<p>My son, N, is a true liberal arts type, interested in everything, especially history and international relations. Thinking of the peace corps (especially in Africa) after graduation and then grad school to become a history professor, maybe? He also loves music, grew up playing classical violin and now plays lots of other instruments and is starting to compose music. He might want to minor in music, but doesn't want a classical conservatory environment. He thinks he'd like an urban college where he'd have access to jazz clubs, concerts, etc., but also likes the idea of a small LAC. He's a top student, international baccalaureate program, APs, etc. Any suggestions of good-fit colleges for him? We'd appreciate any input...</p>
<p>Amherst is right by Northampton which has a TON of live music venues</p>
<p>the Claremont college consortium (Pomona, Claremont Mckenna, etc) is outside LA, as is Occidental</p>
<p>The three major LACs in Connecticut, Trinity, Wesleyan and Connecticut College, are all within 2 hours of Boston, New York City, New Haven, Hartford, and Providence.</p>
<p>Macalester in St Paul and therefore right by Minneapolis; Carleton is about 40 minutes from the St Paul/Minneapolis metro area</p>
<p>Reed in Portland, OR</p>
<p>Haverford and Swarthmore outside of Philly</p>
<p>Rhodes in Memphis</p>
<p>Smaller universities in/near major cities might also be worth looking at, such as Tufts, Brandeis, Emory, Chicago, Brown</p>
<p>I second Amherst. :) I've seen most of my favorite acts live (a mix of big name headliners and independent artists) while a student at Amherst. A ton of musicians of all sorts come to the 5 colleges, and Northampton in particular.</p>
<p>Maybe The Eastman School of Music at University of Rochester</p>
<p>As a poster said above, Macalester is right in the Twin Cities with lots of venues. It's on multiple bus lines that run late into the night and recently there's been performances by Regina Spektor and Of Montreal (and, of course, lots others). Clubs have shows for those under 21 years. In classical, there's the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minneapolis Orchestra. The area has the highest per capita theatre seats in the country. Also there are number of colleges and universities in the area with their own slates of performances. The school has major emphases on internationalism and service, so that also seems to fit his interests.</p>
<p>take a look at the list here <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=6280%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=6280</a></p>
<p>Other than location, Oberlin seems a perfect fit.</p>
<p>OH my God...Macalester is perfect!! It is everything you mentioned and more. As said before, it is located in St. Paul, Minnesota in an upscale neighborhood that is very hip and alive. The music seen in the Twin Cities is absolutley fantastic and Macalester holds the prestige (Top 25 LAC) and small size your son desires. On top of that the schools moto actual promotes an internation perspective and studying abroad is extremely common. Your son would love Macalester!!</p>
<p>Look at the book Schools that Rock for a wide range of choices and a good description of what colleges offer irt music and the music scene off campus. <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/schoolsthatrock%5B/url%5D">http://www.rollingstone.com/schoolsthatrock</a></p>
<p>The list on the site linked is short compared to what's in the book. There are more than 50 cities listed from Denver to Syracuse, Cambridge to San Francisco with many more colleges included. It's a good starting point.</p>
<p>Although U of Rochester isn't a liberal arts college (it is a university - and I don't think it feels like an LAC) kids there have access to a very good and, most importantly perhaps, relatively cheap music scene. This is largely because of the presence of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. There are discount tickets available to students for the very fine Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, an active jazz scene, lots of music clubs and cafes with live music, and numerous performances given by the Eastman students at their facility downtown. U of R and the other colleges in the region also attract music performances.</p>
<p>And just to clarify, if he went to U of R he could minor in music there, but not at Eastman (U of R has its own music dept).</p>
<p>These are all great leads -- thank you so much! It's funny you mention Macalester -- of all the brochures that have come in the mail, theirs is the one that first caught his eye.</p>
<p>Does anyone have ay thoughts on the subject of Kenyon, Oberlin, Whitman, Bard, Columbia, Fordham, Sarah Lawrence, Tufts, Trinity or Colby for N? I know many of these are not urban, but that could be OK if they have a good music scene, a good liberal arts curriculum, discussion/seminar-style classes and a sense of community.</p>
<p>Kenyon - It's so in the middle of nowhere that the only music scene would really be just whatever is offered on campus. If I were really looking for music I'd be looking someplace more urban.</p>
<p>Oberlin has one of the top programs in the country through the conservatory, and there are performance options and private instruction available but you do have to read the requirements and restrictions for those enrolled in the college and not the conservatory. I believe they also offer BA in addition to the BM degree, and a music minor through the college. They also have pretty seamless double degree programs between the college and conservatory. A conservatory admit is auditioned based, and highly selective.
It is not an urban school, but there are many performances by world class visiting artists.</p>
<p>Bard has a good rep as a liberal LAC for the right type of student, and also has an attached conservatory. Performance majors are REQUIRED to obtain a second degree in a non music concentration; it is a mandatory five year program. The conservatory program is about three years old, and they have yet to graduate a class. The program is auditioned based, and there are a number of world class faculty. They have yet to field a full orchestra comprised of students. While you may find some students equal to the quality at Oberlin, you will not find the breath.</p>
<p>Bard is in a rural area, and travel to NYC is nowhere as easy as their literature might suggest. They do have a contingent of visiting artists, and the classical music scene in the Hudson Valley is decent given it's location.</p>
<p>You can find more detail on both schools from a musical standpoint by searching the music major forum.</p>
<p>There is probably no other LAC with as much music going on, including jazz, rock, and classical (of course) as Oberlin -- it is 35 miles from Cleveland, so though rural is not exactly in the middle of nowhere. Excellent academics, too. They are building a new jazz facility, breaking ground early next year. There is a BA program in music, through the college, for which you have to audition and be accepted, but anyone can audition for lessons. There are also lessons taught by advanced students at the ridiculous price of $7 per hour... Students who like Oberlin, love Oberlin.
Columbia is, of course, also a great school. It offers free lessons from their list of adjuncts -- a great program. There are music performance opportunities, including chamber music (you can audition to perform at Weill Hall, which is at Carnegie Hall, and Steinway Hall, so pretty classy), orchestra, jazz, but there is a shortage of practice rooms. The music department is first-rate but is academic, not performance oriented. Students there also take heavy academic loads, often 5 courses a semester, so time for practicing is limited.
I visited Bard and was underwhelmed. Among other things, the famous faculty was nowhere to be seen in the conservatory building; it was dead as a doornail when I was there, and this was while school was in session. It is also way far away from the lovely new Gehry building featured on the brochure -- in the winter it would be a mile trek through the snow...
You should visit schools, if possible. It can really turn you on (or off) to programs that seem appealing (or not so appealing) on their websites and brochures.</p>
<p>Oops...I meant the Minnesota Orchestra (in Minneapolis) not the Minneapolis Orchestra.</p>
<p>supportive, I'm going to mention Williams even though it's decidedly not urban because it seems to have so much of the other elements on your son's wish list: "good music scene, a good liberal arts curriculum, discussion/seminar-style classes and a sense of community."</p>
<p>My son has several friends who are serious musicians -- both classical and jazz -- but who majored in other disciplines. They found many performance opportunities on campus and a lot of support and interest from the college and their peers. You might look at posts by mythmom who has a firstyear son in the same situation or contact haon a recent alum who also seems to share a lot of your son's aspirations.</p>
<p>Many of my son's friends are doing post-graduate public service -- the Peace Corps (in Africa, actually) ,Teach for America and with other teaching focused international organizations.</p>
<p>History and political science are very strong as is economics with an international bent. [Williams has a graduate school program in economics for developing nations which spills over into the economics curriculum. The current USTR did her undergrad at Williams.]</p>
<p>This is also an informative thread on the topic. The OP is looking for voice opportunities, but a lot of the information applies to music in general.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=405963%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=405963</a></p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence sounds like it could be a good fit. It's not exactly urban, but it's half an hour away from NYC, which has a rather unbeatable music scene. Here's the link to the Music Department of sorts, though it has an interesting academic policy regarding art, music, theater, etc as part of the usual coursework: <a href="http://www.slc.edu/undergraduate/music/courses.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.slc.edu/undergraduate/music/courses.php</a></p>
<p>For international relations and urban location, though, Tufts does seem like it could be a good fit. Not sure about the strength of its music department, but here's the link: <a href="http://www.tufts.edu/as/music/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tufts.edu/as/music/</a></p>
<p>old thread on schools with good music scene, but not specific to LACs (mentions some though)
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=70211%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=70211</a></p>
<p>I went to Frosh Parents Weekend concert at Williams last night, and it was a mix of choirs, instrumental groups, percussion groups, chamber groups, vocalists and jazz. I was incredibly impressed. Composers ranged from Bach to Avro Part, John Cage and John Adams.</p>
<p>DS is a violinist and composer as well. There are many mentors and opportunities here, including a semi-professional orchestra, the Berkshire symphony orchestra. He chose Williams for the warm welcome it extends to musicians.</p>
<p>However, everything that happens, happens on campus. There are no "clubs" in the immediate area, though there are venues in Pittsfield which is only 25 minutes away by car, and there is a bus.</p>
<p>He looked at all the schools you mention and decided Williams had the best musical opportunities for him. Chair, David Kechley, is a wonderful composer and corresponded with S about his compositions. (S premiered a string quartet -- very modern -- at his final HS orchestra concert.) He plays in orchestra and sings in choir. Last night he sang Bach's B minor Mass, and I know this was one of the highlights of this first semester at Williams. He quoted West Wing and told me, "When I sing, play or hear Bach I feel I use my outstretched fingers to touch the face of God." Heady stuff.</p>
<p>BTW: He adores Hilary Hahn playing Bach. He also just a harmonic set to emulate Bob Dylan whom he also adores. Considering blue grass, too. Has performed "Orange Blossom Special" many times.</p>
<p>I'd second mamenyu's "There is probably no other LAC with as much music going on, including jazz, rock, and classical (of course) as Oberlin." If the small town environs are a turn-off, I'd honestly say you may be better served yielding on the campus size issue and looking, especially with jazz interests, to cities like Chicago and NY. Northwestern is the obvious choice here with one of the best music programs in the country and all of Chicago minutes away. Columbia and UChicago will offer equally great opportunities city-wise but certainly more limited performance venues/course offerings. One potential upside at both, though, is less competition for spots with on-campus groups. The flipside of this is Rice - positives are small size by university standards and a great music school - but be aware that negative is potential lock out from on-campus performance offerings if not enrolled at Shepherd. Still worth looking at.</p>
<p>If size ceases to be a factor consider NYU as well. As you can just imagine, clubs abound. NYU has two different routes: Performance major at Steinhardt, music major at Arts and Sciences.</p>
<p>Obviously, Oberlin is a wonderful choice. S decided against applying because he didn't feel his skills were quite up to the conservatory and didn't want to be low man on the violin totem pole. Felt it would be too discouraging to always be with those significantly better than he is. Oberlin, Northwestern etc. are schools that require auditions. Talented violinist friend was accepted into academic part of school but not into conservatory. Same can happen at Rice. LAC's in general do not require auditions but do not award BMusic degrees. Only you know the level of your S's skills and involvement. My S is happier with LAC experience than he would be with conservatory experience. Your S may feel the opposite way.</p>
<p>Bard is an interesting possibility. NYC is accessible, even though Bard is rural. It does have a small conservatory, but because the conservatory is so small at this point, it is very selective. However, music majors at the college can take lessons with conservatory faculty and play in its ensembles.</p>
<p>Vassar is also NYC accessible (even more) with an excellent music dept.</p>
<p>Tufts is a possible compromise. Fairly small with almost LAC-like feeling; partnership with New England Conservatory; new music building and vibrant new music chair (I know him; he's awesome.) NEC is audition based but Tufts music dept. is not.</p>