<p>How's the music faculty at Brown like?</p>
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<p>I know this is not particularly informative, but I see you've had no replies here. My son is a sophomore at Brown, and a TA in the Ghanian Drumming class. (He is a percussionist who spent time in Africa making drums). Though he is not a music major, he is very musical and plays music constantly with other students. The atmosphere at Brown in general is so very creative and open that I can't imagine certain musicians not finding a great outlet there. I don't know anything about faculty or about being a traditional music major there--nothing much is "traditional" about Brown, though! The African Drumming teacher is very well-respected in his field--that I know! Good luck to you.</p>
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<p>From what I gather (not personal experience), the music faculty is quite good; it is an academic department, with performance opportunities and adjunct faculty who give lessons. There are a lot of performance opportunities and I know of a couple of first-rate musicians who are double majoring in music and science and enjoying it. One takes lessons in Boston -- at NEC -- a couple of times a month. It is not, however, a conservatory or its equivalent.</p>
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<p>I don't go to Brown, but I have friends who study music there, and I have played with Brown groups.
On the whole the level of performance is not particularly high, but there is a lot of diverse musical activity, and there are certainly pockets of excellence.
However, the level of scholarship is extremely high, especially considering that there is no PhD in musicology. My friends there are split about the music department; some love it, others are unhappy with it, but all love the school in general.</p>
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<p>New information from Brown student son: the electronic music department is one of the best in the country, offering a PhD. in electronic music. This is very interesting to a musician who might also be a science/physics brain, as it crosses over into wave physics, etc. Very esoteric and very Brown, I might add!</p>
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<p>Our son is at Brown, and daughter visited a class last week to see what she thought. Was surprised that the prof. told her conservatories are "anti-intellectual," esp. since this prof. went to a conservatory himself. Would have liked a more open attitude that respected her ability to decide.</p>
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<p>If you think about it, a conservatory is a trade school for musicians, and there isn't much time for other more "scholarly" endeavors, so calling it "anti-intellectual" isn't too far off the mark. If one wants to be a musical member of the inelligentsia, then it's double major time...</p>
<p>It's been my experience with the serious amateur and professional musicians I've encountered is that they are of two distinct ilk. One group lives, sleeps, and breathes music, often to the exclusion of the pursuit of other hobbies, interests, or diversions, scholarly or otherwise.</p>
<p>The second group seems a bit more "well-rounded", driven by music but often with a broad spectrum of secondary interests that they use to take a break from their muse driven passion.</p>
<p>Pro or serious amateurs I've seen fall equally into both categories. I personally know a carpenter who is also a professional opera singer, equally home in both worlds.</p>
<p>As Zep says, a conservatory is a trade school for musicians, and the focus is on perfecting one's craft. However, it is not necessarily the best choice for everyone.</p>
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<p>For composers, things get a little murkier, since the academic quality of theory, solfege and composition instruction is higher at conservatories.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, we would agree that conservatories are narrower in focus, of course. It was more a matter of the prof. being dismissive of this as an option. There are other ways to talk about the conflict kids have between college and conservatories, without denigrating either path.</p>
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<p>"Conservatories are anti-intellectual" has some truth, but it is a nasty slight to the large number of us who work every day at a scholarly and progressive approach to music-making from within the walls of conservatories. It is wildly inappropriate as a comment to a student on the cusp of college applications and conservatory auditions.</p>
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<p>If you want a career as a performing musician, unless you are already at a professional level it is very difficult to continue to advance at a school like Brown, where music is an academic subject and performing more of an extracurricular activity. You will also, as earlier posters noted, find that the level of the performing ensembles is nowhere near what you would find at a conservatory.</p>
<p>Serious musicians who are also high-achieving academic students who want a rigorous liberal arts education should be looking at Yale and Columbia. Yale, because the top undergrad musicians there can gain access to the resources of the graduate music school and with luck end up with a B.A. and M.Mus. in five years, and Columbia because of access to the incredible musical resources of New York City. Students who never need any sleep or downtime can also consider the joint Columbia/Juilliard and Harvard/NEC programs.</p>
<p>also consider what has famously been said about Harvard undergraduate music: "Musicians should be seen and not heard at Harvard." I think it was Leonard Bernstein who originally said it. Only about 5 students a year are admitted to NEC/Harvard (at an additional cost of $6,000 above Harvard's nearly $50,000); only about 2 to Columbia/Juilliard.</p>
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<p>A photographer I know said Harvard told her upon hiring her as a prof: we are educating consumers of art, not artists...WOW, would any creative kid want to run the other way from that educational value???</p>