Particular college for a horn player

<p>We are looking for a college for our D with the following criteria. At least, we think we are - we're just getting starting on this! I think Oberlin qualifies?</p>

<p>-offers a BA in horn performance, and encourages/allows double-majors
-has horn studio, or at least a full time horn professor
-awards music scholarships
-strong academics and/or an honors program
-strong orchestra, but not so strong that a undergraduate freshman can't be in it
-prefer liberal arts college, but university also fine</p>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

<p>A couple of starting points:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/904832-any-suggestions-horn-major.html?highlight=horn[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/904832-any-suggestions-horn-major.html?highlight=horn&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/920977-horn-player-looking-into-schools.html?highlight=horn[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/920977-horn-player-looking-into-schools.html?highlight=horn&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/991007-difference-between-bachelor-music-bach-arts.html?highlight=bachelor[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/991007-difference-between-bachelor-music-bach-arts.html?highlight=bachelor&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/653686-liberal-arts-music-double-major-schools.html?highlight=liberal[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/653686-liberal-arts-music-double-major-schools.html?highlight=liberal&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/593901-music-scholarships-liberal-arts-colleges.html?highlight=liberal[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/593901-music-scholarships-liberal-arts-colleges.html?highlight=liberal&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/444579-strong-orchestras-liberal-arts-schools.html?highlight=liberal[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/444579-strong-orchestras-liberal-arts-schools.html?highlight=liberal&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/400593-best-music-liberal-arts-college-program.html?highlight=liberal[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/400593-best-music-liberal-arts-college-program.html?highlight=liberal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/892168-search-tips-other-insights.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>SMU is great for horn, and you can get a BA in music there.</p>

<p>You may wish to PM binx.</p>

<p>Horn is often a “needed” instrument and money may be available for good hornists even when they aren’t majoring in it.</p>

<p>Violadad, as usual, has posted lots of good links. Pay special attention to the BA vs. performance degrees, and when researching colleges, note that each college may have different takes on them.</p>

<p>For instance, my daughter’s college (Miami U of Ohio) offers a BA (humanities-based degree) and a BM (performance-based). The BA has lots more general requirements, and fewer lessons. It is not an “easier” degree, just a different one. It is easier to double with a BA because it meets the “arts and Sciences” core reqs, rather than the performance core reqs. My D had intended to get a double degree (BM in violin and BA in a language or linguistics) but ran into trouble having to meet the reqs for two different degree programs. If she’d gone for the BA in music, rather than the BM, it would have been much easier. But then she would have given up the performance focus, which is what she wanted most. So she is ending up with a BM in violin, and two minors (German and Chinese.)</p>

<p>During our research for her, we encountered many different takes on this. For example, Allegheny College ¶ only offeres a BA in music, and requires a double major, or major/minor. However, the majors have to be in different schools. Music and languages are in the same school there, so my D wasn’t interested.</p>

<p>On the other hand, when we visited Emory, they explained that it is almost too easy to double or even triple major there. And they do give money to some instrumentalists. The year D applied, they did NOT need violins and told her outright that there was no money for violinists. They heavily recruited my hornist son, though. I’m sure that changes year by year. Clayton State (GA) actually PAID one of my S’s horn friends to attend, they were that desperate.</p>

<p>Depending upon your academic abilites, double majors are possible at many places, especially if you come in with many APs that remove pre-reqs or cores. A former poster here has a son doubling in music and science at Princeton! Thumper1’s D was able to talk her school into dropping some of the core reqs for one of her degrees. Furman also told us that they encourage music majors to double. (You’ll find schools on both sides of the “back-up plan” idealogy. Bard, for example, REQUIRES music majors to double.)</p>

<p>The hardest part, I think, will be narrowing down the field. You need to decide whether the music or the “other” degree is more important, focus on finding strong schools in that area that are a fit with what you want geographically, demographically, academically, etc. Then take that list of schools and begin exploring their websites for information about the second major.</p>

<p>Here’s another tip: Take a look at some horn sites – such as the annual IHS conference, or Kendall Betts Horn Camp. Look at the performers posted there, and see where they teach. That might point you to some great teachers that would be otherwise off your radar.</p>

<p>(Side note: You mentioned “full-time” teacher, which may exclude many great schools. My S attended a school where all the instrumental private-teachers were part-time. Despite that “handicap”, it was a very good program that some would not have considered because of the “part-time” status of the teachers. Keep in mind that full-time teachers may not spend all that time actually giving private lessons, but teach other music classes such as theory or history to make up the difference. Many part-time teachers are performers in their other life and teach because they want to.)</p>

<p>My S is a horn player but is not pursuing it in college (he is going for composition/film scoring). However, his friend who is a serious hornist is looking at horn performance programs, and his first choice is Ithaca. I don’t know about the BA/BM issue there, just that this young man felt that Ithaca was the best fit for him. There are a couple of kids from our high school already there studying other instruments, and they rave about it. </p>

<p>Because my S is a horn player, we have run across other hornists in our college visits and heard good things about James Madison and Temple for horn. I know Temple offers as BA and BM in music.</p>

<p>Wow, this is amazing information, and great leads! A lot to process.</p>

<p>Money is an important factor. I’ve heard that state schools can offer to give full scholarships (or, mostly full) to the players they want to recruit the most. How about liberal a2rts or private universities, such as for example, Oberlin, Bard, Northwestern, or Emory? Let’s assume for now they <em>really</em> want you.</p>

<p>I’m guessing here, but I would think that the larger scholarships based on music merit would only go to those pursuing a BM degree and not a BA at Oberlin & Northwestern. I know the music merit scholarships at Bard are only for those students accepted to the conservatory for the 5-year double degree program, BM/BA, as they are conservatory scholarships. Emory may very well be a different story as I don’t know if they even offer a BM - and I do believe they have some music merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Oberlin is a bit complicated in this regard. The Conservatory does not offer a BA, only a BM. The College offers a BA in Music with a performance emphasis, but you are not eligible for that program if you are also in the Conservatory. The Music major in the college cannot be declared until after you have earned at least a B- in one of a number of specified music classes and after you have auditioned into a faculty member’s studio. As a College student, you cannot be certain that the Music department will accept you as a major until you have been there for a semester or two.</p>

<p>The Con and the College have separate admissions offices, but work through the same financial aid office. Enrollment in the Conservatory is something like 80% based on the audition and 20% based on academics. Enrollment in the College is by the normal academic and other criteria that they would use for any student enrolling there. An audition is not part of that process, although they might accept a recording of your playing as a supplement. The school has plenty of great horn players in the Con, so a music supplement may not help all that much unless you are playing at a level that would get you considered for the Con. If you are playing at that level, perhaps a double degree would make more sense because you will know before enrolling whether or not you will be able to get a music degree there.</p>

<p>To my knowledge, there are no musical talent-based scholarships awarded to incoming College students. Likewise, the Con does not offer academic scholarships. You would be eligible for both academic and talent-based scholarships in the double degree program, however. The College has some very generous academic scholarships and both the College and Con offer need-based grants that meet 100% of demonstrated need.</p>

<p>There are sufficient ensembles for pretty much any student of the College or Con. If you cannot audition into one of the top groups in the Con, there is a pretty good College-Community Winds group led by Conservatory faculty, and lots of informal ensembles always forming.</p>

<p>For colleges/universities in general, is the basic message that you cannot get a scholarship based on your musical ability alone if you are applying for a B.A.? I mean getting the offer senior year in HS, not after she is already enrolled.</p>

<p>No, that is not the case. Many schools award music scholarships to incoming freshmen, but there is usually an audition involved and a commitment to play in a particular school ensemble for the duration of the scholarship. Also, at many schools it is possible to declare a music major from Day 1. In many cases, talent scholarship recipients need not be music majors.</p>

<p>Oberlin is kind of a special case because it has both a conservatory and a college on the same campus. They have all the musical talent they need in the conservatory without having to extend musical talent scholarships to those who are in the college division but not the conservatory.</p>

<p>St. Olaf might be worth a look.</p>