<p>This thread touches on several things. </p>
<p>First, there is the OP's question. A person can become an accompanist in musical theater through various avenues. She could major in piano performance which will be classicial training usually (any pianist needs a classical background but they may have that prior to college and not necessarily need to major in that IN college). She could go to a school where she studies composition or jazz music. She doesn't even have to major in piano or music necessarily if she keeps up her piano skills and is engaged in doing accompaniment work and so forth. There is a piano accompaniment major at Shenandoah Conservatory and it was just mentioned that Westminster Choir College has a related degree. </p>
<p>Expanding beyond the OP's question since this thread is talking about piano accompaniment in MT and also musical directing.....ONE background that some who do this kind of work have is a BFA in MT. I would not suggest that to the OP as her D is not interested in singing, acting, dancing herself which is the bulk of a MT program. However, there are some who do a BFA in MT who have very strong piano backgrounds and music skills who later go on to be musical directors and/or accompanists. For example, a friend of my D's who gradauted CAP21 went on to be the pianist for the Wicked Tour upon graduation. She has several peers in her program at CAP21 who get professional work as MDs and/or accompanists. </p>
<p>My own D is in CAP21 studying MT with hopes to pursue a career on stage as a MT performer. However, all the while, she has worked significantly as a Musical Director, arranger, and accompanist including for pay. She is also a composer. She has an entire resume just for this aspect of her work that is not her acting resume. In fact, she feels that given the chancy odds with casting on a regular basis (once she graduates), she CAN get work earning professional fees as an MD and as an accompanist. She already gets this work without her degree and is turning down numerous jobs because she cannot fit in another thing and doesn't want to ONLY musically direct or accompany, since she is trying to train and be in productions on stage (which she is rehearsing for a couple of shows). She is currently the MD, as well as accompanist/arranger for a professional piece in NYC. She has been paid to be an accompanist for programs such as Vocal classes in NYU/Tisch/CAP21 pre-college. She was asked to be the paid accompanist for CAP21's professional musical theater classes. She keeps being asked to be a musical director for various shows both at school and in the city but has had to turn a lot down. She can earn good money doing this work. Last night, before going to two sets of rehearsals for the entire night, she gave a piano lesson in rock/pop/jazz to a teenager for $75/hour! A skilled musical director and/or accompanist can get work, as onstage mentions. She also plays in a band, can get gigs, or can perform solo in piano accompanying herself singing her own compositions and/or could do covers in a piano bar, for example. So, while she has a background in classical piano and jazz piano prior to college, she is not training on piano at college. But if one has the skills to musically direct, arrange, compose, or accompany, there is work to be had, and there are those with a BFA in MT who get that kind of work if they have those skills, even though they did not study a piano degree in college. </p>
<p>Also, you could major in something else and continue to take piano lessons on the side such as in jazz. My D has not taken Music Theory/Piano in her program as she placed out. So, she is not studying any piano classes for credit. However, she wants to have some private lessons with jazz piano (she did play piano in jazz band in HS) in NYC and was going to take such a lesson on her lunch break today but has a family obligation. But depending where the OP goes to college, she may be able to study anything, and still take piano lessons, as well as accompany productions on campus, etc.</p>
<p>A person studying classical piano or a person studying jazz music could also get into this field but would need to be simulataneously working on accompaniment projects or musical directing jobs. They don't have to get a degree in "accompaniment." They just have to have the skills. So, I can see someone with a piano or jazz or composition degree eventually being an accompanist or a person with a degree in musical theater who has the MD and piano skills to also go into that line of work. My D falls in this latter description and she is convinced that she will be able to get work upon graduation that is not waiting tables but can earn money doing the various musical directing and accompanying jobs she does now and more. People with such skills tend to be in demand in musical theater. Like onstage says, it may not be ONE full time job but a piecing together of various related jobs that pay a very decent hourly fee. It also has some flexibility for someone pursuing casting as they can fill in with jobs in MDing or accompanying or arranging or performing as a singer/pianist around their acting gigs. I am mentioning this as one avenue for this field but this doesn't apply to the OP whose D is not an actor/singer/dancer and so she would not get into this field through the BFA in MT path. </p>
<p>The OP should know that her D's skills may be in demand on certain college campuses that have student directed musicals that need an MD for example. If she is in a city, she may also find work as an accompanist.</p>
<p>I agree with onstage that Berklee would be an option. Most who go into such things already have a classical background and then could begin to focus on other genres. My D no longer plays classical but did for ten years and now plays musical theater, pop, rock, jazz.</p>