, while the other two groups rehearse once a week. The private lessons culminate with a kind of adjudication (sp?) before a group of Eastman school professors.</p>
<p>In terms of music, what exactly are you looking for?</p>
<p>
It’s not a “close relationship” with a “nearby” school. Eastman is part of the University of Rochester (and always was), just as the School of Engineering and the College of Arts & Sciences are. It’s a much closer relationship than most.</p>
<p>I also think you should realize that playing in the Eastman orchestra - or a group there - means you are one of the best music students in the country and the world. While I don’t believe in rankings for undergrad schools, Eastman is a specialty school and those may make more sense. Eastman consistently ranks 1 and 2 for basically every program offered for undergrad and grad and is generally considered to be one of the best music schools in the world.</p>
<p>I know really excellent musicians who couldn’t get into Eastman.</p>
<p>Again, to follow up Lergnom ,as I stated earlier, there are lots of instrumental opportunities at the River Campus. To join the wind ensemble, you only have to demonstrate, via an informal audition, that you are an intermediate player. It is a huge group that is split in half for some of the pieces, so all get a chance to play. There are no “cuts” due to size, apparently–as long as you can play decently.</p>
<p>My son attended Eastman. He says that many of the doctoral students who teach the undergrads from River Campus are excellent. Many will go on to be professors at prestigious music programs so it isn’t quite taking lessons from “just graduate students”.</p>
<p>I think it is important that I clear up some misconceptions, including those that we sometimes perpetuate accidentally. We recently met as a staff with the ESM admissions office to talk about ways in which we can help one another and to learn more about each other’s programs, and we learned quite a bit.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Access to Eastman can sometimes depend on the instrument that you play. For instance, the demand for piano lessons may be significantly higher than the demand for oboe lessons (not sure if that is true, just an example) - so piano players may have a much more difficult time accessing ESM for lessons than would an oboe player. You would have to be exceptionally skilled to take piano lessons as a non-matriculated ESM student. Preference is given to ESM students, which makes sense, but it also means that river campus students are less likely to be given access to particular types of instrumental instruction.</p></li>
<li><p>Nearly all river campus students taking lessons at ESM will be taking lessons from Phd candidates. shennie mentioned it, but I will reiterate that a Phd candidate at ESM is highly skilled and is going to challenge you in all the ways that you need/wish to be challenged.</p></li>
<li><p>River Campus students very rarely play in ESM ensembles. There are countless ensembles on the River Campus comprised of extremely talented students, many of whom are taking lessons at ESM.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this clears up some misconceptions. I did not realize until recently that certain instruments were going to be much more difficult to pursue at ESM from the River Campus, so I will be absolutely certain to revise my message. If anyone has any questions, as always, let me know.</p>
<p>I was aware that some instruments are impacted, Mike. </p>
<p>My D auditioned for alto saxophone lessons at ESM 2 years ago and was told that there were only 5 slots available for the 9 people who auditioned.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help!
I play the clarinet, and from what MConklin has said it sounds like the river campus will have enough opportunities for me. Is there anywhere that I could find a recording of their band/orchestras? I am a bit discouraged, however, because the audition only groups combined offer two clarinet seats (orchestra and chamber). Am I right in assuming that you don’t have to audition to get into the wind symphony? I’m looking at the U of R website and it doesn’t say anything about auditioning for it.</p>
<p>How many slots do you think will be available for lessons for clarinet at Eastman in the fall of 2011? </p>
<p>Thank you for your time,
Ben</p>
<p>Hi 30howland,
I’m a current student and music minor (using my mom’s account) and I play in several of the instrumental ensembles at UR and take Eastman lessons.
I’m not aware of any recordings online, but if you contact Joe Hanson he might be able to send you one. He’s the ensemble manager for the River Campus and also conducts the Brass Choir. I would definitely recommend setting up a meeting with him to discuss the music program if you visit campus.
There are 2-3 clarinets in chamber orchestra, 4 in symphony orchestra, and 15+ in wind symphony. You do need to audition for wind symphony, though if you played in high school band or have at least a few years experience, you will almost definitely get in. The audition determines your placement though - so I would definitely recommend practicing. There is one audition for both orchestras (same conductor) and it is much more competitive. He’ll ask your preference for chamber or symphony, and a few wind/brass players do participate in both groups, but that’s a huge commitment.
I can’t give you any sort of prediction on your chances without hearing you play, but generally the clarinetists have at least a few years of orchestral experience (in competitive youth orchestras and/or camps) and most own A clarinets. The wind/brass section CAN be very competitive to earn a spot in, as some members stay for years.
For Eastman lessons, other posters are correct in saying that there are different numbers for different instruments. Brass tends to accept almost all interested students since few audition. Piano, strings, voice, and flute can be very competitive. I don’t know specific numbers for clarinet, but it’s nowhere near as difficult to get as those instruments. I haven’t heard of anyone who wanted clarinet lessons being rejected, but keep in mind that it is a big time commitment to take lessons.
I’ve known maybe 3 wind/string players who did classical Eastman ensembles (you are free to audition for their jazz bands). You would need to play at their level and the scheduling is near impossible. Even if you are musically qualified, the chances that they would consider a UR student over an Eastman student are slim. It HAS happened, but is very unlikely.
In terms of the academic side - we have wonderful music theory and history classes. Some of the teachers also teach at Eastman.
Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Wind symphony does require an audition, albeit an informal one, just to see that you can play at an intermediate level. If you come from a decent high school program, you should be OK.</p>