<p>Shayna - You mention great science and great cello performance. Both are offered at Rice, though I doubt that a single individual could do both. The Shepherd School of Music is a conservatory-level school which only admits students into the Bachelor of Music program. A B.Mus. is a pre-professional degree, allowing very limited room for other coursework; here’s what’s required for cello:</p>
<p>Music Theory: 5 semesters
Aural Skills: 5 semesters
Music History: 4 semesters
Orchestra: 8 semesters
Lessons: 8 semesters
Chamber Music: 6 semesters
Orchestra Repertoire: 3 semesters
Piano proficiency
Junior recital
Senior recital
Rice Distribution
Physical Education: 2 semesters</p>
<p>Rice does offer a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree for currently-enrolled Shepherd students who want to switch their focus away from the intensive conservatory approach, but they do not admit new students into it, and I’m sure that’d not admit a student to the B.Mus. if they had any idea at the time of admission that the student was disinclined to stay with it.</p>
<p>It sounds as if what you want would be a school with a B.A. program (30-36 academic hours) in Music Performance, where you could double-major. But B.A.s in Performance are relatively rare.</p>