Am looking for possible recommendations for college admissions consultants specializing in admissions to music conservatories or college music programs in US. My D is interested in pursuing her college music degree, specializing in classical voice and opera. She has an amazing voice and recently was accepted and attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Adult Voice program this past summer. Her mother and I know nothing about the process or requirements of getting into music schools (her older sisters were nursing and business), so looking for professional help or advice - as whole process seems a bit daunting. My D has a good choir program and instructor at her high school and has a good local private voice coach, but that is it as options are more limited where we live (Austin, Texas) compared to other parts of country. Any recommendations / advice is appreciated. Thanks!
Reminder to posters that CC is not a referral service so please only give general advice.
Sorry about that. Any general advice is appreciated.
The music major forum here on CC can be very helpful so stick around! There are often parents of instrumentalists. composers, and vocal performers, who don’t, at first, know much about the application process.
I hope you will read the Double Degree Dilemma essay posted under the Read Me thread here on the music major forum. It describes different ways to study music using hypothetical individuals.
Your daughter can do a BM, a BA, a double major, major/minor, or double degree. A BM will be immersive with 2/3-3/4 classes in music, and a BA will be 1/4 to 1/3 classes in music. Double degrees tend to take 5 years.
For a BM, she might do a prescreening and audition. For a BA she could submit a music supplement with video, resume and letters of recommendation related to music.
People here on the music forum can suggest schools with more info on what she wants, size, location, other (academic) interests, career goals etc. as well as what your family can afford. There are merit awards at many schools as well as financial aid.
She can look at schools or music at larger universities, or smaller free standing conservatories or conservatories at smaller liberal arts colleges. What is she thinking about?
Thank you for your response compmom. She was able to get a lot of good contacts and college info at her time at BUTI this past summer which was great and we are leveraging. She is mainly interested in conservatories in NE (NEC, Berkeley and others), but also considering universities (small & mid-size), and double major is being considered (will read the essay you mention). We have been told to ID top school choice interests (stretch goals and top choices), as well as mid choices, and focus on all those. Definitely will need possible scholarships (she is 3rd child), so trying our best to research that more, but understand much of that is based on admissions auditions she has. It is a whole new world for us - so lots of learning. We have looked into hiring admissions consultant, but all so expensive.
I agree…ask your questions on the music majors area here. You will get lots of help.
When our kid did this many years ago, his private teacher (who was first chair on his instrument in the symphony), precollege orchestra conductor, and school music teachers were very helpful to us.
Welcome to a whole new world!! We knew nothing when my D decided to do opera. Start doing your homework on programs (this is a good place!). Ask a ton of questions. Some of the larger conservatories or even music programs within a school have varying opportunities for stage time. If there is a large graduate program most like not going to get actual roles in the operas. I am happy to answer questions in DM about SUNY Purchase - a small conservatory near White Plains. Relatively cheap and she will get roles to perform. My D is now at IU Jacobs and although the program has more money the stage time has different chances.
As for audition get a couple of good arias or arts songs that show potential. We recorded on an IPhone with a low end external microphone in a church that had good acoustics
Definitely visit if you can and set up lessons. We did SUNY Purchase at the same trip for NYU Steinhart and Eastman. It gives a good feel for the faculty and can help get your foot in the door. We also looked a couple of safety schools such as Ball State and UK. Of course not conservatories but gives you a couple of options if your D doesn’t get into her dream schools.
feel free to DM if you want other information
There are posters on here like @bridgenail with experience in this area.
Schools with undergrads only include Oberlin and Bard (Bard requires double degree for conservatory students). Larger universities are plentiful: Northwestern, UMichigan, Rice, Vanderbilt etc. etc. and have grad students.
If she has academic interests she can also try for schools like Princeton or Yale. A music supplement can really help with admissions. Double degrees are possible there as well as Tufts and Harvard with NEC.
Others know more about best undergrad programs for VP!
My D was at BUTI this summer too! What year is your kid and how much time do you have?
My D is a senior who plays strings. We were pretty in the dark about the application process until last spring when she got a new private teacher who was really knowledgeable about the specific schools and instructors who would be best for her moving forward.
I’m not sure you can get that info from a general consultant, but I wonder if you could hire or consult with any of their voice instructors from BUTI to make and narrow down a college list, as well as consult with for audition questions.
Welcome @jefftorgerson! While it may seem daunting, it seems like you and your daughter have made a good start in this adventure of pursuing music programs.
I saw from your other post that your daughter is entering her Junior year of HS, correct? If so this is the perfect time to research teachers and programs, plan repertoire and plan a list of schools.
My son (not voice) decided during the summer before Junior year to pursue music in college. We relied heavily on his private teacher as well as input from professors/teachers he met via master classes and summer programs. He chose his list of college and conservatories based on several factors: teacher (first and foremost), opportunity for scholarship money (our third kid as well) overall reputation and vibe of the studio and school. From there he was able to assemble a list of 2 reach, 2 match and 2 safety schools.
A few caveats…it is not always possible to determine what is a reach, match and safety. He was very lucky to have a very experienced private teacher who had excellent and current knowledge of studio level at various programs. Also VP tends to be more unpredictable (at least from what I have learned on this amazing forum!) and I happily defer to the VP experts on here.
Finally, it is perfectly fine to go into this next year or two with your daughter feeling uncertain as to type of program. The path will become clearer as time goes on. I always advised mine to keep all doors open as long as possible.
Mine is currently starting his fourth year at conservatory and is incredibly happy and busy. The process of applying and auditioning does not end, as he is starting his professional auditions. Looking back, the pre college process was a great opportunity for him to learn in a positive way what he wants, to put together solid auditions and to make his way in the music world.
The path is unpredictable and unclear at times which is maybe harder on parents than our talented kids. I have learned to embrace the adventure!
I can answer any questions about Oberlin Conservatory as my S22 is a voice major. I’ll also PM you about a consultant rec.
Best of luck and we are definitely here to help as others have mentioned.
Thank you for the response. My D is a Junior this year. She attended BUTI this past summer in the Voice program and loved it and made good contacts which we continue to leverage where possible - they have been helpful. But, a bit more challenging when leave that program and don’t have that all around you daily - especially here in Texas where her voice talents (classical & Opera) and focus are not so prevalent . She had a good voice teacher that has been very helpful as well. Biggest help we are trying to get is on the college processes, mock audition help and application/essay help. Your inputs and insights are appreciated - thank you.
Thank you anotheroboemom for you response. Congrats to you son for what sounds like a successful conservatory experience - where is he attending? My D has has a good voice teacher for 2 years now and she has been very helpful - will keep leveraging her. We have been working on list of colleges/conservatories as recommended - what we are looking ahead to needing help and guidance (at least we think) is on mock auditions support and application / essay support, scholarship actions - and obviously where we should visit. She really wants to go the conservatory route, but is open to university programs and dual degree options as well. We will see. We are excited about her future and the many opportunities - just working to navigate the vast landscape :-).
I will give you my son’s opinion (he has both a bachelors and masters in music performance and is a freelance professional musician). He said that for him, there were three very important criteria.
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The applied private teacher. He needed to feel good about studying with this person for possibly four years. So…this was his number one criteria.
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Excellent ensembles at the college. Both large and chamber. He wanted to be able to play with outstanding musicians.
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Location in a major metro area because he wanted the opportunity to be able to attend performances, and also have the chance to play in some outside of school.
But the private teacher was the single most important ingredient for him.
Thank you thumper1. Good to know. Where did he attend college? Congrats to him and you for his success to date.
At this stage in Junior year, researching and building her list of schools is key. If she is open to both, I would encourage that she pursue conservatories and university based programs. There are pros/cons to both, many university based departments will seem very similar to a free standing conservatory. Also, it is not unusual that kids change their preferences as they look at programs through these next 18 months.
As she builds her list, she can start finalizing her repertoire list. Again I will defer to the VP parents out there. The oboe rep is quite similar for many auditions and I do not know if that is true for voice. The audition requirements should be available through the school’s website. We ended up with a master spreadsheet with repertoire, application due date, essay specifics, prescreen due date, etc. And then about 15 months from now, you will have another master spreadsheet with in person audition dates, repertoire, flight itineraries and more!
Your timeline may differ, but my son had Junior year to practice and perfect his repertoire list. Recordings were completed early Senior year. I do not recall essays being a huge burden, but then mine applied to only 6 schools. The prescreen recordings are a huge project and the most important priority for admission and for scholarship money. In most cases, merit money is awarded based solely on the strength of the audition. But know that your daughter can also qualify for academic scholarships at many college programs. So grades continue to be important.
My son did not visit any of his schools until his in person audition. This was mostly due to the need to stick to a tight budget. It worked out well, he seemed to easily assess the vibe and fit in the one audition day.
I can message you regarding his current school. And happy to answer any specific questions. It’s a very small program so wanting to maintain anonymity.
Excellent advice above. Just a few other “opinions” based on comments that caught my eye as I scrolled down.
1.) It’s OK to be “lost” right now. We all were. You can start with this site and the private teacher. Then decide if you want more assistance later in the year. I would not pay big bucks…bc most people on this site didn’t and their kids got into selective schools. You may feel a lot more confident in doing it on your own, come summer. You have plenty of time. If you want someone to help keep her on task and help with essays that could be any advisor. Note that “essays” need to be done…but audition is KING. If you are talented vocalist…the essay simply needs to be decent…
2.) Mock auditions. This is more of an MT thing (unless someone wants to correct me). Most VP kids are doing competitions in high school (not a lot but a few yearly). I can’t remember the names…but my D learned how to audition by doing these pretty basic competitions at her high school. You also get feedback (but be aware the feedback can be good, bad, indifferent). She wants to do a few competitions mainly to learn how to walk into the room, give her music to the accompanist and have a sunny disposition no matter what. Of course, she’ll need to sing well. My D never did “mock auditions”. MT is a very competitive world so be aware that VP is different. And, if she was at BUTI I would assume that she auditioned for that…and her skill set must be decent, right?
3.) VP is different bc of the repertoire. You should look at the repertoire requirments NOW at some schools (conservatories, LACs and Universities with conservatories). Is she on track to sing the necessary work in the necessary languages? If not, a mock audition won’t help. I would be most focused now on repertoire development. And simply learning about the schools. She can also watch online productions at schools to see if she feels good about the level of perfromance.
4.) If you will be chasing dollars, be aware that stand-alone conservatories, particularly for young vocalists, may not make your money dreams come true. Vocalists are young (compared to instrumentalists)…so unless your D is really outstanding, they can be expensive. Best to understand that up front. It doesn’t mean “don’t try”, it simply means…when in doubt spread it out. Be sure to look at any in-state schools (just in case) UT and UNT are 2 good targets. Some LACs can be generous for a talented vocalist as well as universities, particually if grades are good.
So, a few extra “opinions” to add to your growing list. Good luck.
The teacher, the teacher, the teacher. She can network with buti folks and in music reddit gossip. Then school of music, then big city with culture. Also cost for you. My kid (instrumental music) made a huge spreadsheet of all schools with a desired teacher, appropriate location, appropriate academics. When all was factored in list was only 7 schools.
Thank you for the feedback bridgenail. Very much appreciated. My D has a good choir teacher at her school which has been very helpful, along with a private voice coach she has been with for a couple of years - which has been great. She does perform in competitions regularly, from school state competitions to several private competitions - all which are good experiments (and agree - very straight forward on feedback - which is good). She wants to get set up with some “mock auditions” and hopefully her contacts at BUTI as well as her voice coach can help there (both have recommended this prior to the college auditions - to get more practice). And yes, she auditioned and got accepted to BUTI, and they all say she has beautiful voice (classical and opera). On school choices, we are looking all around at conservatories and college/universities, and yes, in-state Texas tuition for sure (although limited for strong voice it seems - UT more instrumental it appears, UNT strong). Thank you so much for you added thoughts.
My son is a freshman vocal performance major at syra cuse.
He videoed most of his auditions and did some via zoom.
Less guys meant less competition. But he got accepted into all schools he applied to (IU Jacobs, Baldwin Wallace just to name 2). For us money was the biggest factor.