<p>Hi, I am a 9th grade student at a private highschool in NY. I know it seems early for me to be looking but college planning (especially for music) is done at a very early level at my school. I am an opera and voice student and plan to attend a music school. I have made a list of 12 music schools I am interested in going to, some of them on the list I have heard aren't good for opera and voice but I have not confirmed these rumors and tips. I don't want to go into "choral singing" rather solo voice programs and opera. Here are my top 12, please tell me which ones might not be good for opera and also if you know of any others on the East Coast or near it please tell. </p>
<ul>
<li>The Curtis Institute of Music<br>
<ul>
<li>The New England Conservatory of Music<br></li>
</ul></li>
<li>The Cleveland Institute of Music<br></li>
<li>The Ithaca School of Music (Ithaca College)
-The Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Oberlin College) </li>
<li>The Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester) </li>
<li>The Peabody Institute of Music (John Hopkins University) </li>
<li>The Purchase Conservatory of Music (SUNY Purchase) </li>
<li>Michigan State College of Music (Michigan State University) </li>
<li>The Blair School of Music (Vanderbilt University) </li>
<li>The Jacobs School of Music (Indiana University) </li>
<li>The Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam)</li>
</ul>
<p>Also here are a list of schools I have already labeled as not for me, if there are any you think I should reconsider please tell as well. </p>
<ul>
<li>The Juilliard School<br></li>
<li>The San Francisco Conservatory of Music
-The Mannes College of Music (The New School) </li>
<li>The Manhattan School of Music</li>
<li>The Westminster Choir College (Rider University) </li>
<li>The North Carolina School of the Arts (North Carolina University) </li>
<li>The Chicago College of Performing Arts (Roosevelt University) </li>
<li>The Berklee College of Music </li>
<li>The Sheperd School of Music (Rice University) </li>
<li>The Hartt School of Music (University of Hartford) </li>
<li>The Chapman Conservatory of Music (Chapman University) </li>
<li>The Boyer College of Music (Temple University) </li>
<li>The Setnor School of Music (Syracuse University)</li>
</ul>
<p>It’s great that you are planning ahead and are already thinking about college. Your motivation is inspiring. Since you already have a very comprehensive list, you must have a pretty good understanding of what you are looking for in order to rule out some of the programs. </p>
<p>Just remember that as you learn and grow over the next few years, your requirements might change. Jazz wasn’t even on the radar for my D during freshman year and now as a senior she has applied to Jazz voice performance programs.</p>
<p>The best thing about early research is that you can get an idea of the admission requirements. For pretty much any classical program, you’ll need a song in English, Italian, and French or German. You’ll have to sight sing and take a theory test. These are things you can work on now. You can also see if any programs for high school students are offered at the schools you are interested in.</p>
<p>Look at CCM ( College-Conservatory of Music) with University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH. Its voice program is ranked 3rd. And if you like Jacobs with Indiana, CCM is a similar program.</p>
<p>I can confirm that Oberlin is a heavily opera-based program. Another point is that undergrads get good roles because there are no grad students there.</p>
<p>Looks like you are on your way. As an undergrad, narrow your choices down as far as region and affordability. Then start researching each schools teachers. Perhaps your current voice teacher can help you with this process. As an undergrad it doesnt matter how your school “ranks” if you don’t graduate singing well and/or if you are saddled with debt. Money may not be an issue for your family, but still…there are good and bad teachers in highly ranked schools as well as in schools you have never heard of.</p>
<p>I would like to correct myself, I made an error in my lists.</p>
<p>Top 16:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Curtis Institute of Music<br>
<ul>
<li>The New England Conservatory of Music<br></li>
</ul></li>
<li>The Cleveland Institute of Music<br></li>
<li>The Ithaca School of Music (Ithaca College) </li>
<li>The Manhattan School of Music
-The Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Oberlin College) </li>
<li>The Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester) </li>
<li>The Peabody Institute of Music (John Hopkins University) </li>
<li>The Purchase Conservatory of Music (SUNY Purchase) </li>
<li>Michigan State College of Music (Michigan State University) </li>
<li>The Blair School of Music (Vanderbilt University) </li>
<li>The Sheperd School of Music (Rice University) </li>
<li>The Hartt School of Music (University of Hartford) </li>
<li>The Jacobs School of Music (Indiana University) </li>
<li>The Boyer College of Music (Temple University) </li>
<li>The Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam)</li>
</ul>
<p>Any not good for opera? Let me know, thanks.</p>
<p>Take a look at the summer programs offered at some of your top schools. That’s a great way to meet teachers and experience the campus. Oberlin has a summer vocal program that you might enjoy as well as Eastman.</p>
<p>The Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University is excellent for opera/vocal performance. They also offer a summer program for classical voice separate from their musical theatre summer programs.</p>
<p>The only problem with CCM is that you might not get a lot of performance opportunities as an undergrad because of the graduate students. That’s part of the reason I turned them down. It’s a wonderful program overall, though.</p>
<p>I also tend to see BoCo as a more musical theater-y school. I did their summer program and loved it but the fact that you have to find your own housing after your first two years (they don’t have enough housing for their students) was a bit of a turn off.</p>
<p>You have listed some really wonderful schools with prestigious music programs. Others have pointed out specific schools where you will have limited performance opportunities. I want to point out that this will be the case for most conservatory and conservatory level schools you will apply to for undergraduate studies. Additionally, these schools tend not to give their best scholarships to undergrads, reserving scholarship funds and major roles to grad students. This would not apply to Oberlin, as there is no grad program there. If your career goal remains Opera, you will want to apply to one of these schools for graduate school, but may be better off attending a liberal arts college or university with an solid voice program for your undergraduate studies. Also, don’t underestimate the vocal value of a program like Westminster Choir College. One of the things they are excellent at is taking care of the voice as it matures into its full abilities. They also do an excellent job preparing their students for grad school, which will be necessary for an opera student. You probably already know this, but Opera is more like a marathon than a sprint. Think long term and perhaps reserve your conservatory plans or grad school. Best of luck as you prepare.</p>
<p>Rice is a FABULOUS program. It has a grad and undergrad program that is split 50/50 in terms of size, but their admissions are INSANELY selective. They take 4-5 students into their program every year and 100’s apply. Having a program this small and selective is great because you will get great attention from professors and good performing opportunities since every student is at the very LEAST in the opera chorus for the productions (this is rare at schools with grad programs). Also having grad students there provides you with a great example for what you can aspire to. Rice’s grad students do exceedingly well in competitions. One of their grad students won the National Council Auditions at the Met two years ago. Stephen King who is the head of voice is also the head of the very prestigious Young Artist Program at the Houston Grand Opera. Living in Houston is GREAt for opera majors because the Houston Grand is not far and it is one of very best opera houses in the world. I myself applied to Rice and am waiting to hear back. I doubt I will get in as it is soo selective but almost anyone who can get in there will go since it has such a fabulous program and reputation.</p>
<p>Also, Rice’s facilities are top notch throughout the entire school. The Shepherd School of Music got a $300 million dollar donation, which they used to build some of the nicest if not the nicest music school facilities in the country. ALSO, Rice is relatively affordable when comparing it to all the other music schools and conservatories in the country. Most are around $50,000-$52,000 per year while Rice is only $42,000 per year and is able to offer good scholarship money to those that get in since it is such a selective program</p>
<p>Hi – I am the mother of a son considering Rice, Indiana, Northwestern and Maryland. We feel all these schools offer amazing programs and that he would get an excellent music/vocal education at any of them. We’d value input from folks who have attended any of these schools as undergrads. Thanks!</p>
<p>@tenormadre - is your son an applicant, waiting to hear from Rice, Indiana, Northwestern and Maryland? Or is your son in highschool, considering where to apply?</p>