<p>I'll speak from the standpoint of a parent of a conservatory grad, (violist) who was unsure going in if he wanted performance or music ed. Much detail in my prior posts accessible by searching, but in a nutshell, he limited himself to conservatory programs within a university setting that offered a 5 year double major performance/ed degree and the background of the specific applied performance faculty.</p>
<p>He is a gifted performer, and that is his passion. On the same token, he loves to teach, has taught, coached quartets, and given individual instruction since he was in high school. He was hired as full faculty at an adult chamber music program while a junior in hs. He maintains this position still. </p>
<p>He spent 4 1/2 years in the dual pursuit, and realized he did not want to teach in a public classroom setting. He opted for just the BM performance, while amassing a very credit heavy minor in Music Ed. He is basically short the student teaching semester and a state mandated health course, both required for certification. </p>
<p>He also won a regional chair in his fourth post grad audition, and is now tenured.</p>
<p>Like you, we were neophytes, with no musical background. While we had a kid who was highly talented, lived and breathed music 24/7, and had numerous assessments from active performing professionals as to the level and potential of his abilities, we had reservations.</p>
<p>We supported his pursuit, never pushed him to the ed (he was the one who suggested the dual major), but were fully aware of just how competitive it is at the highest levels. </p>
<p>I would suggest you look deeply at the programs, and investigate the ease (or lack thereof) of a dual pursuit, and try and pin down how easy it is to move between programs if her focus shifts more to performance than ed, or vice versa. A starting place are those that offer the dual pursuit, but bear in mind that individual instructors also can be supportive or stonewalling; some may see the ed as a diversion, even at an institution that pays lip service in supporting dual degrees.</p>
<p>Violin at the highest level is extremely competitive. To make it as a section performer at the highest level requires extraordinary talent, a great deal of luck, and a focus that many cannot maintain. For those of us that HAVE a performance driven kid with aspirations of performing professionally at the top levels, I'd say that MOST of us knew it way before we started looking at college programs.</p>
<p>Many kids are unsure of their own talents, their potential, and their drive. Some need stability, and the ability to put bread on the table, while others don't care if they have a table or even bread, as long as they can play. Part of the process is understanding your kid, and more importantly, your kid understanding themselves. It's not unusual for performers to switch to ed (or pedagogy), and performance driven ed majors to opt for performance. And there's alway the Masters, with performance BM holders opting for an MM in ed. You'll also see ed grads pursuing performance masters.</p>
<p>Most of the schools on your list will provide a solid music ed background, and a number will serve to provide a solid basis for performance. The trick here is finding the right teacher/instructor/mentor. Beyond that peer quality, ratio of grads to undergrads, size, location, financial considerations will carry weight based on individual needs.</p>
<p>Some of these programs may weigh academics more heavily than others. Princeton, CMU are most certainly the hardest academically. There is a range of admission standards among the rest. While all (off the top of my head) are audition based BM pursuits (save Princeton where performance track is a Certificate Program) each will have their own criteria regarding audition versus academic weight in admissions. Be aware that performance path candidates are often held to a higher audition standard than ed majors. In a dual perf/ed pursuit, the audition standard is the same as performance. For a music ed candidate, the academic standard may be higher than for straight performance applicant. Most music ed programs also have an interview process.</p>
<p>UMich is probably the strongest from a performance standpoint, but it's also the largest in terms of size. Bucknell tends not to be oft mentioned in a list for high level performance programs.</p>
<p>That being said, there are exceptional student musicians and faculty at all these. The trick is finding the right "fit".</p>
<p>Look carefully at Princeton's program. My understanding is that it is a BA academically based program, with the focus on history, theory, musicology. I was unsure from a quick reading about the Certificate in Performance, and whether it was in conjunction with a BA in music or an academic discipline. I don't think music ed is an offered degree pursuit. There are world class students at Princeton, including a few performing profesionally, but the tendency is to study with area "name" instructors. It can be the right place for one in a performance track, but is not the norm in terms of program structure.</p>
<p>Scholarships, merit/talent aid is institution specific and the policies are usually on the music school/department website. Talent aid is a direct function of standing within the audition pool. Shenandoah can be generous for top candidates, I don't know specifics about the others. There are a couple of threads with past dollar amounts awarded (Miami-OH is on the list).</p>
<p>Consider looking at Kent State, historically a solid mid-west program.</p>
<p>Sorry for the verbiage and non-specific info.</p>