I’ve been wading through possibly outdated information in old posts, and I thought it might be better to start a new thread to ask for current information. How are music programs at the following institutions viewed now, at the close of the decade? It would be especially nice to find programs with a good viola instructor.
In old posts, I found the following mentions.
Washington
–University of Washington - I listed this first because it gets conflicting mentions. It’s good, it’s “gone downhill”, no it hasn’t… most mentions I found are from a decade ago.
–Western Washington University - this program gets a lot of love here. The viola instructor there has perhaps the most interesting/different bio I’ve read so far in this search! I’m not sure what to think of it.
–Central Washington University
–University of Puget Sound
–Pacific Lutheran University - does not appear to have dedicated viola faculty
Oregon
–University of Oregon
–Willamette University
Idaho
–University of Idaho - does not appear to have dedicated viola faculty
Montana
–University of Montana - does not appear to have dedicated viola faculty
For whatever it’s worth, I tend to think of it as Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and the parts of Montana that are NOT “Big Sky Country” (the parts with mountains). It seems like Colorado sometimes gets lumped into the Northwest, too, as well as northern California, Nevada, Utah. But I haven’t waded through those posts.
Anecdotally, I have heard more about U. of Washington, Puget Sound and also Lewis and Clark. For Colorado, both U. of Denver and U. of Colorado Boulder, depending on interests.
Thanks compmom. Looks like Lewis and Clark also has no dedicated viola faculty.
University of Denver viola faculty is adjunct. Actually, most of their strings faculty are adjunct. (I didn’t check anything but strings.) I had thought that adjunct employment was basically the same as temporary employment - higher turnover positions, employment without benefits. Is this a misunderstanding on my part? Maybe this is a topic for a different thread, or even a different forum.
@stringbird - PNWer here. Anecdotally here’s what I know…caveat on the fact that my kid is a percussionist.
UW’s the state flagship school, so educational quality is high from the students. The ensembles are “OK” - according to S’ friend who is there, the Seattle Youth Symphony orchestra is better. There will be a lot of students who join the non-music major ensemble. That being said, S’ private teacher was an amazing doctoral student at the school a few years ago.
WWU - yes a lot of love for this school. Some of their faculty teach at Marrowstone festival each summer and S has had great experience up there for three summers. We love the percussion professor who often plays with the Seattle Symphony. And, smaller school, smaller program means more ensemble opportunities and attention. And, they have a nice facility, practice rooms. and Bellingham is super cute.
Kid toured UPS and found it way too small for him. Your kid might want that experience. We don’t hear much about their music program or faculty.
CWU has a well-respected program and some of S’ friends are going there for music. They host the annual state competition and have a very nice facility. Ellensburg is definitely not urban, so keep that in mind.
Other schools on your list we really don’t have any direct experience, so probably not much help.
Thoughts re WWU viola teacher. Full time math department instructor - I wonder if this might be the equivalent for his viola students of studying with an hourly adjunct. Shows up for lessons, but is not involved int the entire departmental music “scene”? No idea obviously, but agree that it is unusual!
No music degree. Admitted at one point to CIM, but for how long? Claim of Seattle Symphony performances could be once as a sub in the last 20 years. Cleveland Pops and Opera have historically “picked up” some students or CIM grads for a performance or two as needed; he didn’t necessarily win auditioned gigs. No knowledge of the Bellingham Chamber Players, his current performing group.
None of this means that he couldn’t be quite of a good teacher with a lot of local respect. If interested and convenient, why not have your D take a lesson? (offer to pay…)
Hmm. I guess I can share what I know about the University of Idaho and the University of Montana - but I have no direct knowledge of the music departments.
The University of Idaho
Moscow, ID, is about the same size as Ellensburg, WA, but pretty remote with the closest “city” being Spokane, WA, an hour and a half away. It is a quintessential college town, with a cute little downtown. Another college town, Pullman, WA, (home of Washington State University), is maybe fifteen minutes away across the state border. It’s farmland in between them. It has four distinct seasons with winter being mild (relative to Idaho) and cloudy. Housing costs are low, especially relative to a place like Seattle. Students are active and friendly. At the university itself, faculty can be hit or miss, but for the most part, the people I know who’ve graduated from there are well satisfied with their education. The only thing I know about the music department is that the annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival draws people from all over the region for some great performances.
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT, is much bigger than Ellensburg, WA, but as you said about Ellensburg, it’s definitely not urban. It has a slightly larger and less cute downtown, and also has four distinct seasons with winter being mild (again, relative to Montana) and cloudy. The student body is very outdoorsy. There is a great farmer’s market in the summer. There is fantastic skiing nearby. Rents are low-ish, but home purchase can be surprisingly spendy. The students I know who went to UM were associated with the DPT program and were quite happy with it, but that’s not much help on the music front.
Both Moscow and Missoula have tiny but free bus systems. In both, it’s much better to have a car if possible.
@Musicaspirant I really am curious to know the WWU guy’s story! I’m tempted to just write him and ask.
We are definitely not convenient to Bellingham, it’s pretty much the opposite side of the country from where we live. I’ll start a Southeast thread next
I have close family in Washington and we do love it up there. Before my daughter decided on music, we’d looked at OSU and UW. I think it’s fair to say that my daughter does not know what she wants, but suspect she wants a smaller program. The one school we’ve looked at that she was unequivocally positive about (in terms of size and feel, anyway) was down near us, Warren Wilson College. But that’s not the right school for music or for her other academic interest.
I had grand plans of coordinating another visit up to the PNW but there is just not enough time. So we’ll have to rely on what we can find out online.
