Percussion in the Midwest

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hi -- </p>

<p>S is a percussionist, and wants to go to Indiana. Audition went well, but obviously you can't count on getting into a place like Indiana.</p>

<p>There are three other schools that interest him -- Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green, and Northern Illinois. All three have good percussion programs. Miami, it seems, is the academic star of that group, but we are not sure if the music is as strong as the other two. Bowling Green and Northern Illinois have great departments, but somewhat of a commuter/suitcase school feel. S will be an out of state student.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any perspective on these schools? Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Definitely Northern Illinois.Their percussion ensemble won a huge competition and got to perform at PASIC this past November. They were outstanding.
Being from Ohio, I have researched Miami and Bowling Green quite a bit. I have a friend who went to Miami for percussion and English. He loved the English but he was very disappointed in the percussion program. He likes Dr. Albin a lot as a person but doesn’t feel that he is helping his students reach their full potential as musicians. He is hoping to transfer to Ohio University next year (they are still accepting applications by the way). It was this that made me decide not to apply to Miami.
As far as Bowling Green goes, the percussion program is fine. The music ed program is quite a bit stronger than performance, but regardless of major, it seems like it would give a solid foundation for further education and a career as a musician.
So basically, I think Northern Illinois would be great, I wouldn’t suggest Miami (but hey, it’s different for everyone), and I don’t have much insight on Bowling Green. </p>

<p>Hope this helps. Let me know if you want some info on OU. I’ve researched that one quite a bit as well.</p>

3

<p>A sampling of the percussion titled threads:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/835945-percussion-major-school-suggestions-appreciated.html?highlight=percussion[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/835945-percussion-major-school-suggestions-appreciated.html?highlight=percussion&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/223773-good-percussion-teachers.html?highlight=percussion[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/223773-good-percussion-teachers.html?highlight=percussion&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/640567-good-schools-percussion.html?highlight=percussion[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/640567-good-schools-percussion.html?highlight=percussion&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/544228-previous-experience-percussion-performance-majors.html?highlight=percussion[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/544228-previous-experience-percussion-performance-majors.html?highlight=percussion&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Nothing comes up on a title search of “Miami Ohio” but there are numerous post within other threads with some info if you search within posts rather than by title.</p>

<p>Look for posts by binx, whose d is a violin performance major there. A recent post is here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064075827-post26.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064075827-post26.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>Thanks Rach. Very helpful reply. As a parent, I was influenced by the fact that Miami is such an attractive school and seems to have very strong academics. Musically, there does seem to be an extraordinary amount of interesting stuff going on at N. Illinois – much more than Miami.</p>

<p>I did not mention that S is also applying to Michigan State. I come from a Big 10 background and had a great experience, so maybe I am a bit biased. MSU is clearly not Indiana, but may be a strong alternative. Have you done any research on MSU?</p>

5

<p>Michigan State has an incredible marimba player teaching there. If that is your son’s main focus, it would be a great school. However, I’m not sure if I would expect a well-rounded education in percussion. If your son is more into snare or timpani or doesn’t really have a specialty, I probably wouldn’t suggest Michigan State. </p>

<p>I guess one thing to keep in mind, though, is that his teacher won’t be the main determinate of the quality of his education. As long as he practices a lot and really focuses on developing his technique and musicality, he will do fine. It’s most important for him to go somewhere that just feels right, or he might not be as motivated to put in the work he needs. That’s what I like to think about, anyway :)</p>

6

<p>I go to Michigan State and have a friend who is not a music major, but he does play percussion for the Spartan Marching Band (plays during all football games) and he loves it. For what it’s worth, I have only heard good things about the College of Music at MSU.</p>

7

<p>Ohioan here, Miami is the academic star of the group for sure. I would look at Akron for percussion. There is a teacher there who everyone seems to be crazy about. I like Bowling Green’s voice program, but I’m not sure about the instrumental side of things.</p>

8

<p>I just noticed your post. My S just auditioned at IU and would love to go there but if he isn’t accepted, Northern runs a close second. Their percussion department is very good. He had a lesson with one of the teachers and was very impressed. It has other drawbacks when you compare it to IU but the percussion is still excellent.</p>

9

<p>Didn’t the main percussionist at Northern recently leave? Any input on University of Illinois or Kentucky?</p>

10

<p>Yes, he retired but is still teaching part-time. The other prof is great and they are actively searching for a replacement. S is in percussion performance at NIU. He looked at Kentucky but didn’t apply and U of Illinois wasn’t even on the radar.</p>