Our son is looking at several LACs that offer merit aid. He plans to study sciences but is a talented pianist and wants to continue studying and performing. He has studied classical piano for 12 years, but recently has developed a major interest in jazz. This occurred since we visited several colleges, and now, at the end of the application process, we realize that we haven’t really looked into jazz resources at the schools he is applying to. He has applied regular decision to four schools so far, and has about 8 more to go. Schools include Lafayette (met with a great jazz pianist there), Oberlin, Lawrence, Grinnell, Beloit, Goucher, Tulane. In the non-merit-aid category, he is also applying to Tufts, Colby, and Bowdoin, and UNH as a safety school though we now are looking at their music program.
The questions we have are:
How important is it to have a jazz pianist on the faculty (or the applied faculty) if he wants to play jazz? Might it be viable to study classical (which he also loves), and play in jazz ensembles or small groups? Do students study with outside teachers?
Can you please comment on opportunities to participate in music for non-music majors? We have seen several posts about this, some suggesting that non-music majors are better off at schools that don’t have a conservatory, but the idea of being surrounded by music at Lawrence or Oberlin is very appealing.
I would suggest your son contact the chairperson of all of the music departments. He can inquire about opportunities for non-majors at each school. He can also email a member of the piano faculty who might be able to help with answers.
My DD is an oboe/English horn player. She wanted to continue playing in college…and continue private study. The music department chair people and applied teachers were a great source of information for her.
ETA…there is a difference between Lawrence where students of all majors are welcome in all music ensembles, and Oberlin where the conservatory ensembles are for the conservatory students who have auditioned into the conservatory.
I know that it’s not a LAC, but has he considered Cal Tech? We know of more than one student there that continued their passion for music while they studied there. Lots of music ensembles for performance opportunities and plenty of fantastic teachers in the Los Angeles/Pasadena area. Also look into the Claremont Consortium.
@ridrdad. I realize that your son doesn’t want to major in music; however, I would still post this question in the http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/ forum. There are very knowledgeable people over there who might have some great suggestions for you.
@Ridrdad, we went through a similar search two years ago. Our daughter is also a classical pianist and vocalist, but didn’t want to go to a conservatory. The single most important questions you should ask are: Are the music classes (theory, composition, lessons, etc.) open to non-majors? And are there practice rooms available to non-majors? Are the pianos kept in tune? The right answers to these questions will make or break your son’s music experience at college.
My daughter ended up at Wellesley College, where she has plenty of practice time on well-tuned pianos, excellent music theory classes, a piano instructor who is also on the faculty at New England Conservatory, and numerous opportunities to sing choral music.
We were also told to avoid schools that have conservatories in order to have equal access to practice rooms, but I’m not sure that’s universally true. Our son is applying to Oberlin College (not the conservatory) and his understanding is that he will have access to music classes and lessons. He sings and plays the trombone, though not at the same time.
I believe that at Tulane one auditions in to the jazz department later - not for freshman admissions even for prospective music majors. There would also be many opportunities for taking lessons on the side as working musicians do lessons etc. to augment income.
My D is a freshman at Lawrence and is a non music major who takes lessons and plays her cello in the orchestra.
I don’t know the specific questions about Jazz, but she has found everyone to be very helpful and accommodating in
helping her to pursue music at Lawrence as a non music major. She also is on the track and xc teams and there have been some scheduling conflicts, but so far everyone- coaches, orchestra conductor, private lesson teacher have been very willing to help her make it work.
She has not had any trouble getting a practice room when she needs it and she shares a locker with another student to store her cello. Lawrence operates on the premise that non music majors will participate and make it easy to make it work.
I second the suggestion to post this on the music major forum. The possibility that the presence of a conservatory or music school might adversely affect students not in the conservatory is just something to keep in mind and not universally true. Check out the music department in the college at schools like Oberlin or Bard, for instance. Talk with someone at the college too.
Just want to clarify that Lawrence, like Oberlin, has a conservatory on campus.
Yes, Lawrence has a conservatory…but they clearly state that all students at the school can play in the conservatory ensembles. This is not true at Oberlin. Oberlin does have ensembles for non-majors.
Yes they have to audition for the conservatory ensembles at Lawrence. But all majors are welcome to audition. What I’m saying is…at Oberlin, the only students in the conservatory ensembles are conservatory students.
My D2 participated in lots of music there as a nonmajor. They have a conservatory, but music on the “college” side is also very strong. Not sure about jazz specifically, but they support lots of other-than-strictly-classical stuff.
One thing to ask about is the availability of practice rooms for nonmajors. When I was in college, the practice rooms could be used by non music majors very early in the a.m. and then again at dinner time. It wasn’t ideal for me (especially because I wanted to eat dinner with my friends.)
I would suggest applying to Hartt/University of Hartford as a safety. As a science/engineering major, you will probably get lots of merit aid and the jazz at Hartt is great. I think you will allowed to participate in jazz ensembles - call and check. UHartford has a dual degree option in acoustics engineering with Hartt so that may be of interest to you.
We hear the Bucknell jazz band and their energy was ‘through the roof’! Lots of good science there but I am not sure about merit aid. Their application deadline is Jan 15th so there is still time to apply.
I was going to suggest Hamilton College - lots of great music and science there but the application deadline has already passed I think. The jazz professor spent 1.5 hours talking with S2 when we visited - it was a great visit!
Lastly for merit aid and a safety, check out Susquehanna. We heard their jazz band and the music building was super busy at noon just like a music school would be. Very nice people there…
At least as of a few years ago, even at Oberlin – which I believe is outside the OP’s query because I don’t think it has a merit scholarship program – the membrane between the college and the conservatory was far from impermeable. A close friend of my kids was (is) a talented multi-instrumentalist with real expertise in a variety of period instruments. He auditioned for the Oberlin conservatory as a violinist (it didn’t have slots for lute or hautbois, and he was concertmaster of a regional youth orchestra), and was not accepted, but he was contacted by various conservatory faculty assuring him that if he came to the college they would be happy to work with him and to permit him to play in conservatory ensembles.
At LACs without high-prestige conservatories attached, I doubt that anything is restricted to music majors. The vast majority of them will have only a handful of music majors, and without involving other students music performance would wither. There may be some exceptions to that rule – colleges like St. Olaf with big music education programs.
One of the attractions to Oberlin for both my sons was access to lessons. Any student can take lessons for $8/lesson. Another school that both sons are interested in is St. Olaf, which doesn’t have a conservatory, but does have strong music programs. That is the school we know best. At St. Olaf, they have two orchestras and three jazz bands and 8 instructors for piano. The majority of students in orchestra and jazz are not music majors. Their top jazz band has won national honors. They have decent merit aid and music scholarships, although the deadline for audition submissions has passed.
In terms of your specific questions, at the schools I am most familiar with, the schools have jazz piano instructors available and study in jazz and classical are both welcome and encouraged.
9 cents worth from a former NYC based jazz pianist, College instructor, composer and performer (Berklee and NYU). Also the parent of an 11th grader, ouch.
I’ll leave the specific school recommendations to others…
a good teacher can be a huge help - (they don’t have to be faculty if you can afford the lessons) If you want more possibilities stick with a campus near an urban area.
you need access to decent pianos
don’t take any more classical ( it will be hard enough to find time to practice / play jazz) with your regular course load - you should really be immersed if you really want to “get it”.
Focus on the availability of small ensembles ( trio, quartet, quintets) to learn group playing
Find a fellow student who’s a good bass player ! Then a horn player or a “real” jazz vocalist.
Unlike most other instruments, piano is fully self contained, and once you are solid in the basics you can play solo or organize the most common ensemble combinations on your own ( provided you can have access to rehearsal rooms - important). Example - piano-vocalist, piano-bass player, piano trio (bass and guitar or drums) , quartet with guitar or horn player, etc.
take a jazz history class ASAP
Get Mark Levine’s (my old piano teacher) "The Jazz Theory Book " and “The Jazz Piano Book”
You don’t have to wait until you get to college to start
@Shaker2008, $8 a lesson? Really? If that is still true of Oberlin, that’s amazing! My son just sent off his application last night, so if he is accepted, the reasonable cost and ease of access to music instruction will be a big plus.
Macalaster could be a perfect fit for him- LAC with good merit aid and an excellent music program that non majors can be part of. Also, the deadline is January 15 so there is still time to apply
