NYU Steinhardt or Peabody for Masters in Composition

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hi all</p>

<p>I'd really appreciate your advice. My son has applied to complete an MM in Composition in the US (we are Antipodean). He has been accepted to JHU Peabody and NYU Steinhardt. He has also been wait listed for NEC. He has yet to find out about financial aid for Peabody - and potential Graduate Assistantships.</p>

<p>He is trying to decide between the two schools. Each composition programme has its advantages and I know this can be a very personal decision that can come down to the faculty members you want to work with but I would appreciate any advice people might have on these programmes and their advantages and disadvantages. Opinions from anyone that might have attended one of these programmes or whose family members might have would be also be wonderful but really any feedback would be welcome.</p>

<p>Georgie</p>

2

<p>Did he receive any financial support from NYU? New York City is an exciting place to be as a composer, if he can afford it. NYU will connect him to the vibrant New Music scene there. All money being equal, I would choose NYU. On the other hand, he could be a big fish in a smaller pond in Baltimore and might ultimately find more opportunities there as there would be less competition for attention.</p>

3

<p>Peabody is a conservatory that is well-respected, I think of composers there as classical and sometimes orchestral, maybe a little more conservative in terms of aesthetic. I have always liked their emphasis on developing by hearing music played a lot. Baltimore is an interesting city. Check out the faculty and try to listen to their music:
Oscar Bettison
McGregor Boyle
Michael Hersch, Chair
Kevin Puts
Christopher Rouse
Geoffrey Wright</p>

<p>NYU Steinhardt is a large multi-faceted school of music and performing arts within a large university, with film-scoring, music business, music technology, music education, music therapy and so on. I think of it as maybe a little more commercial, more contemporary or hip. Again, listen to the faculty’s music and read bios:
Robert Rowe, Julia Wolfe, Ron Sadoff, Ira Newborn, Michael Gordon, Justin Dello Joio, Mark Snow, Sonny Kompanek, Mark Suozzo, Youngmi Ha, and Tae Hong Park, among others</p>

<p>Noone can really answer this. At the grad level there are aesthetic choices to make and the teacher(s) is/are really important. Your son does not have to find a teacher(s) who writes the way he writes, but a teacher who can understand and support what he is trying to do.</p>

<p>Where did he study for undergrad and how would you characterize his compositions so far and his goals in grad school? Can you name some of his favorite composers? Does he want access to all those other strands of music study or want to be around dance, film etc?</p>

<p>If money is an important factor, NYU has a reputation for not giving much financial aid. Peabody, as part of Johns Hopkins, might give more, but it sounds like he did get something from NYU so I cannot judge which is better from that point of view.</p>

4

<p>the overall quality of the musicians will be significantly higher at Peabody, but perhaps this won’t matter for the composition program (but will matter when compositions are being tried and performed!). As compmom has pointed out above, NYU is a large, multifaceted school, and the Music program at Steinhardt is one of many completely unrelated programs there (covering everything from nursing to teaching English to physical therapy) It has become increasingly well known for its Music Business program, although film scoring and music technology also seem to be well established. Peabody is much more of a solid classically oriented conservatory. </p>

5

<p>The NYU grad program actually has some fantastic performers - a number of whom turned down Juilliard for grad school because of the significant merit aid from NYU - while they get to study with many of the same professors as they would have. For New Music, and for composers - NYU has a wealth of fine musicians many of whom go on to the new music ensembles in the city. For traditional orchestra jobs, I would guess that Peabody would be a more traditional route… But that is definitely not a reason to avoid NYU. The performance students there are eager to work with the composers.</p>

6

<p>My daughter has a friend who turned down Juilliard for grad school because they gave him no scholarship, but NYU gave him a full ride and a teaching stipend.</p>