OP. Does he want to continue his Japanese studies or the potential of a Study Abroad in Japan? That might help with school choices.
Georgia Tech has a Bachelors of Science in Music Technology. They can get a concentration is ME, CE or EE. it might be something to look at.
http://www.music.gatech.edu/bsmt
@Musicmom2015 @ClarinetDad16 @MerryLee Thank you all for these great questions. We toured Blair at Vanderbilt . He figured out he’s not headed for a conservatory and is not interested in a performance major – but it was there that he got the idea of adding a minor, or at the very least some classes in music history, theory, and composition. He also figured out he’d like to keep playing in a quartet, and if he can make it, an orchestra. The disadvantage for a kid like mine at these conservatory schools, as many of you have pointed out, is that the orchestra seats are extremely competitive. Given what I know about him right now, I’d say that academics are his priority.
I’m not sure what he wants to do with his Japanese. He took it bc the teachers are so good at his HS. And it turned out he has a gift for it.
I kinda surprised that Carnegie Mellon was not mentioned by someone that knows more about this than me. Is there something I’m missing there - it seems to be a strong STEM school with music possibilities and very accommodating to students to do this.
I would also weigh in with a vote for Case Western.
In addition to their excellence in the STEM fields, a student can Dual major, and the Cleveland Institute of Music is directly next door for walking distance access. Music students at Case can tap into the conservatory faculty at CIM, as well as the music faculty at Case, without the potential academic limitations of a conservatory program.
Maybe Johns Hopkins (I think you can do a music minor without being in Peabody - worth checking).