<p>Hi violagirl! Good luck with your auditions!</p>
<p>So we have looked at some east coast schools for piano performance major and now want to expand. D insists on schools in large cities so we are now looking at schools in Chicago. Any suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thank you glassharmonica, I did read your ressponse when posted and really appreciated it. We are still in love with Temple/Boyer. I keep trying to make us look at other school but I am having a hard time. We both struggle with reasons to consider conservatories over Temple. D is focused on piano performance major in classical not jazz. she want a city setting to have access to all the amenities. Its hard to justify going to MSM, New School, Peabody etc because of the cost over Temple. Is it really worth the extra cost and cost of living. Whats the likelihood of merit scholarships, which schools have better endowments etc. I would like her to have the feel of a campus. We are now trying to look at the schools in the Chicago area. </p>
<p>I am curious what you and other on here think about these things.</p>
<p>asalmon, I canāt remember if I posted about Temple before (not sure if that is what you are referring to) but my D2 transferred there, to Tyler School of Art, which is adjacent to Boyer, this year, and I have a lot of respect and praise for the school. D4 has also been admitted there (she is a high school senior applying to theater programs.) The theater program (BA, not BFA) is good enough that she was able to eliminate a number of applications by comparing them to Temple. For her, it is less appealing because she would like to leave town for college (we live in Philly.) But honestly, I would agree that Temple is hard to beat in many ways because of the low cost and city amenities. For your daughter, it may boil down to what merit aid she gets at the other schools she applies to, as well as the teacher she most relates to.</p>
<p>I just typed a super long post introducing myself and my family and while previewing it I must have clicked the wrong button b/c poof, it went away from my screen, dangit!</p>
<p>OK, so, Iāll start over but Iāll keep it short(er) this time and elaborate in later posts if need be. My younger son is my focus for this thread (his older brother is a Freshman in college and is also a musician but heās not majoring in music). S2 is a HS Soph, plays French Horn, Mellophone, Trumpet, Trombone and is in his HS marching band and jazz band. This morning (a Saturday) I dropped him off for a day long rehearsal with an Indoor Percussion Competition group he is in at another HS. Before he talked me into letting him do that, I wasnāt aware that he could also play drums (snare?) well enough to gain admittance to such a group. He also plays guitar and harmonica and is teaching himself to play piano. He can already play piano fairly well by ear, but, on his own he is getting out my old piano books and teaching himself to read and play. </p>
<p>For his 16th birthday, he asked not for Ray Bans or for an iPhone, but for Sibelius (which we bought him) and for a copy of Tonal Harmony. We said āyesā to the book too before we realized it was one his AP Music Theory teacher mentioned in passing as being one of his college text books! Dang thing cost $70, used. Well, OK, maybe thatās a slight exaggeration, but it was pricey. </p>
<p>He has dreams of attending Juilliard and majoring in Music Composition but I have done my best to put the nix on that idea. He MIGHT be talented enough to get in but I donāt think so and anyway, I donāt know how in the world we could afford it. In fact, Iām not sure how we can afford ANY of the schools on his list: Cincinnati Conservatory, Carnegie Mellon, Univ of North Texas, Eastman. His āback-up planā is Appalachian State and/or UNC-G, both of which we CAN afford as they are in-state, butā¦</p>
<p>ā¦ youāve heard the Good, now hereās the Bad and the Ugly: IMHO he will be lucky to get into even those in-state schools, because besides music, his grades are NOT stellar. In fact, they are pretty dang bad. By the time we start applying he MIGHT have clawed his way up to an (unweighted) 3.0. But, I doubt it. </p>
<p>So, before I start asking my array of questions to you Music Parent Experts re: auditions, focusing on one instrument (which he obviously doesnāt doā¦ Jack of Trades, semi-master of some), recording his compositions, etc, etc, is there any hope that he can get into any of the above schools if he is one of those kids in the dreaded ā2.5 - 2.99ā bracket?</p>
<p>Oh, other family info: older son is a singer/songwriter (has won some songwriting competitions) majoring in English (Chapel Hill), plays guitar. My husband is the talented one from whom all this flows. Heās an excellent (self taught) guitarist, great singer and also plays harmonica and piano (by ear). I sang in choirs and choruses and took 7 years of piano as a kid, but, I was just the incubator. They let me sing along (sometimes), and the only keyboard I pound on now has letters on it.</p>
<p>Jack of ALL Trades, I meant.</p>
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<p>A 3.0 was mentioned to my son by the head of the jazz studies dept there as a requirement for a scholarship. Ergo, I think a GPA under 3.0 can get in, just not get a scholarship (and I canāt recall if that was a music or academic scholarship being referred to).</p>
<p>Maybe take a look at Bowling Greenās college of Musical Arts. Itās a public school and youād be out of state, but the OOS extra is only $7K, and there may be OOS scholarships available. My S has a 2.9x gpa and got a merit scholarship here. Heās in-state, but still.</p>
<p>There may be similar programs in NC, weāre in Ohio.</p>
<p>NativeTarHeelian, your son sounds like a very interesting person! Your story reminded me a something we were told at the parent orientation session at Peabody while the students were off taking some test or another: the dean? admissions rep? mentioned that there are really two types of musicians, those who are focused on a single instrument and style of music, and those whose musical interests are very diverse (many instruments or many musical styles). The point was that Peabody catered to the first type of person, and the diverse type might find it too constraining but would strongly prefer a different type of setting. If your son is more of the second type, it might be worth doing some serious searching to find schools that are more accommodating of that approach. (If I knew what they were, Iād tell you, but the Peabody rep didnāt name names!)</p>
<p>I was going to suggest Hartt as a possible option for a more modest GPA requirement, but I just checked their website and they also require a 3.0 on the high school transcript. Might be worth giving your son a project of looking at a few college/conservatory admissions pages and starting a chart of requirements as a way to reinforce the need to keep those grades up, even though heād rather be writing music than essays.</p>
<p>Responding to waht Ohiobassmom said, Pulitzer Prize-winning computer Jennifer Higdon has an undergrad degree from Bowling Green. </p>
<p>Another school to look into might be Temple University in Philadelphia (Esther Boyer School.) Again, state school and you would be out of state.</p>
<p>Berklee in Boston may be a good school for the multi-instrument musician. They want their students to explore their own path. The admissions rep that came to my sonās school made a point that the SAT or ACT were not required. I got the sense they were focused on talent not on grades. Big drawback is cost.</p>
<p>Cincy is high on my sonās list so ohiobassmomās note is good news indeed. I found Bowling Green here on this website as a possibility but didnāt know much abt it, so, thanks for that info.</p>
<p>stradmom, Yes, Iāve tried to explain to him that higher grades=possible scholarship $$ , but I will redouble my efforts along that vein with your facts in hand. And, though he may have a low grade in some subjects, heās no dummyā¦ he must know about the quote from your Peabody rep b/c your childās school is not on his list! I like that explanation, it explains a lot, and helps validate that heās headed in the right direction (for him). </p>
<p>I have worried that he should focus on one instrument but circumstances have gotten in the way of my plan to push him in that direction. He couldnāt continue with his Horn this year (you parents of French Horn players know that itās really just called Horn :)) because his he had a class schedule conflict and ended up in Jazz Band instead. So he hauled out his trumpet (not played since 7th grade) and was all up to speed ready to play that again, then came home from school the first day with a strange looking case in his hand. āTeacher said we had too many Trumpet players, so he told me to learn Tromboneā. And he went in his room and came out a few hours later playing it. OK, that part is a SLIGHT exaggeration, but, heās doing well enough that he had a solo in the Fall Concert. </p>
<p>OK, thatās enough bragging. I tell myself itās OK to brag here b/c a) all of your kids are talented too and b) I have to counter-balance all the bad grade talk with SOMETHING positive. </p>
<p>Anyway, it sounds as if he will NOT have to audition on a single instrumentā¦ is that what you guys are telling me? If he majors in Music Theory/Composition? So I can stop nagging him about getting back to his Horn??</p>
<p>Some schools require a performance audition in addition to a portfolio of compositions. Some, like Hartt, give a choice of classical or jazz performance. Others require the audition to be classical. So, check web sites for audition requirements. </p>
<p>I second the suggestions for Hartt (at Hartford) and Temple.</p>
<p>Whether he has to audition on an instrument for composition depends on the school. Most university school of music programs require an instrumental audition for composition majors. UNT does not require submission of scores but requires instrumental audition. There you arenāt a comp major until you take several comp and theory courses.</p>
<p>OK, got it. We need to check each school and he needs to be prepared to audition on an instrument, even for Composition. So, all my boasting about the Jack-of-all-Trades thing is starting to look a little foolish, forgive me everyone! One thing I should have learned with my older childā¦ no matter how smart (or talented) a Mom thinks her kid is, there is always someone out there WAY better, ha! My son is not a prodigy, heās just a kid who who can play a lot of instruments and spends his time arranging tunes for his Pep Band when he should be studying French. </p>
<p>If he doesnāt send me to the loony bin in the next 2 years, hopefully I will be where you all are now, giving sage advice to Clueless Parents entering the fray.</p>
<p>Thx for the mentions of other schools. I will definitely check them out. Berkelee is on his list, I just didnāt mention it. Iād prefer he do a more ātraditionalā school or conservatory and I think he feels the same way but itās not off the list.</p>
<p>Wow, I cannot believe that I didnāt find this site until now - the apps and pre-screens are sent in, many of the responses are already received. I spent time today catching up reading some of the old threads and have learned a ton - thanks to all of you for sharing your info. Even though Iād wished found you all sooner, Iām happy to be here now. I bet weāll have more questions still.</p>
<p>My son completed two years at Loyola University New Orleans where he studied piano and composition. He decided to transfer for his Junior year and took the year off to work on writing music and take the time to do good applications for schools. Composition is his passion, he considers himself competent (on his good days) but not gifted on the piano.</p>
<p>So far, heās been turned down by MSM and asked to interview/audition at Cornish (Seattle), SF Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, NEC and Mannes. Heāll also audition at NYU and is considering whether to pursue his application to University of Colorado at Boulder. Heās waiting to hear from Juilliard, Peabody and Curtis.</p>
<p>We canāt afford any of this, of course. But my husband and I believe in trying for it all and then figuring out what we can manage afterward. Despite a very checkered HS path, my son got a great grant from LOYNO, so we can hope there will be help for this coming year.</p>
<p>I look forward to participating in this community.</p>
<p>Parent of HS Senior in Florida, S plays the bass trombone, made all-county and all-state. Currently in the midst of auditions at 6 colleges, 5 are in-state and the other is U of S. Carolina. Just finished auditions at UF & FSU, which went better than expected. Profs all follow national guidelines which means they canāt disclose anything yet, but very strong feedback that he will be offered scholarship dollars from both. USC audition upcoming, this is not going to be an easy decision.</p>
<p>Hi, my son is a freshman at Ithaca College with a double major in music composition and oboe performance. He LOVES it at Ithaca College and the music program is fantastic. We visited every strong music school from New York and throughout New England. He would only apply to music schools that offered double major programs in music composition and oboe performance which narrowed down the search significantly. He applied and auditioned at The Hartt School (Hartford), Ithaca College, Eastman, Boston University, and UMass Amherst. He got accepted for the double major at all except Eastman. He loved both Ithaca and Hartt and it was a tough choice, but on a second visit to Ithaca, he realized it was a perfect fit for him. I highly recommend Ithaca for any high school students to visit and apply to. My son is studying composition with Dana Wilson and he loves it. They only accepted 5 composition majors in his freshman class. He also loves the oboe performance program and studies with Paige Morgan. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. <a href="mailto:tripsue@aol.com">tripsue@aol.com</a></p>
<p>My S is a sophmore percussion performance major at Baylor - marimba is his specialty and my D is a sophmore HS violinist studying at Peabody Prep and preparing for conservatory or a music school in a university- violin performance. So glad to have found this forum. Having one in music school already is actually very little help- their instruments are so different, its a world apart and my daughterās teacher has warned us- violin is the most difficult to achieve and nothing like percussion so weāre buckling our seat belts and getting ready for a tough ride;))))</p>
<p>Have to add my oldest is an actress in a regional theatre company- couldnāt leave her out even though she plays the clarinet and sings-only a very little she would say- its acting that is her real talent.</p>
<p>Oh and parent info- played guitar in High School, sang and was in regional theatre for 5 years before having my kids. My hubby sang and dabbled on piano- also in theatre-our kids are the real deal- we are simply their adoring and hopefully constructively helpful audience</p>
<p>Welcome to you three! Iāve learned so much here, and itās lovely to have the support of other parents going through similarā¦</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Iāve been reading this forum for a couple of months and now that my viola playing Junior in high school daughter is getting ready for the big run up to college, I thought I would become a regular member. </p>
<p>We are a family in a major metropolitan area. Dad ( thatās me ) is a professional musician (not Classical ) and mom has a real job as a catering director. Our daughter has been studying the viola since grade school and from what Iāve learned here, has the usual resume for a kid with eyes for a BM in a good school. She sits third chair in her highly regarded local private orchestra, sits principal in her high school orchestra, sat third stand at all state, has done many concerto competitions, been studying with an excellent private teacher for many years, recently won a named scholarship, is getting ready for Fischoff - in other words all the stuff kids are supposed to be doing. Her private teacher specializes in getting kids into good music schools and has been running the audition repertoire process very efficiently, but being the guy who has to get her into the school and pay for it all Iām highly motivated to listen to advice from people going through the same experience. Iāve found the information on this site very useful indeed ( for instance, call the school and double check the best way to contact a teacher instead of just sending out an email to them ) ! Iām looking forward to participating in this forum.</p>