Peabody

College Majors Music Major
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<p>Hey everyone! I've been looking around here for the past week, this is my first post, but I think this forum is wonderful! Anyway...</p>

<pre><code> I am a saxophonist, and a senior in high school. I was always afraid of majoring in music, because my stepdad didn't like the idea, and I was afraid of failure, and I thought that I have to plan out my whole entire life right this second (yes, irrational, I know). But then, a few months ago, it hit me, I NEED to do this. I absolutely love music, and I have to at least try majoring it, trying to make it, because I don't want to go through life wondering what would have happened if I had done this. My mom is definitely okay with it, she thinks its great that I am going for something I love, and she plays the clarinet, and my stepdad is, I dunno, getting used to the idea, though it hurts when he kind of makes fun of my decision, but I'm getting off topic...

Well, I always thought I was going to go off to a big school in a city far away, you know, but when I visited actually visited some schools, I realized that I am definitely not ready to go to a big school, or one more than 2-3 hours away from home. I think it would be way better for me to be in a smaller environment, because one of the things I really enjoy about high school is getting to know my teachers and being able to talk to them and knowing they care about me.

So, I think I have a plan. I live in Maryland, and I think that I really want to go to Peabody. The positives are that it is a small school, but in a city, close to home (parents could come see performances), great saxophone teacher, they have classical and jazz, I could take classes at JHU, which is good because I want to be well rounded and I have interests other than music, and from what I've read here, it sounds like its not cut-throat, and that it is a nice, friendly place. I think money is the only negative, but hopefully I can get some scholarships and figure out loans.

I guess the reason I'm posting this, is because I am wondering if you guys think I'm going to limit myself by going to a conservatory? I am serious about music, and I want to try this, but I have all of these what ifs in my mind. I don't think I should be worrying about what I'm going to do with a music degree right now, my mom and teachers say its good to major in something you love doing, since college is more life experience than a specific career skill. Also, these decisions aren't set in stone, right? People change majors and careers, and it doesn't kill them, right?

Basically, I know that I want to dedicate the rest of my life to becoming the best musician I can be, and at this point in my life, I don't want to worry about what that will mean as far as what I'm doing in the future, if that makes any sense, is that bad?

Is there anyone here who is going to Peabody or has a kid going there with any thoughts on the school. Its seems perfect for me, and I'm visiting them this coming Monday, November 27, I'm very excited. Also, does anyone know how their jazz program is? And, anyone know if I can major in classical performance and jazz? I can probably ask these questions when I visit them... but I'm just curious what you guys think.

Oh, also, I'm worried about if I don't think Peabody is right for me, I don't know of any small or medium sized school around here (within a 2-3 hours) with an amazing music program. What are some good, small schools for music around Maryland?

Thank you so much, and I'm sorry about the obnoxiously long post. College is just freaking me out a little bit (but I am soooo excited!).
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<p>Peabody is amazing! Of course it has pros and cons like any other places, but that also depends on what you actually needs. If you have any particular questions, I can perhaps help you (disclaimer: I'm totally ignorant of anything about the jazz program except that they have some "reserved" music stands that I can't take out of their rooms when I can't find any others around! ^_^ )</p>

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<p>Peabody has a very friendly and supportive culture. There is a feeling of cooperation and collaboration with little of the intensity and competition found at some other conservatories. It sounds like this is the type of culture you desire. My D is not a jazz major, but plays in one jazz group because the program is amazing and a lot of fun.</p>

<p>If you really enjoy music, I would not worry about being limited by a conservatory education. You can find plenty of old threads on this forum which discuss this issue. It is very difficult to make a career in music performance, but a degree is music performance is not a dead end. You will have just as many future possibilities as another student with a humanities degree and there is nothing too shabby about a degree from JHU.</p>

<p>At this point you also need to be seriously concerned about auditions and acceptance. Peabody has a fairly high acceptance rate - - about 50-60% for most programs and instruments. The applicants are pretty good and you need to be preparing for auditions. Unless you are an absolutely amazing musician, plan on re-arranging you life to work on audition prep for several hours/day. If you are committed to going to school in Maryland, you have limited options for safeties. I would suggest you expand your options and do that research immediately. You have very little time to make you selections, apply and prepare for auditions.</p>

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<p>D's back from Peabody for Turkey Day and has only great things to say about the school. She too is not a jazz student, but doubles on alto sax so she is playing in the large jazz ensemble and has good things to say about that area too. </p>

<p>Downside is definietly $$ and Peabody tends to be parsimonious with their merit money. However, I have heard that they are good in getting together packages for those who have demonstrated need. I would make it a point to have a frank discussion with someone from financial aid on your visit Monday. </p>

<p>I know that U Maryland has a good music program, but that may be too large for your taste. Towson also has a decent music program, but I'm not sure if that's in the "too large" category also.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thank you guys so much for the replies! Peabody definitely sounds like an amazing place, and I am really excited about visiting them. I also plan on meeting the saxophone teacher (Gary Louie) and having a kind of lesson with him, and seeing one of the jazz band performances in December, to get a better idea of the program and whatnot. </p>

<p>thzxcyl, do you know about how many saxophonists (undergrad) are there for classical performance ? Are you friends with any of the saxophonists there (jazz or classical)? Just curious. Also, when you sent in your repertoire list, I know they want you to put stars by the ones you have performed, but for the ones that haven't been performed yet, do they have to be performance ready, or just pieces that you have been working on? Oh, also, have you taken any classes at JHU? I like the fact that you can take classes there, but I'm wondering if that would cause me to kill myself if I tried to do a difficult class there on top of difficult music classes at Peabody.</p>

<p>edad, yeah I am definitely working on audition material and applications. Maryland isn't my only option, just not more than a few hours away from home, and I do have safety schools and others that I am interested in, so I'm not worried about that. Its just that I'm fairly certain that Peabody is the place for me. </p>

<p>ImperialZeppelin, that's cool that your daughter plays the saxophone, do you know if she is playing on the December 15 jazz concert? I am going to try to see them.</p>

<p>Thank you all for your advice! And sorry about my long winded posts. I am just really excited about the future, oh man, I can't wait until Monday!</p>

<p>Thanks again everyone!!</p>

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<p>JazzyAnna, as I said, I really don't know much abou the jazz program there. I do know a few saxophonists. For the repertoire list, I guess they want the pieces that you have put a reasonable time into practising, so they probably won't be exactly performance ready. I'm a double degree student, so I'm defintely taking class at JHU. Generally though, the music classes in Peabody are not difficult if you are a motivated student (and having no trouble understanding English...), so it is absolutely feasible to take classes in Hopkins. Quite some Peabody students took advantage of that option.</p>

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<p><a href="http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/787%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/787&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Read these articles. They are on the Peabody website and are very good. They helped everyone in our family understand the difference between conservatory vs. other kinds of music study...and helped us also see our kid and understand him better. In my opinion, they should be required reading especially for students who are not sure what kind of music study they want to pursue after high school.</p>

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<p>thumper1, I read those articles, they are fantastic!</p>

<p>Oh man, I visited Peabody today, and I absolutely LOVED it! Now I just need to figure out what to do, but I guess I'll just work on auditions and applications and see where I get in, and figure it out from that.</p>

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<p>You'd better hurry up. The postmark deadline is this Friday.</p>

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<p>I live in Maryland, and my kids have each had music teachers from Peabody.</p>

<p>Pros: Great school and you take your liberal arts courses from Johns Hopkins. You get a diploma from Johns Hopkins. How cool is that? The program is very strong with top professionals teaching. Maryland is in the Midatlantic. Thus, the weather is usually better that what you would find in New England or in NY area.</p>

<p>Cons: Peabody is NOT in a good area of Baltimore. There are security concerns. It is also very expensive to attend the school.</p>

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<p>I'll take exception to the con that "Peabody is NOT in a good area of Baltimore." It is in the Mount Vernon District, which is one of the safest areas of Baltimore, far better than the Hopkins main campus at Homewood and light years ahead of the Hopkins' Medical Center, which was described to me as "Indian Territory" by a full professor there.</p>

<p>That being said, it is in a city and all city security concerns do apply. However, I'm far less concerned of my D attending Peabody than I would be if she was attending Hopkins proper.</p>

<p>And I agree 45,000% with the high expense to attend the school...</p>

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<p>Oh, pointegirl, I already turned in my application for Peabody, I meant the ones for the other schools (all due in February though, a procrastinators dream), but thanks :)
I talked to the tour guide yesterday (he's a student there) about safety, and he says its good, you just have to use common sense, like travel in groups and whatnot. So I guess the big issue is money, and I'll just have to wait and see what happens as far as scholarships and loans go later, or if I even get accepted...
Taxguy, I live in MD too, and I definitely love the weather here, but I wouldn't want to go much farther north just because I don't like the cold very much.</p>

<p>I was worried about the liberal arts education though, because I am interested in a lot of different things (music the most though, :) ), but I think if I worked things out and was organized and manage time well, I could get a lot out of the JHU connection. Why do there have to be so many choices and hard decisions?!
Thank you guys, your comments and advice have been great!!</p>

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<p>I second the exception to security concerns. Mount Vernon is a very nice district; from what I heard from the polices (if I remember correctly), it does has some problems with petty crimes like panhandling, thefts etc., so you do need to be careful about leaving valuable things in your car (or even worse, in plain view), etc. But really, no huge problems and the school is very protective of its students. I also agree that Peabody is in general safer than the Homewood campus, but of course, Peabody is almost a self-contained building complex and the Homewood campus is a open campus.</p>

<p>It is a little bit tricky to schedule around the two campuses ^_^, but with some ingenuity and expectation for some frustrations, it should work out ok.</p>

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<p>DS attended Peabody for 5 years. He lived on-campus for two years, then off-campus in an apartment for three. He never, ever had any problems with security or physical threats, and I don't remember ever hearing about any of his friends having problems either. Peabody is in the middle of Baltimore, and it's just common sense to take some basic precautions. But then, you would take the same precautions living in ANY city and, frankly, anyone with a brain on any campus anywhere should also use common sense. DH and I walked around the Mount Vernon area with DS at all hours of the night, and never felt threatened (although being out on Halloween was an interesting experience, to say the least!). </p>

<p>As for taking liberal arts courses at JHU, it's a great concept in theory but difficult to actually do. DS's girlfriend did take her language classes at Hopkins because that was the only way she could fit them into her schedule, but DS never got to take all the fabulous courses that intrigued him so. He was too busy taking his required liberal arts courses on the Peab. campus, as well as all his music courses. Yes, there is a shuttle bus between campuses, but being a music major is tremendously demanding. That's probably what you need to decide, Jazzy, if you're ready to devote yourself full time to music. If music is just one of the things you want to study, maybe Peab. is not the place you should be. For DS, it was a no-brainer - we toured the campus and he KNEW that was where he needed to be, no ifs, ands or buts. It was the first school he'd ever visited, he said, that "felt like home." If, as you said in your original post, you NEED to major in music, then Peab. may well be the right place for you too. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should go to Peab. to study music, not because you can study music and also take great extra courses at Hopkins. Your time for extra courses will be very limited, and if the study of music isn't the main interest in your educational career, then maybe you need to look at other schools besides conservatories. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's true. If you live and breathe music and can't imagine studying anything else, Peab. is an amazing place to be. If you love music but also want to study anthropology, comparative religions and psychology, maybe you should keep looking.</p>

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<p>Your mileage may vary. Some students are full time at the conservatory, including optional performance groups and still manage to take one or two demanding courses at JHU. Transportation is not much of an issue. The campuses are about 3 miles apart and buses are frequent.</p>

<p>A limited number of students, like thzycl, are accepted as double majors. They face very demanding schedules for 5 years. Most eventually opt for either a Peabody or a JHU major.</p>

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<p>We have a friend who was a double major: voice at Peabody and German at JHU. She loved her time there, but basically said that if she had it to do all over again she would have gone to a university where double majoring may have been easier or more accessible.</p>

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