Need help re: harp performance plan for college

College Majors Music Major
1

Hi. This is my first post on CC. I’m hoping someone on this forum will have some experience with a student studying harp in college and will be able to provide some insight and words of wisdom…

Student began piano at age 5 and harp at age 11. She was selected for the All State Orchestra and Band for harp and will audition again this fall. Also plays as principal harpist with the metro youth symphony. She attends a “harp camp” every summer that she enjoys a lot. She is also very talented academically–has an ACT of 32, GPA 3.9 with a rigorous courseload including many accelerated/AP classes at a magnet school for gifted/talented students. She has many interests and is unsure exactly how music will fit into the college plan (conservatory, BM, BA, etc) so we are looking for options where she can maybe get started and then narrow her path). Her main interests now include: professional career in harp performance vs. orthodontia vs. marine biology. (yes, quite a variety of interests!!!) I think she would ideally like to begin somewhere she can pursue harp while doing pre-dental requirements, then after a couple years hopefully it will be clear to her whether to pursue music 100% or go the dental school route. In any scenario, graduate studies will be likely (either dental school or master of music or even marine bio).

She prefers to pursue a BM degree in harp performance while doing pre-dental, but we aren’t sure how do-able that is within 4 years with the rigor of both programs. It seems she will have to choose one path or the other at some point… She is concerned she would she be giving up a lot in the music area if she pursued a BA as a music major rather than the BM. A BA would obviously allow for more flexibility in her schedule for pre-dental classes. She will start college with about 50 credits either from AP or community college classes while in high school so that will help. It is also very important to her that the harp professor uses the Salzedo technique, as that is how she has been trained.

Finances are a concern, as we do not expect to qualify for much (if any) aid. We have a high income, but we are supporting an elderly family member, will have another child in college, and are approaching retirement age. Budget is going to be about $27,000 a year (maximum) from parents plus any work study and merit/music scholarships. So most big-name prestigious schools will probably be out of the question, as she will need merit aid. Obviously, whatever we can save and apply to grad school or dental school would be a big plus.

Her list now is as follows. All harp professors use Salzedo technique except not sure about Miami Ohio and Eckerd…Some offer both BA and BM but some only offer BA.

Safeties:
-University of Nebraska (likely very good merit aid and she knows the professor. Big music school)
-University of Northern Iowa (likely very good aid. Most local option)
-Loyola Chicago (needs merit. Not sure about catholic vibe)
-Eckerd College (needs merit)
-Seatle Pacific University (needs merit)

Match (some reachy):
-Wheaton (Illinois): (needs merit; knows professor)
-Miami University Ohio (needs merit)
-Case Western Reserve/Cleveland Institute of Music joint program (either as a BA student at Case with classes at CIM or a BM student at CIM with liberal arts at Case) ($$ concerns)
-Ohio State University (needs merit)
-University of Miami (Florida) Frost School of Music (needs merit)

Reach:
Rice ($$)
Princeton ($$)

Thanks!

2

You should repost your query on the music majors forum.
there are many experienced parents there who can offer suggestions to you.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/

3

Thanks! I’m trying to move it to the music major page.

4

My daughter plays harp too though she has no desire to play professionally but still wanted to keep up with harp in college. One thing to consider is, and I know this may sound trivial to some, but you might also want to consider how long a walk it is between the dorms and the practice rooms. At my D’s campus the dorms are diagonally across campus from the music hall and it was PITA to get there everyday at the times she could practice. This year she’s moving to an off campus apartment where she can keep her harp in her room and roll out of bed to practice like she did at home. She’ll take her lessons on her teacher’s harp and transport hers as need for performances.

5

@scoutsmom, yes we definitely have to consider logistics. We are in the midwest so she would probably have to rent a harp if she went to SPU, Eckerd, Rice, Princeton, or U of Miami. I can’t imagine trying to transport it that far.

6

Check on harp rental fees and availability in the area around those schools too. Around here you are looking at around $200 a month for a good concert grand, plus insurance. Maybe the school will have one you she can use? DD is six hours away at school and it wasn’t bad to transport we just had to be very mindful of temperature and I made sure to get a hotel room on the first floor so we didn’t need to deal with getting it into a hotel elevator the night before move in day.

We transported 6 harps (2 CG and 4 folk) from Austin to the harp conference in New Orleans (about 8 hours) for the Girl Scout Harp Ensemble. Now that was fun, it wasn’t so much the harps as all the benches, stands, dollies…

I just remembered, there was an article a couple of years ago in the Harp Column that listed how many harps each school owned and how many harpists in each program, so that might help you get a feel for school harp availability.

7

Hi.

I don’t have experience with harp. My S is going to UNT this year for jazz bass, though. Based on your stats and budget, plus the fact that Salzedo seemed to appear in UNT harp material that I googled, and the fact that there is a dorm about 200 feet from the college of music building, I thought I would mention UNT. Maybe you are thinking their pre-dental program is not to your liking or just have not thought of them. Their costs are quite reasonable. They have the Harp-beats group you can see on YouTube. They have a large music school.

Good luck!

8

I think it is difficult but not impossible to cover pre-dental and a BM.

Have you/has she read the Double Degree Dilemma posted above? It was written for kids like your daughter and I think it would be helpful.

Many music students go into medicine after a BM. There are post-baccalaureate programs for prerequisites. I assume this may be possible for dental. They do cost money, but rather than trying to do all of that in one degree perhaps the dental path can wait, especially since she is not sure.

As you know , she can go to a conservatory or music school for the BM and still take classes that are academic as they fit in her schedule. For that, it is good to be on a campus that offers both BM and BA degrees.

Or she can go to a college/university without a BM program and explore academics, while continuing music through lessons, practice and performance in extracurriculars. *Doing a BA in music where there is a BM program can sometimes mean the BM students get the best opportunities, so check that out at each school.)

She can do a BA in music or a BA or BS in anything else and still progress musically.

Other options are a double degree program, double major, or major/minor. The accumulated credits might make things easier.

I would hope she can drop career concerns for now and do what she enjoys for studies, whether at a conservatory or college or both.

I don’t know much about merit aid honestly We know many run into merit between $15 and $30k which isn’t enough!

Has she considered SUNY Purchase, which is affordable relatively speaking, and excellent?

Is harp in greater demand than other instruments? Has she considered NEC, Boston Conservatory, Manhattan, Juilliard- freestanding conservatories in other words?

Oberlin, Lawrence, Bard for double degree? U.of Rochester/Eastman, Johns Hopkins/Peabody.

Hartt at U. of Hartford might give merit for her.

Colleges that Change Lives website? College of Wooster, St.Olaf’s, Sarah Lawrence, Clark U., U.of Puget Sound, for a smattering of random ideas!

We were surprised by merit offered at some schools, which made them more affordable than publics It takes some research which you are doing and doing early, so you are smart!

9

Thanks for the help.





@compmom, yes she has read the article you referenced and decided she was like student #3-- the dual degree student. That certainly complicates things!

10

Sorry, my last post deleted much of what I had written when I clicked “post comment”!!

Anyway, @compmom, the post-baccalaureate program is something we hadn’t considered as an option. I share your concerns about being a BA student among the BM students…I guess if she goes that route she will have to go into it with that expectation and will need to be prepared to be focusing more on the other pursuit (whatever it is). I’m concerned that may be less satisfying for her, but a lot of it will depend on the atmosphere of the particular school too.

I don’t know about harp being in greater demand than other instruments. There are certainly less harpists than say violinists, but not as many harpists are needed either. I would think harpists may have perhaps more opportunities for solo gigs like weddings etc…

We will look into the schools mentioned. I do know Eastman teaches French technique not Salzedo so we eliminated them. UNT also appears to be French technique. Oberlin has a great program but the school overall is too progressive for us. We visited St Olaf but it didn’t really click for my daughter there-- the day was stormy and dark and I’m sure that didn’t help but she didn’t get a feel that it would be a good fit. Peabody/JHU would be great if affordable. We’ll check out the others you both mentioned. Thank you.

11

Hi, @college-bound-parent!
My D is approaching her fourth and final year as dual-degree BM performance and BS in biomedical engineering, but is on a different instrument. To your Q on doability in four years, it is possible but extremely challenging. Labs, of which your daughter will have some if she goes pre-dental or any science/engineering field (marine biology), complicate scheduling because of the time blocks they require. My D speaks to perspective dual-degrees frequently and counsels them to consider it only if they can not imagine themselves giving up either of their passions. That your D sees herself as student #3 is a good indicator.
My D started with 50+ credits, took three classes in summers, and overloaded (19-20 hours) every semester. She is crazy busy, but absolutely loves pursuing both degrees. Assuming senior year goes as planned, she will finish both degrees in four years.
Good luck to your D as she considers her opportunities.

12

@MomOf2TeenGirls, wow, your daughter is impressive!! BME and music! I can’t imagine. I considered minoring in music as a structural engineering major, but I quickly realized it would be too tough for me. It didn’t help that the music building was way the heck away on campus, and UT’s campus is big. What is your daughter planning on doing after she graduates?

13

@college-bound-parent please don’t get too hung up on style and if you must refer to them they are either Russian and French or Grandjany and Salzedo. My D has had some phenomenal teachers from both styles and can easily switch between the two when required but in practice takes the best from both! From what I’ve seen a more blended style is the future of modern harp.

14

Another option might be to attend a school that does not have a conservatory/school of music/BM degree at all but has an excellent music department. Some LAC’s may not have a harp teacher but if she went in or near a city or near a school that does have a harp teacher, she could still study harp while majoring in something else. I do know kids who have done this. For instance, talented musicians who went to Harvard but did not do the double degree w/NEC but studied with an NEC teacher privately.

Tufts has a great music dept. and would be good for her other interests. Not sure about merit aid there though. It also has a dental school.

15

Here is one list of post baccalaureate and/or grad dental programs
https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/threads/pre-dental-masters-and-post-bacc-programs.703264/

16

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-for-good-merit-aid.html#latest

Schools known for merit aid :slight_smile:

17

I have sent you a message.

18

My son is one of those kids who is starting at Harvard, not in the NEC dual degree program, but who will study with a teacher at NEC, and do orchestra and chamber at Harvard and maybe in the BPYO (got in, might be too much of a time commitment). There’s no merit money there. His good friend, however, is starting at Rice, planning on doing a BM while taking a lot of science classes to do graduate work in science. Not only is Rice tuition lower to start than many other elite schools, but she got so much merit money through the conservatory that her costs will be well under the $27,000 you mentioned as your max contribution, guaranteed every year. She got in several other programs as well, with merit money from the conservatory side. Some of my son’s other musical friends, at both conservatories and dual programs, also seem to have more merit money, again from the conservatory side. I write this because I see Rice in particular is on your list, but with money concerns. Don’t hermitage to pursue that-- they like strong musicians with string academic backgrounds, and seem to be quite generous with their merit aid.

19

Thanks @Daykidmom. That’s encouraging.

20

Sorry for all the auto- correct typos. Good luck with your search!