<p>I am a senior in high school, and I just recently came to the realization that what I really love from the bottom of my heart is music. I really do not enjoy or am interested in anything else.</p>
<p>There are several problems to this:
1) I have never had any formal "training"... aural, sightsinging, or formal voice lessons for that matter. I can manage the very, very basic stuff, but nothing that would probably get me through a college audition.
2) It's way too late to be applying for the Fall term 2010 anyways.</p>
<p>I am interested in voice, particularly classical... I am not aspiring to become an internationally renowned opera singer or anything, I just want to sing in a professional choir and hopefully be able to make a living out of this (I know the chances are slim). I have made the two regional honor choirs for the last 2 years, and will be part of the all-state honor choir this year.</p>
<p>I feel as though this realization came way too late, but I was wondering if anyone has some genius ideas. Would going to community college for a year or two while preparing myself be a viable option? What would applying to community college as a music major entail? I tried to do some research but I have had no luck at all...</p>
<p>I’d take a gap year to prepare my auditions. Maybe you could still apply to a music pre-college and spend one year there and apply for Fall 2011. Interlochen also has a Year 13 program. I don’t think community college is a good way to start a music education if you have other options.</p>
<p>With a good private teacher and hard work, you should be able to make good progress in a year, since you obviously have some basic skills (having made the honors choirs and all-state). Community college for a year is not a bad idea, just depends on the school. Some CCs (like the one in my city) have essentially no music courses, others have well-developed music programs designed to help students transfer. But, also be aware that many music schools will not accept specific courses like theory as transfer credits. But there certainly is value in a year at a CC- you could get some classes (english etc.) that you might have to take out of the way, you wouldn’t even have to go full-time. Looking at an extra year, if I were you, I would also begin/polish your piano skills. You might also be able to work part-time and save a little money (or help pay for those expensive lessons!). You need to find a teacher and evaluate your local CC options. Good luck and come back, there’s lots of voices of experience here!</p>
<p>What schools have you applied to or been accepted to that have music departments and voice instruction? Check their policies for instruction for non-majors. Are any of these near cities with good private teachers? It is quite possible to study other areas as an undergraduate and study voice on the side since voice takes a little longer to develop. Many excellent singers choose this route deliberately in order to have a broader educational base. Since you have not studied voice yet, you do not know whether this can be a vocation or an avocation for you. I would not interrupt your schooling, but choose a parallel path of private instruction and as many music classes as you can fit in your schedule while you assess the realities…</p>
<p>I agree with Singersmom07. Many voice teachers I have spoken with say that an undergraduate voice performance major is a real gamble for a young singer. At this stage, I would urge you to stay the course and get the best education you can. Find a good voice teacher and take private lessons. Squeeze in as many classes in music as you can and take at least a year each of several languages (Italian, French and German in particular). After two or three years of this, you will have a much clearer idea of whether you have the talent and temperament to continue on this path.</p>
<p>Many very good singers have gone this route for their undergraduate degree and then auditioned into music school for graduate work.</p>
<p>Realize as you start that chances for earning a living singing with a professional chorus are not just slim, they are virtually non-existent. I have participated in amateur and semi-professional groups with literally hundreds of excellent singers over the past thirty years who would like nothing better than that very career path. There are tens or hundreds of thousands of others around the country who are just as good. I can think of only one person I know who is earning a living by singing full time in a professional chorus. He is one of the most talented tenors I have ever met and is currently with the Metropolitan Opera Chorus. There must be at least three or four times as much competition among sopranos and mezzos. I am not saying to give up your dream, just that you need to keep your options open for a while until you can determine if you are even close to the right league.</p>
<p>Let me start by saying that I know next to nothing about voice (both sons are instrumentalists.) It seems to me that you have received some sound, pragmatic advice from the previous posters who are well-versed in that area. </p>
<p>If, however, you should still have your heart set on pursuing some sort of music degree, you might consider one of the SUNY CC’s, Onondaga Community College just outside of Syracuse. They offer an A.A.S. in music and have transfer articulation agreements with several four-year schools (Postdam/Crane, Fredonia, Ithaca, Mansfield in PA.) You do have to audition (but I am not sure of the dates). We had considered OCC as a “plan B” for youngest son due to academic concerns, but he ended up pulling a hat-trick and got into a good school in the midwest.</p>
<p>Even though they are a two-year school, they do offer housing (fairly new, I believe). Like most of the SUNYs, costs of attendance are reasonable, even for out-of-state students. As I mentioned, the school is just outside of Syracuse, which is easily accessible by both train and plane. Here’s a link to their site:</p>
<p>One caveat about Community College Music Depts. especially here in NY- many of their courses DO NOT transfer to 4 year college music major programs, even within the SUNY system. I know of 2 young men who went that route- one has an amazing tenor voice- but had to go back at least one year when transfering to a SUNY school. Go to one if you must, taking the basic English,etc courses while taking voice lessons with the best teacher you can find, but understand that you may have to give up a year when you transfer.
THe advice given to you by BassDad is excellent. You simply are non-competative now since you would be up against girls who have been studying for years and even they fight for the few, available places. While I have a problem with students entering grad programs without having the undergrad degree in the same field- because of the sheer number of “catch up courses” they have to take, thereby filling up classes needed by the undergrads too- BassDad told you what to take to avoid having to start grad school “behind”. Languages, French, German and Italian are a “must”, as are theory, aural skills and keyboard classes. Adding those to your course load would be of great benefit to you later.
Music is not a field one can approach with an eye toward “making money”- it has to be a passion, something you can not dream of living without- and the rest is a combination of talent, skill and luck!
What are you planning on majoring in at this point?</p>
<p>MM brings up a good point - you do need to do your homework regarding CC transfers should you decide to go that route. The SUNY issue of accepted credits when transitioning from a two to a four year school is very real and not unique to music programs, as we know firsthand. Way back when, my brother-in-law ended up having to do an extra year moving from Morrisville to Oswego - the four year school would not accept a huge chunk of his credits from the two year school. He was furious.</p>
<p>My sister (his wife), however, had no such issues - the schools had an articulation agreement in her course of study that enabled her to move seamlessly into her junior year at Oswego. For her, it worked out quite well. The key seems to be understanding the relationship and agreements between the respective departments.</p>
<p>Even though we have a SUNY CC with a music department five minutes from our house, we practiced due diligence investigating which program would allow the smoothest transition to a bachelor’s program in the event our son had to follow that course (which he did not). Onondaga, a good five hours away but with transfer articulation agreements to credible programs, seemed the better choice. A chat with transfer admissions at the four-year schools on their list confirmed this. </p>
<p>I stress the latter point - it would be worthwhile to double-check with the partner institutions to ensure that the agreements between schools do work in favor of the student if you are so inclined to pursue this course.</p>