<p>There are a lot of great piano programs out there, you don’t have to go to Curtis (which is next to impossible to get into, and also has negative factors, as all programs do), or Juilliard to be able to make it. That said, Piano might be the most competitive of instruments, and it has a handicap in that it is not really an orchestral instrument, and in the chamber world piano based ensembles are less common then string based ensembles (they exist, and pianists often join a string group to make a piano quintet, for example)…the other main area is an accompanyist, and that is very, very competitive. Programs are flooded at the pre college level and at the college level with kids playing at an incredible level, you have kids coming in from Korea and China especially that are hypertalented, at the very least technically. </p>
<p>Given that, it behooves someone to get into the best program they can because IME (and that is all it is), it can be difficult for students to be the ‘star pianist’ in a program where most of the students aren’t as advanced, whereas being in a program where you are middle of the pack or at the least have kids that are better, can drive you forward. </p>
<p>That doesn’t mean don’t go to MSU (I don’t know much about their piano program, it could be stellar, piano is not my specialty), but I also agree with others you should seriously think of U Mich. It is extremely competitive, both musically and academically, it is generally considered one of the better music programs out there, and as a result I would hazard a guess that they probably tend to attract high level student.Name is a funny thing, that and 2.25 will get you mugged on the subway, in the sense that name alone doesn’t do much for a student, but it also does tend to attract high level students, there are kids who won’t go anywhere but Juilliard or Curtis because they have had it drilled into them they are the ‘best’ program, if you don’t go there you don’t make it, if you go there the road in music will be paved with gold, etc, so they tend to attract a very strong talent pool, whereas there can be a great program with great teachers that ‘insiders’ know, but if you asked a lot of teachers and students, would be 'what’s that?". </p>
<p>As far as memorization goes, I don’t know of a competitive or up program that doesn’t require it, it is one of the benchmarks of performance (whether I personally agree or not doesn’t matter). Depends on what has to be memorized and what doesn’t, it does vary, but certain things always seem to require memorization, romantic concertos for example. In the string world, sonatas may or may not need to be memorized, but other things do, so I would count on needing to memorize your audition rep (one except tends to be ‘modern’ classical pieces, even in performance a lot of performers use music with them, I assume because of the difficulty.). Keep in mind too that the auditions will not cover everything (for example, doing scales and etudes in auditions is not common from what I hear or saw with my own S, and it is likely they will ask you for sections of the rep, you won’t be playing through), they generally only last 10-15 mins, and thus you probably will be focusing o n key repertoire (on strings, for example, I don’t know of anyone personally who was asked to play a 20th century modern piece (i.e after 1940) at Juilliard, though it is a requirement, and it is possible someone may ask for it). </p>
<p>I suggest reading through old threads on hear about piano programs and auditions, there is a search feature, lot has been said over the years, and hopefully it will help you decide where to apply. With music in general, especially on something insanely competitive like Violin or Piano or Voice (as examples), the one thing I strongly recommend is to get an evaluation from someone in the know, if your private teacher isn’t that knowledgeable about what is going on today, maybe from someone at MSU or U Mich or another college, and see where you lie in terms of your playing. To be brutally honest, if you are seriously thinking of going into performance, if the evaluation seems to place you in the good but not great level, you may want to think about what you want to do. </p>
<p>If you are fairly close but not quite there, for example, a gap year might help (assuming you are getting close to applying, i.e are a senior or junior), if you are way off in the evaluators opinion, you might want to focus on music as something you love to do, continue to take lessons and play but concentrate on other things as a vocation, it is extremely difficult to catch up in the piano world (I am talking performance here), and would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible to make up if you are found to be significantly lacking. There obviously could be less competitive programs who might take you as is (again, if the evaluation finds you lacking), but keep in mind at all times who you would be up against when going for jobs and gigs and such, and whether you think you could get to that level coming from where you are.Obviously, if you really feel like you want to try for performance, go for it, it isn’t like if you try and don’t make it your world is over, but I also strongly encourage you to be realistic, too…it would be kind of like someone who runs a 12 second 100 meter dash trying in 6 months to get to the level required to realistically run at an Olympic level as an analogy:). </p>
<p>I wish you luck, and keep in mind this i just my opinion an experience with things, in the end, ultimately you will have to decide for yourself, and if you feel strongly about going into performance, you have every right to mutter “what the heck does that &#<em>#</em> idiot know” <em>smile</em>.</p>