Performance Major on Oboe

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I'm a senior in high school, looking to be a performance major in college on the oboe. As I've read a lot of people have trouble, I am also having trouble finding the right college and figuring out what to do. I've gotten a few good tips: audition audition audition, audition in person, take sample lessons from instructors, complete a good college search.</p>

<p>I have played the Oboe for five years, before beginning the Oboe I played the Clarinet for three years. I never had, nor do I have a private Oboe instructor, I learned what I could from my high school band directors, advice from other oboe players, and from personal practice. I know I've got a few bad habits (thanks to a music camp I went to last summer), and such things like that. Next to the bad habits I have good habits (yes, I actually do practice at least three hours a day...) I'm a great student, all A's, ACT score of 27... Now here's the tricky part...</p>

<p>Because I've only played for four years and I have never had an actual oboe teacher, I know I can't count on the high schools (like Juilliard). I am still auditioning in Juilliard, but obviously I need more plans and ideas... But I have no idea how to find a college good for my aspirations. Everyone looks good on paper, and I obviously can't visit everywhere, how can I narrow down my search? I want to aim high, but I also do not want to find myself without any acceptance letters. Any advice?</p>

2

<p>How about letting us know some more info. Where are you located? Do you prefer urban or smaller town environments? Large or small schools? Have you started on any audition repertoire that would let us know the level of your playing? </p>

<p>You can look through last year’s acceptances for similar instruments. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1045522-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2011-a-27.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1045522-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2011-a-27.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Frankly, without a private teacher you are really going up hill against competition that has had private teachers for years. When you were at music camp did they give you any guidance? Some camps try to help rising seniors with audition ready materials. Can you locate someone to help you for the next few months? Ask your band director for a contact. </p>

<p>In order not to be left in a position of no acceptances you really should have someone evaluate you and guide you through the application process. No one who has not heard you can give you a realistic list. But you can look through here for ideas <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/6280-suggestions-colleges-music-majors-16.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/6280-suggestions-colleges-music-majors-16.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As to Julliard, are they on your list because they are the only music school you know of? Or have you explored them and know that there is a teacher there for you. Without a private teacher are you really ready for this? Students preparing for their audition will have been working on these requirements for a while now.
Oboe</p>

<pre><code>Two etudes showing the applicant’s level of technical and musical ability.
A slow/fast pair of movements or a complete shorter work from any Baroque or Classical piece, not less than 8 minutes in length (may include repeats).
A sonata or concerto movement (or pair of movements) or a short work (or pair of short works) in a style other than Baroque or Classical, not less than 6 minutes in length.
Three orchestral excerpts demonstrating slow, fast, and articulated passages.
</code></pre>

3

<p>@ShawnaW- are you planning on auditioning this season? As Singersmom07 pointed out, you’re going to be part of the same audition pool as kids who have been living and breathing the oboe for twice as long as you have and who possess instruments which enhance their sound. Instrumental majors applying at the top-tier schools play at a very, very high level and are not usually accepted on “potential”- they have probably been working on their audition material for a year now.There are only 1 or 2 openings for incoming oboe players at a school each year and you’ll be playing for a panel which will usually include those who hold chairs in major orchestras.
We haven’t heard you play so we are just generalizing here, but if you truly want to attend a good conservatory or a LAC/University, you need to have a private instructor to help you prepare. Do you know how to access the repertoire for the required orchestral passages (there are pretty standard things that they expect to hear) and which pieces are appropriate for the level of the school to which you are applying? To be without someone to guide you is a very definite disadvantage and most schools ask you for two letters of recommendation from persons who can attest to your musical ability- for prospective performance majors, one of those is expected to be a private instructor.
The longer you go it on your own, the more reinforcement those “bad” habits have and you need to be at the top of your game on audition days. Apps are due in on 12/1 and you have to be ready by February. You sound like you really want to aim high so would you consider taking a “gap year” and work with a really good instructor to prepare? There are limits on the number of times that you can audition at the well-known
schools and music is a very small world where profs talk to each other, so you want to give yourself the very best chance.
Please do answer some of the questions about yourself and your goals. What kinds of pieces have you been working on? BA, BM, performance, music ed, general music with a concentration in oboe performance? There are a lot of schools out there from which to choose, so please be open to different possibilities.</p>

4

<p>As the mom of an oboe performance major, I agree with the advice given above. Get a private teacher ASAP. A private teacher can help you assess where to apply and help with audition rep. Are you able to make reeds? Most teachers at the college level expect you to know reed making basics. My daughter’s private teacher made her make all her own reeds beginning her junior year of high school.</p>

5

<p>My daughter plays oboe and in one or two years will be applying to performance programs. I don’t know what you meant by “trouble”, but my daughter has found a number of the conservatory teachers to be difficult to deal with, personality-wise. It would be good to know if you like a teacher or not before committing to study.</p>

<p>Sound is particuarly important in the oboe world. I assume you listen to professional recordings and youtube recordings of oboe players. Who do you like best? there is actually quite a lot of variation even in the United States (and more so in Europe). The sound is what’s most important for my daughter, not the conservatory. My daughter has been fortunate to have studied in summers with a number of the top oboe players in the U.S. She does not want to study at conservatory with most of them. For some, she does not like their sound. Some others talk too much during lessons. Another obsesses with reed making.</p>

<p>My daughter also has/does play other woodwinds, and I know that practice benefits her on oboe, so you may not be as behind as your post makes it sound initially. I know of one young woman who only started oboe at age 17, and she is principal oboe now in a large symphony.</p>

<p>Look for the strong programs in your state and consider applying to a few of them (at least one). Visit the oboe teachers. What many performance majors do is attend their state university for undergraduate, then go to a top conservatory for their masters.</p>

6

<p>I do have some guidance, I have my band directors. They aren’t oboe players, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know anything. I have been working on audition materials for over a year now. I can play Concerto in C minor by Benedetto Marcello, when I worked with the oboe instructor at camp, she told me it was great. She told me what I needed to fix, and I fixed it. Last year, I learned Arabesque. I am currently in search of a contemporary oboe solo, or a solo that isn’t classical or baroque. I have a book collection of Orchestral Excerpts for Oboe. I know all of my major and minor scales, along with the chromatic up to a high Eb. </p>

<p>I live in Wyoming. My oboe is not bad qualitiy. I’m aware that I am working against students that have had private instructors for years, but that doesn’t automatically set them leagues in front of me. I have played in every clinic band through high school, and I sat first chair every year. Again, I have my band directors for guidance, they are helping me with my Juilliard audition and they will help me with other auditions once I can find schools that suit me better. </p>

<p>As for college preferences, right now all I care about is a good program. I have been looking at tons of colleges, but the list is just overwhelming. I have received mail from Indiana State, the University of Michigan, Gustavus Adolphus, Berkeley College of Music, Puget Sound, Arizona State University… The list goes on. </p>

<p>Finally, as for finding someone to help me for the next few months, people have told me to find someone willing to help me over Skype. I’m working on that, but that seems just as tricky as finding a college to apply and audition for.</p>

7

<p>My daughter is an oboe player, also a senior in high school and an excellent student. She played flute for 6 years before switching to oboe almost 3 years ago.</p>

<p>We got her a private teacher when she took up oboe. Our high school is very highly rated for their music program, however, none of the band teachers play oboe, and it does make a difference getting direction from someone who plays your instrument. Her private teacher started teaching her to make reeds 2 years ago, and she has gotten very good. Also, her private teacher encouraged her to take music theory and music history classes, something that will help her on musicanship entry tests at different colleges.</p>

<p>I don’t want to discourage you, but when you mentioned auditioning for Julliard, I feel your audition/application money would be better spent at another school. My daughter is a top ranked oboist in our state and she is not applying to Julliard. Her private teacher is from Julliard and basically told her she doesn’t have much of a chance. We know they have an excellent (also a senior high school student) oboe player in the pre-college at Julliard, and I would assume students like him have the best chance of getting in. Her teacher also told us that many of the students accepted for oboe are not straight out of high school, but have attended other colleges and also some have already played professionally.</p>

<p>Again, not trying to discourage you, there are many colleges with excellent music programs that I am sure would love to have a solid oboist.</p>

<p>Good luck to you in your search and throughout the audition process!</p>

8

<p>Even the best qualified band directors will not know enough about oboe to guide you. Growing up, we had the top band director in our metropolitan area. My brother, an oboe player, had to take lessons from an oboe professional 4 hours drive away in order to get the instruction he needed. (He got admitted to Julliard, among other schools). In my experience, band directors in general are good about guiding students wanting to go into music education, but not performance.</p>

<p>You understand, I assume, that as a high school senior you will get bombarded from schools begging you to apply. I would not limit your choices to those who have sent material. Some of them are among the best music schools and others very good–</p>

<p>University of Michigan
Arizona State University
UC Berkeley
University of Puget Sound</p>

<p>Also consider:</p>

<p>University of Indiana at Bloomington
University of Southern California
and many others
State universities</p>

<p>I can send you a link to a recording I have of my daughter playing in a trio from this past summer, if you’re interested in hearing the level that top conservatories are looking for. (we’re not allowed to post links on this Board) The 1st oboe is now a freshman at Julliard.</p>

<p>In general, the top oboe players heading to conservatories have played these kinds of pieces well before applying:</p>

<p>–Mozart oboe concerto
–Mozart oboe quartet
–Hummel oboe concerto
–Strauss oboe concerto
–some modern pieces, such as Berio’s Sequenza 7
–Saint-Saens, Poulenc, Hindemith sonatas
–all Handel and Telemann concertos and sonatas
–can easily play pieces that go up to high G</p>

<p>For audition pieces, the Marcello could serve as one piece, but I would consider that the easy piece.</p>

<p>But again, as I said in my first post, the most important thing you need to do is to figure out what style and sound you are seeking, and choose your teacher based on that.</p>

9

<p>My D is also an oboist, in her final year of grad school. She has studied at top conservatories. If your aspirations are to play in a major orchestra, then I think it’s important to aim high, if not for undergrad, then for graduate school. Look at the people who are currently winning the oboe job auditions. Generally, they’ve studied at a handful of programs. Many people will disagree with me and say it doesn’t matter where you study. This is just my take on what I’ve seen over the years.</p>

<p>At the same time, it’s important to be realistic in your applications. Live auditions are always best, and because of the time and expense, you can only realistically do about 6 of them. It is a possibility that you could be rejected everywhere. But if you have a naturally beautiful tone and a solid sense of rhythm and pitch, you should definitely be able to find a school somewhere. But your time is running out as some schools, especially state schools, have a Dec. 1 application deadline.</p>

<p>My advice would be to go to the oboe teacher at the University of Wyoming and have a lesson. Do this as soon as possible, taking a day off from school if necessary. An oboe professional can give you a better picture of where to apply. You should also ask whether you are on a good track to be admitted there. If so, use that school as your safety and aim higher in the other applications.</p>

<p>Some state schools to consider with good oboe instruction: Indiana Univ (Bloomington), Univ. of Michigan, Arizona State, Univ. of Texas (Austin). These are NOT safety schools for most people. There are other schools which an oboe professional should be able to guide you to.</p>

<p>Re: reeds. Yes, many applicants will have started making their own. Don’t sweat it now if you haven’t started - you’ll work on this at school. Just make sure you have a good selection for your auditions as traveling can cause issues with your reeds. Re: instrument. Most applicants will be playing on a professional oboe. If you don’t have one now, you probably should wait. Oboes need to be broken in carefully and you really should have a professional oboist help you choose one. </p>

<p>Re: repertoire. Yes, many young oboists will have worked on some of the pieces that woodwinds listed, but that doesn’t mean that they play them well. Have you worked on any Barret Etudes?</p>