<p>montreal is an amazing city to be in! especially as a musician...
you don't need to know french to get around here- in fact i speak about 3 words of it. i get along just fine though, and of course as a voice student i'll learn it over my time here and montreal is the perfect place to practice it! basically everyone in this city is bilingual, so you won't come into any trouble if you only speak english! you get lots of exposure though, and the schulich school of music itself has a huge francophone population.<br>
no tension at all- the only thing you'll get is perhaps a few rants about the administration- but as an american i usually agree with them. i just remember the first night i was here in my dorm room and sitting around with fellow mcgill students many canadian and many american and going around trying to figure out the differences in how we say certain words. haha</p>
<p>rideltrain...Where did you live before attending McGill?</p>
<p>I've heard that it is easier to get into McGill than a lot of US schools. Have you found it pretty open or is it starting to tighten it's admissions?</p>
<p>i wouldn't say so- the voice program i know had over 200 sopranos audition and only accepted about 10-15 of them. (of which i hear most accepted the offer!) The performance program in general is very tough to get into- we have a general studies program (called the faculty program) which has a much lower admission standard, hence perhaps why you may get an impression that the program is easy to gain acceptance to. the faculty program weighs more heavily on academic GPA and test-scores then the audition (although you must still pass the audition to gain acceptance)...</p>
<p>and just to point out the difference between a faculty program and a performance program- the performance program is equal to any performance training program in american conservatories, with heavy emphasis on ensemble training, and of course practical and recital performance. it follows a very strict set of requirements... the faculty program is a program structured for the musician who wishes to keep their options open, and who may or may not wish to enter a performance career... of course there are some excellent musicians in the faculty program, but for the most part the audition requirements to gain acceptance to this program are far less intense then the performance program.</p>
<p>it does indeed- it is a concurrent B.Mus and B.Ed program (so you earn two degrees!)... its an excellent program and comes with teacher certification in quebec... but of course you can get certified in any province/state.</p>
<p>McGill is right downtown, it's a bit of an anglophone bubble. Downtown is about 2/3 anglophone, but the cool parts of town (Plateau, Latin Quarter, Old Montreal) are mostly francophone. </p>
<p>Nice campus, old greystone and copper roof buildings, feels much smaller than its size, on the foot of mount Royal Park, in front of downtown and near the best bar/club/restaurant strips. Very diverse student body. I can't think of any other North American campus where you can walk to so many interesting bars (legal age is 18), cafes, shops or restaurants.</p>
<p>CU College of Music is terrific. It’s located at the University of Colorado campus in Boulder. My daughter studied piano with Alejandro Cremaschi when she was in high school, and he’s phenomenal. We personally know some professors and their students and all are impressive. The Takacs Quartet, the best string quartet in the world, is in residence there as well. CU Boulder is also a good school. Yes, it has a big party scene like most large universities. It gets more press than others because of the fabulous location. The College of Music is a small oasis within a larger school. We also know professors in other departments, and they’re great. So an undergrad can get a phenomenal education at CU and choose whether or not s/he wants to participate in the party scene.</p>