<p>I am currently a high school junior and I play flute and piccolo in the band. I don't know exactly how good I am, because I live in a small city with no private flute teachers of any kind. I never really had the oppurtunities people had that were living in cities. It would have been very unaffordable for my family to take me to a city for private lessons.</p>
<p>I have only made 2 accomplishments. In junior high school I was first chair flute in the UIL all-region band. This year, I auditioned for the 5A All-Region Band as a piccolo player and was ranked 3rd, but didn't make it since they only took 2.</p>
<p>Anyway, I actually do want to major in music education, and I'm wondering what school in Texas would be a good choice for this major.</p>
<p>Some schools I have considered are
- University of North Texas
- Texas Christian
- Texas Tech
- Texas State</p>
<p>Also, does anyone have any idea how tought the auditions are and whether or not these schools are a long shot for me?</p>
<p>State schools are indeed a wise choice for music ed majors. Programs are geared towards licensure requirements for that particular state, student teaching may well result in a job offer, and state programs tend to be less costly than private or oos instituitions.</p>
<p>I'm not familiar specifically with Texas programs, so I can't comment on which on your list might be best for you.</p>
<p>In general, most programs are auditioned based, and usually admissions is a factor of academics, audition results, and in some cases an interview.</p>
<p>It's hard to say if you will "be good" enough at a given school, as there are variables each year across the talent levels of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>Most music programs hold music ed majors to a somewhat lower audition standard than music performance candidates. One way to tell is to look at required audition repetoire for each of the schools, and if the requirements differ between mus ed & performance. BTW, flute tends to be one of the more competitive instruments, and some schools may want a prescreening tape before allowing you to audition.</p>
<p>I'd suggest talking to local/regional music educators, and getting their feel for the programs they graduated from. It's a good place to start. Also, as professional educators, they should be aware of what schools are currently producing the top candidates.</p>
<p>Do some reading on this forum. There are numerous music ed specific threads and some great general background info for picking a teacher, a school, or preparing for auditions.</p>
<p>Flute and piccolo are usually very competitive instruments because of the large number of people playing them. The audition standards may be a little lower for music ed majors than for performance majors, at least at some of the schools you mention.</p>
<p>If you are not playing at least at the senior high school regional or all-state level, UNT is going to be a reach. I don't know a lot about Terri Sundberg there, but Mary Karen Clardy attracts a lot of very talented flute students from across the country to the auditions. UNT has a reputation as a great music school at the national level and their tuition prices are very attractive when compared with other schools that offer teachers at a comparable level.</p>
<p>I do not know the teachers at the other schools well enough to tell you much about them, but the competition there is likely to be a notch or two down from UNT.</p>
<p>You should check out the audition repertoire listed on the school web sites. UNT wants things of comparable difficulty to Bach, Poulenc or Hindemith Sonatas. There will be applicants there who play those pieces quite well. </p>
<p>If any of these schools are close enough to visit, you should request a sample lesson with the flute teacher or teachers. They should be able to give you a feel for how you stack up against their admission standards.</p>