<p>Hi all! I'm totally new to this whole forum thing, but as a junior in high school i'm on the hunt for colleges. I play oboe and plan to be a performance major. Up to this point I have done very well in both music and academics, being first chair of my youth orchestra, involved in school band, private lessons, and pit orchestra. academically, i am in the top 1% of my class and i've taken ap courses and honors. so my dilemma up to this point is finding a good music school. i'd prefer to stay away from the conservatories i think and i love an urban setting. what are the best options for me? i have toured Depaul and love it. i was thinking of looking also at Michigan but i really like the city? i'm open to going anywhere too, not just the midwest. thank you so much!!</p>
<p>Hey there! Even if you do wish to stay away from the conservatories, have you considered the idea of doing a double-degree (NEC-Harvard) or the Juilliard-Columbia exchange?</p>
<p>Schools you may wish to look at: Oberlin (relatively close to Cleveland), Eastman (in Rochester), Northwestern (close to Chicago.) Northwestern will be in reach with your grades (are you SAT scores also high?) UMich’s oboe faculty is also exceptional; don’t forget that it’s located in Ann Arbor, which is not exactly a small town.</p>
<p>thank you averageviolist! i will definitely look into those! i haven’t taken the SAT yet and i don’t know if i should. did you? thanks!</p>
<p>If you are not looking at conservatories, then you will need the SAT except at SAT optional schools. However, you will find that most merit scholarships are tied to grades and SAT/ACT scores.</p>
<p>Yep - I’m planning on taking it once again. Forgot to mention these other schools: Vanderbilt (Blair), Rice (Shepherd), which is another very competitive school academically, and Lynn.</p>
<p>[Review</a> of Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti - chicagotribune.com](<a href=“http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/columnists/rhein/ct-ent-0608-cso-muti-review-20130608,0,448084.column]Review”>Riccardo Muti launches season-ending CSO residency with a blast of Scriabin)</p>
<p>I believe he teaches at DePaul. S will be going there in the fall for percussion performance</p>
<p>You should look at CIM. Although a conservatory, you take courses at Case Western and could do a double degree if you chose to. Two of the three members of the oboe faculty currently hold chairs in the Cleveland Orchestra while the third one did for 22 years. Those kind of contacts are important for aspiring orchestral musicians. The music school sits on a corner of Case’s campus and when time comes to move out of the dorm, the cost of living is quite reasonable.</p>
<p>So this past week, I went to orchestra camp at ISYM at U of I and loved it! I met with Professor John Dee and asked about schools. He suggested going to a large, competitive school for undergrad and suggested U of I, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Arizona, and Nebraska. Thoughts??</p>
<p>It really depends upon what career goals you have, what you want from a school and the teachers you are considering. I think that limiting yourself to just considering large universities and ruling out conservatories altogether may rule out some schools that could serve you well.
Profs will naturally suggest the type of school at which they teach, especially if they are interested in having you in their studio and there is nothing wrong with that, but visit different types of schools, talk to current and former students, take some lessons and see where you feel comfortable.
Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree with MezzoMama regarding professors suggesting the type of school at where they teach.</p>
<p>For serious oboe students whose goal is to become a principal player in a major orchestra, the best schools are Curtis, Juilliard and NEC, followed by CIM, Boston University and Indiana.</p>
<p>I feel that Rice (Shepherd) also has to be considered a top school for serious oboe players. Many of Robert Atherholt’s students have been very successful in winning auditions.</p>
<p>Check this out. International Double Reed Society</p>
<p>2014 Young Artist Oboe Competition
[International</a> Double Reed Society](<a href=“Publications – International Double Reed Society”>Publications – International Double Reed Society)</p>
<p>National meeting
<a href=“https://www.idrs.org/events/conference.php/[/url]”>https://www.idrs.org/events/conference.php/</a></p>
<p>With a membership you could look at the directory</p>
<p>I would agree with nasi and averageviolist, Rice (Shepherd) is one of the top schools for oboists. Atherholt is fantastic.</p>
<p>NEC is also very well known for oboe.</p>
<p>You should really do some touring and take some “practice” lessons with some of the faculty at the schools you are considering. The chemistry with the teacher and the studio will be very important, and your goals may well change over time, so looking just for a school with a track record in orchestral placement will probably not be the best approach. Also you will need to think about the scary numbers for oboe studios…how many possible openings will there be for the studios in 2015? (Even a large school like UMich may have only 3-4 openings for oboists) Don’t mean to be discouraging, just would encourage a broad search and getting to know the professors in advance.</p>
<p>Hey, this is my first Post. I have a situation that I am hoping I can get some advice on. I have played oboe for 6 1/2 years. Have had private lessons for 3 years. Taking Reed making lessons and currently have a private Theory teacher twice a month. I am not looking to go to a top conservatory. I have two schools that I really like. One has a reported good music program with an Orchestra, Wind ensemble and concert band (Currently 4 oboe students) and offer a BM in music. Problem, NO OBOE PROFESSOR. The other School has a Wind Ensemble, Concert Band and an Oboe Professor (phD Performance) and offers a B. ARTS in Music (No oboe students currently). I want to eventually get a Masters and then a PhD. I will audition at both this Fall. I have visited both schools and like both but don’t know which would be the best for me to advance. Is it better to have an Oboe Professor or to have an Orchestra to play in? I would really like to hear from those of you who know more about this than I do.</p>
<p>Honestly, neither school sounds like a great option unless you just want to go to college, study music and find a job in some other field after you graduate. What do your music teachers say?</p>
<p>goalsrreal, if you want to do well on oboe, you need both an oboe teacher and an orchestra to practice in. Of course, it is possible to take lessons privately outside of school, and also play in an orchestra outside of school. To go to those lengths though, you should be getting a free ride from that school. I recommend you take a deeper look at colleges and apply to more complete music programs.</p>
<p>Well, again, I am not looking to attend a top tier Music School. I do want to major in music and feel that it’s more important to go to a better school for my Masters. My primary teacher said he thinks it’s more important to be able to play well than necessarily have a lot of orchestra experience. Thus, he tends to lean toward having a good oboe professor. Which would you prefer to have a school with an orchestra or a school with an Oboe Professor and why?</p>
<p>Woodwinds, thanks for that response. The one school with an Orchestra did mention the possibility of bringing in an adjunct and I haven’t thought of playing in an outside Orchestra. It seems that you are suggesting that I should get more money if I have to use those outside options. This is a good thought.</p>
<p>Plenty of average music schools have both oboe professors and orchestras. All of our state schools have them. Your post implies that you think only the “top tier” schools have this, but that is not correct. For oboe, a basic requirement for a school of music should be a good teacher and an orchestra.</p>