<p>Am looking for school for jazz/contemporary drummer who is great student. Have considered Miami, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, etc. Someone recently suggested Princeton, Penn and Boston College. Also, can anyone comment on Columbia?</p>
<p>You would be well served in the music major forum. I’ve requested the mods move the thread here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/</a></p>
<p>Some Columbia specific jazz info is here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/351730-columbia-jazz-program-questions.html?highlight=Columbia[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/351730-columbia-jazz-program-questions.html?highlight=Columbia</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/558178-music-school-visits-12.html#post1062340781[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/558178-music-school-visits-12.html#post1062340781</a></p>
<p>Some potential options:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/154774-best-university-jazz-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/154774-best-university-jazz-programs.html</a></p>
<p>I do not normally suggest the extremely competitive combo programs Juilliard/Columbia, Harvard/NEC, Tufts/NEC, as each has its own drawbacks and caveats, but in this case depending on your definition of “great student”, perhaps a look at the Tufts/NEC combo is in order. Realize that admission is contingent upon acceptance to both programs, and these programs typically admit 5-12 per cycle, and the attrition rate can be high.</p>
<p>Consider looking at UDenver, Belmont as well.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt, Penn and Boston College will not be very challenging musically for a serious jazz student. None of the three is known for its music programs, and particularly not for jazz. </p>
<p>Both Columbia and Princeton often have very fine jazz musicians in attendance (and potentially good combos, as a result), but there is no performance program, and thus the music can be peripheral to the rest of the academics. Northwestern has a new jazz director (after the program was defunct for a couple of years) and my understanding is that the program is still getting off the ground–perhaps by next year they will have full instrumentation, but there may not yet be enough instruments for a big band, for example.</p>
<p>Aside from Violadad’s recommendations, how about UMichigan or McGill or Oberlin? All have very fine jazz departments within excellent colleges/universities.</p>
<p>Hello Drum Mom,
Since you mentioned your drummer son is an excellent student, is he considering music as an addition to another major or is he primarily interested in jazz drumming? If he really desires a professional career in jazz, forget about the Ivy’s, Princeton, Penn or BC.</p>
<p>On the west coast, two schools with excellent jazz studies departments coupled with high academic standards are UCLA, and to a lesser extent USC- although their music school is top notch and pricey Oberlin and McGill would also be worth looking into. The drum set professor is the key ingredient.</p>
<p>However, we found many of the best music schools for jazz drummers are in the state college system rather than at top notch research universities. These state schools are also a real bargain.</p>
<p>Again on the west coast, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Northridge have stronger music programs than Stanford or UC Berkeley, for example. We know great young drummers currently studying at the Manhattan School of Music, Berklee, Eastman (all expensive) and at North Texas (a bargain)</p>
<p>My jazz drummer son (with UC level grades and SATs) selected the University of North Texas, because of the overall quality of the music department and the outstanding jazz studies program. The primary drum set instructor, Ed Soph, is recognized as one of the best in the nation. Obviously, time will tell if it’s a good fit, but the level of musicianship is world class. However, if our son ultimately changes majors, he’d probably also be changing schools. UNT would not be his first choice if he had a non-music major.</p>
<p>Good luck to your son…</p>
<p>Hi Drum Mom, We’ve recently gone through the jazz drum school search–also with a musician who is also pretty academic. As Steve mentioned, your drum teacher is key, so your son should investigate specific teachers at the schools in which he is interested. My son chose Oberlin over Columbia ultimately because he wanted to concentrate on drums, but have access to outstanding academics (and may choose to do the double degree program) vs. having rigorous academics being foremost with music as the minority course load. It was a tough decision, as Columbia does have (as Allmusic mentioned) some very good jazz musicians attending. He also knew that the temptation (and expense) of jazz in NYC would be tugging at him, and would rather have that opportunity post-graduation. Ultimately, though, the chance to study with Billy Hart was too exciting an opportunity to pass up. He also received a very nice merit/talent award from Oberlin that made a significant difference in tuition. Columbia does not offer any merit aid.</p>
<p>He was also very interested in Northwestern. In order to be accepted at NU/Bienen, one must be accepted by the University AND the music school, so your son’s academic abilities would serve him well. As Allmusic mentioned, the jazz program there will be beginning its second year this year under Director Victor Goines. You should definitely investigate teachers and programs there, as well as the number of jazz students enrolled. I believe NU offers merit aid to musicians.</p>
<p>You have a number of helpful links to wade through. It is a very personal choice to determine whether a conservatory alone, a conservatory within a college campus, or a university music program is the right “fit.” Is your son doing a summer program? I am happy to answer any questions about our process, as it sounds as though we might have some parallels. Feel free to PM me if you want!</p>
<p>Welcome to the wonderful world of college jazz!</p>