<p>Thanks everyone for all your help. She has had two summer programs of Javanese and Balinese Gamelan as well as African drumming and dancing. She would love to get into a top notch classical summer program to help her application and audition/make connections for performance. If not she may want to go to UCSB and see if she can study with the Indian and Middle Eastern Professors there. Another option is the chinese music performance program at our local community college. I heard Wesleyan has a good ethno program as well and is well funded.</p>
<p>^sounds like she did CSSSA at Cal Arts? My D did two summers there as well.</p>
<p>I think the real hang up here is the ability of Futurehold’s daughter to get into the conservatory at Oberlin as a violin major- without that, the rest of it is a moot point. Futurehold, you alluded to your D’s training, but what does her violin teacher say about her chances at a very competative audition-based conservatory? Does she have the ability, technique and rep and most important, does she have the desire to spend the next four years holed up in a practice room for hours on end, then using evening and weekend hours to play in orchestras, chamber groups,etc?</p>
<p>Her teachers think she can do it as did her Oberlin teacher this summer. She loved CSSSA this summer and even there practiced extra 2-4 hours per day on her home violin pieces. At the U British Columbia program they would play from 8-9 am until 5 and they she would do an extra 2 hours at night so I think she has the desire.
She knows how much time is involved. Most of her teachers at the Crowden School had 5 or so jobs plus students juggling all the time</p>
<p>As you live in/near Berkeley (Crowden! I remember when it was in a church on Arch Street!), you should look at Cal, too, if your daughter is interested. The music department is first-rate and students majoring in music are within a more friendly, small environment within the big University.<br>
Wesleyan is known for its ethno department (though I don’t know anything specific; my older kid (a former student of Ann Crowden) took one look at the music building there and didn’t want to get out of the car).</p>