<p>hello. I am a high school junior in california looking at uc's (and perhaps csu's) because of cost. I haven't heard much about the music programs at these schools. I am mostly interested in composition (although i would like a school with a strong performance dept as well). Does anyone have experience or know anything about the music programs at any of the UC's? thanks for any input.</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>At UCLA, there are multiple BA tracks in music (no BM), separated from each other, and reputedly not always collegial. The musicology (music history) department is in the College of Letters and Sciences; it is "cutting edge" with feminist and culture studies specialists. There is a separate performance major in the College of Arts and Architecture, which also houses the ethnomusicology department. Composition is in the performance department.</p>
<p>We have heard that the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara is good for composition. We had similar questions last fall (only for trumpet, not composition) and we had a related thread going on this topic--</p>
<p>My son is going to UCLA in the fall as a music composition major, and we checked out all the UC's for music, so here is what we found. The BA at UCLA is close to a BMUS, in that you have almost 50% of your coursework as music courses. UCLA is competitive to get into, and requires a performance audition for composition students, also. At UC Santa Barbara, they offer a BA and BMUS, with the difference being the amount of music courses taken, and an audition for placement in the BMUS program. UCSD has an interesting music dept with an emphasis on electronic music. The other UC's didn't seem as rich in their music dept's as these schools. For the Cal States, Northridge has a good reputation for music, and for composition.<br>
If you go to the music dept websites you can check out all the composition teachers by name and listen to their music and see who you'd like to study under. This is what my son did and narrowed it down to UCLA and USC. UCLA seems very open to the idea of students studying with whomever they like, and told my son he'd be able to do that each year. Others who are already in the program may have more to say on that.</p>
<p>I second CCS at UCSB for composition with an adjacent performance faculty at the school. Besides USC it is one of the best for composition in CA. Applying to CCS is a separate application. If interested, I suggest that you set up a visit with the faculty there.</p>
<p>ucla has a pretty good program- and uc berkley is really good for grad school (taruskin teaches there! he's probably one of the world's leading musicologists!)</p>
<p>What UC would be the best for flute performance?</p>
<p>Not sure about flute per se, but some UC's don't offer a performance degree so you might be able to narrow down the field a little. UCD and UCSD don't offer a B. of Music degree, for instance. </p>
<p>There was an old post (sorry, can't find it anymore) from a flutist (flautist?) that ranked music schools from a flutist's perspective. I remember that in California, USC was mentioned as a top tier choice (if you have the $$$$, since not a UC) with a lesser mention to UCSB. Maybe investigating the current flute teachers in each dept. would be productive. </p>
<p>Also, some of the CSU's (including Northridge, Long Beach) have larger music programs than the UC's, that might be worth looking into. The CSU general academic stats didn't look too appealing when we looked at them, but on the other hand, some of the UC music depts. seem a bit thin/small. We felt we had to compromise on this point. Can't say that our son's choice was right yet.....he'll be starting at UCI this fall so we'll know more then.</p>
<p>I would get my hands on a course catalog from a music conservatory and compare it to the course catalog at let's say UCSB for the BM. I would visit with a teacher and visit the department. That goes for the cal states. Teachers move around between schools. The schools each have a distinct culture. Get to know what a flute performance means? What courses will you take? What are your options?</p>
<p>Yes, CSUN has a very nice music program. I am familar with the school because I am in one of their youth orchestras. I haven't really looked into the CSU's because I want a college that is academically known. Does Stanford have a good music program?</p>
<p>stanford has a fabulous music program! my brother went there as a BA in human biology and studied cello performance with Chris Constanza there (actually quite possibly the nicest guy ever) and then went on to get a masters in cello performance at Juilliard on scholarship. I learn violin with a woman who is a full-time lecturer in violin performance (Robin Sharp), and she’s fabulous as well. I’ve encountered a lot of the staff there, and I can honestly say they are all amazing. If you can get into stanford and want to pursue music, I’d consider that a great choice.</p>
<p>Hi, does anyone know which UC schools are the best for a BA, piano?</p>
<p>ucla has a good program for piano</p>
<p>What about UC Santa Barbara?</p>
<p>Not many of us know much about the BA route as a music major for performance on a specific instrument. There are many wonderful adjunct professors who teach piano at colleges all across the country. You could probably choose a college for many other reasons, and be confident you could take lessons through the college with a good piano teacher. You might find, however, if there is a music school or conservatory with grad students, as a BA student you will find yourself studying with one of those grad students rather than the professors. That would be something to ask about.</p>
<p>We were extremely disappointed to find the UC’s in general so lacking in music performance programs. Particularly jazz. It was indeed very surprising to see that, aside from UCLA, the Cal States had it over the UC’s. Although even at UCLA it was a BA, not a BM, and at least for jazz, the ratio wasn’t 50% – more like 60% GE’s. </p>
<p>You’d think it would be other way around, UC’s over Cal States. Based on our program comparisons, musicians looking for true performance degrees, CSULB and CS Northridge had it over UCLA. But my son wanted stronger academics.</p>
<p>Needles to say, he ended up at USC.</p>