After a pretty exhaustive deep-dive into college options, we have our magic ‘List of 10’ for my S20. Feeling all good about this and working out times for visits this summer, he drops a bombshell: “I hope I can continue to be in a band in college.” Wait…WHAT? You HATED marching band (if you want to be in any music ensemble in our high school, marching band is mandatory, so our marching band is HUGE - 400ish kids). Come to learn it wasn’t marching band he hated, it was the uniform. It was itchy. Makes sense.
I could, of course, ask one of the 20 band/music teachers at his high school about this, but these people are uber enthusiastic and REALLY like it when a kid wants to play music in college and they will ALL dive in and whip out their rolodexes. But my son really doesn’t want them to do that (aka, he wants very few people to be involved in his college search thing). However, he claims that if there is a tie, he would choose the school which offers him opportunities to play as a non-music-major in some ensemble. While he’s not picky about the type of ensemble (pep band, pit orchestra for the theater, etc.) he is very picky about the quality. His HS performance band has won its state competition every single year since the beginning of time. She he’s a decent musician and he’s used to being around musicians better than him.
So how the heck do we figure out 1) what types of opportunities colleges have? - note that some schools, like Notre Dame, have a website page dedicated to this, so they were easy. But some have absolutely no information about it. 2) how do we know if the ensembles are…good enough for my picky son? This sounds obnoxious, but he really is spoiled.
None of our older kids even mentioned playing music in college, so I know absolutely nothing about this. Is it safe to assume that bigger schools will mean enough decent musicians around who want to play in ensembles? is it bad form to seek out a chat with the band director(s) when we visit (or is that reserved only for the intended music majors?) Is it like sports, where the desirable musicians already know about the opportunities because they were ‘recruited?’ My son wouldn’t contact the hockey coach at University of Michigan, as that would be embarrassing. We don’t want to do something just as stupid in the music realm. On the other hand, I see that some schools pay band members a small stipend - which suggests it is hard to get players (which also suggests the ensembles may not be up-to-snuff for Mr. Picky Musician).
Any tidbits would be helpful here. TIA.
The admissions office at Susquehanna told me about the school’s music scholarship for non-music majors. Besides a small stipend each year, it includes free weekly music lessons. D’s responsibility is to participate in an ensemble every year. She did have to get interviewed by someone in the music department before she was given the scholarship.
I think you would have to contact the music department at each school and ask what opportunities are available.
The best thing to do is contact the music department at each school and ask about opportunities for non majors. It can vary from not letting non-majors participate at all to allowing anyone to audition for some or all ensembles. As far as determining quality, my son has YouTubed ensembles at various schools and listened. Many schools live stream performances from the music department and these are often archived. They may include ensembles, junior and senior recitals, etc. he can also email music departments or professors for his instrument and ask what level of playing is needed to be competitive for ensemble placement and what kind of repertoire the ensembles play.
My son just emailed a music professor and then met with him the day after admitted students day. The professor told him what to sign up for in the fall and how he could be set up with an ensemble.
Oh, and my son is majoring in engineering.
Huh. Very interesting. Didn’t expect such an arrangement for a non-music a major. Very helpful, thanks!
YouTube! Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? Perfect. And great to know hat emailing the music profs would be cool. He doesn’t want to do anything disrespectful to those who are more focused on music. Super helpful, thanks!
Music was very important to my son when he did his college search. Some schools were not considered because ensembles were only for majors or the quality level wasn’t good. Most college websites will give you information about the ensembles. My son reached out to the music department or a professor in his instrument when we were touring. He had sample lessons at several schools. And he is NOT a music major. He’s graduating this week and most of his best friends are actually music majors. So this community was super important and the quality and quantity of ensembles varies widely.
I have a niece who graduated from University of Michigan in Environmental Engineering last year. She wanted to continue to play trumpet and participate in choral groups at Michigan. She found it easy to do by simply contacting the music department and auditioning for a few ensembles. My impression is that many schools with a music major offer ensembles opportunities for non-music majors. She played and sang all four years.