Searching for a Vocal Performance/Songwriting program offering contemporary/jazz (not as interested in the classical track/Opera)

My daughter is a rising senior and determined to be a vocal performance major. She plays piano (since 8), can sight-read, knows solfege, has a choral background (since 5), performs currently with a contemporary group with emphasis on oldies (R&B etc.), recently learned guitar and ukulele, and enjoys songwriting (has used Garage Band and some Finale). My husband who went to NEC would love to see her in a music school but prefers she steer away from a freestanding Conservatory unless it’s a school like Oberlin, CM, or Lawrence which also offer a liberal arts degree/diversity of interests. So far Thornton, UCLA, Oberlin, Frost, U of M, Blair, Carnegie Mellon, Peabody, Northwestern, and Lawrence are considerations. She’s an introvert, loves the intimacy of a smaller campus but would be thrilled with a program like Thornton which has a smaller music school within a larger campus. She’s in love with the oldies/contemporary music, understands the importance of a classical foundation, but is not as excited about Opera. We’re trying to limit the application list to 8 total. Any schools that might be a good fit? Any of the above heavily focused on classical/Opera which we may want to remove? Others we should consider? Would love your sage advice!

Smaller schools that have good programs too - SUNY Purchase also has a composition degree but I think still in the conservatory Vocal program is Opera. I think they also have a Jazz program but I am not familiar with it at all. Xavier University in Cincinnati is a small campus with a city feel. They have a Musical Theater program. They have a composition program as well but not a conservatory.

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Shenandoah for sure. Its known for being more contemporary/pop based. Also check out Belmont in Nashville (its Christian based though).

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Wesleyan, if you’re looking for something reachey-reach.

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Berklee?

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I’m not an expert on Contemporary VP. I know from the past that students have looked at Thornton, Frost, Loyola NOLA, Mannes, Berkelee, Belmont. I think the above comments about SUNY schools are good too. Definitely worth exploring.

U of M I assume is Michigan? Michigan and Northwestern will learn Opera, I believe. This does not mean that she could not get a good education. My D went to IU which is definitely an opera/classical soloist program. She did have a good friend who wanted to do more contemporary voice and was in-state. She couldn’t afford to go out-of-state…so she made it work. Not everyone has choice. So by working with a teacher who was open to more contempary work (which can be found in opera heavy grad heavy programs that are not depending on UG students for their productions), you can make it work. However the atmosphere is probably not ideal for your D. There are a few other names on your list Peabody and Carnegie Mellon that may be similar. Blair may be worth a closer look…but I’m not an expert.

Lawrence and Oberlin are going to lean classical (maybe Oberlin has a contemporary combonent, idk). Again it would depend on the relationship with the teacher. You can learn anywhere, it’s just about environment as stated above. St. Olaf in MN is known to be a school with a lot of variety available. Lawrence is known to be a bit more “structured” as a conservatory.

I think a list with the main contemporary programs along with a mixture of LACs or smaller schools that allow more exploration may be a good way to go. You could certainly throw in a UofM and/or Northwestern…but I would look carefully at those programs and fit. It’s hard to swim against the current in some of these big programs…but not impossible.

Again not an expert…so anyone who wants to correct me on schools…please do!

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My son is headed to Loyola New Orleans for Popular and Commercial music. He fell so in love with it after visiting (just before the pandemic) that he wouldn’t even apply any where else, so obviously I think you might want to check it out.

It is a bigger small school (~3200 undergrad) that gives us parents the warm fuzzies with how incredibly nice and welcoming it has and continues to feel. The music program is very strong and there is also the opportunity for a more liberal arts education. His freshman schedule has lots of music classes but also a philosophy and a literature course.

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Wow this is all fantastic advice–thank you! Some of these schools I’d never heard of before but definitely adding to the list. I’ve also discovered a few helpful sites (best-music-colleges.com and niche.com) but don’t want to place to much weight on them because their rankings don’t necessarily rank the vocal programs but the music program as a whole. It’s been helpful for us to hear what the choral programs post on youtube (a fairly good indicator of their musicianship?). There appears to be big differences between schools.

My husband went to NEC but didn’t graduate from there. He transferred out only because he felt the students were so heavily focused on music and not as interested in talking about baseball, politics and the like. He transferred to U of Washington (being from Seattle) which paled in comparison musically. In the end he never did graduate because he felt at times he was teaching his teachers (at UW not NEC!). He ended up working with musicians outside of school he could learn from and now, void of a degree, has gone on to conduct vocalists for Halo & Destiny, movie scores (one for Alan Menken), sings on professional tracks, and composes/produces scores for video games and the like. All that’s to say sometimes the school may not end up being the right fit but if resourceful enough you can find mentors who can teach you what you need to know and practice your heart out to make it in the field of interest. He would love to see our daughter in a school that has a well-rounded student body with diversity of ideas, cultures etc. while also finding a solid music program that will challenge her and pool students she can learn from.

She isn’t religious but certainly appreciates and open to opinions/perspectives that may vary from hers. That said if a school is pretty church driven it wouldn’t be the place for her.

I’m so glad to learn about some of these other schools that are smaller and also have solid music programs. I’ll definitely add some of the above to our current list. We have one week in July and plan to visit Northwestern, Roosevelt U, Oberlin, Carnegie Mellon, Gettysburg U, Peabody, and Yale. She’s already seen U of Michigan (felt too big for her). Blair and Belmont will have to be another trip. St. Olaf may be out because it seemed mostly choral (may need to reconsider!). Frost may be out because it’s just about as far away from Seattle as she can get and the girl is having a hard time wrapping her mind around going 30 minutes away from home–let alone an entire day’s travel!

Northwestern, Roosevelt, Oberlin, Carnegie Mellon, Peabody, Gettysburg and Yale will also be a full day of travel from seattle. Does she realize that?

We’re flying to Chicago and out of the east. Still plenty of driving but doable!

Just realized what you meant. I spent some time looking into flight times and whether or not there are direct flights. Flights to Chicago, Wisconsin etc. are a bit over 3 hours which is doable. Far reaching states are definitely a full day’s travel–you’e absolutely right!

My kid went to college on the opposite coast. There were sometimes direct flights that actually in total took less time than flying to places in the middle of the country.

3 hours of air time easily translates into a full day of travel because you have to get to the airport well in advance of the flight, and then you need to get to the college on the other end. It’s not a three hour trip.

Now…having said that…my kid never had trouble flying the distance, and didn’t mind spending the day flying because she really liked her college. Also, she only did it a couple of times a year.

Closer to home, in the Pacific Northwest, have you looked at the University of Puget Sound which is a Liberal Arts college with a School of Music? I’ve known a number of strong musicians and composers who have gone there for their undergrad. https://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/music

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Cornish college of the arts in Seattle! I am in love with this one but it’s not a fit for my son.

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Such a good point. I’ve done the math with airport time on both ends, adding the 2 hours in advance of the flight, a 3 hour flight, rental car and drive time to the school. Bam–it’s a full day for sure. I’m willing to make the trek if she’s willing to have the courage to go the distance. Whether she’s 30 minutes away or a full day away she’s going to have a tough time until she meets some friends, gets acquainted with faculty members, and proves to herself it was worth the risk to break from the nest.

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How funny–U Puget Sound is only an hour away from our house and Cornish College 10 minutes away. Both great schools! We’d still love for her to be open to a school further away and also be somewhere with a liberal arts alternative in case she wants to double major or switch gears (which wouldn’t be Cornish unfortunately).

Keep the time change in mind as well.

My kid traveled across country and it was a full day of travel. There were direct flights when she started. She really didn’t mind the day of travel because she loved her college!

We supported this because we felt college was a good time to experience a different part of the country (and we could afford this).

Plus, traveling and dealing with flight changes, scheduling flights after exams ended, etc, are skills she still uses. She knows her schedules, how to navigate airports, how to deal with canceled or changed flights, when to look for changes due to weather, and the like.

Good luck to your daughter! Have fun searching and make sure you look at things around the colleges so she sees all that she will be able to do if she is there.

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Yes there’s so much to gain by leaving your immediate surroundings and experiencing other parts of the country. I’m trying to plan sightseeing adventures near campuses so she can be both familiar and excited about these towns/cities. I’m also pointing out where we have family or friends close by should she need a respite from college life on a whim.

An addl comment on travel that may or may not help. It can be a big consideration when looking at schools for a jr and sr in high school. But remember to think about your kid as a 20 yr old sophomore or junior too.

If your kid is a true homebody and does best close to family (or you don’t know and your kid is giving you strong vibes for that), I would be sure to have a school or two close by. Let them get excited for a couple of schools in the area. Then have a few further away. Do the trips. Let your kid know that how they feel on the first trip at 17 may be very different at 20.

My D was leaning towards LACs for a year. We did visit a few big Us…and she applied seriously to one (and not seriously to our local big U…just in case). After a couple of visits (lucky us pre-COVID), what had felt so comforting at the small schools suddenly felt too small to her. Also the distance to the big U didn’t seem as daunting anymore. There’s no right or wrong…just your kid’s honest reaction. And sometimes…it changes over time. Their first reaction may not be their last.

So when in doubt, spread it out…and give you kid some time to inhabit each choice…hopefully by the end, she will have a good idea of what environment and distance is right for her.

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This ^
Kids change so much. My rising senior has a great list for what she wants now, it Im encouraging some outliers too.

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