Suggestions of Colleges with Music Majors

<p>Hi Lady Mac,</p>

<p>It's been a while since I last posted. I happened upon this thread and thought I would chime in. My D is a freshman at Westminster and is absolutely thrilled with it. Don't let the name fool you. Westminster Choir College is not all about "Choral Music". My D is a Vocal Performance Major and that is her focus. The tradition of choirs at Westminster is a thread in their fabric but is more of an group activity than a program. I must say we were treated to a concert by the freshman choir at Family Weekend a few weeks ago and we were blown away by the incrediblly beautiful sound. My D really enjoys the comraderie and the discipline it takes to perform as a group. As far as piano, I don't know if this is a change but my D had to take a proficiency exam and is taking piano first semester. I believe it is a graduation requirement and I do not see how you could not learn. </p>

<p>My D turned down some other impressive programs for the Westminster Faculty and is loving life in Princeton. Feel free to contact me if you would like more input via this thread or send me a PM. Good luck to you and you D.</p>

<p>Can anyone tell me about the conservatory at Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL? Does the University have a decent program for undergraduates?</p>

<p>Thank you in advance.</p>

<p>M. Rom,</p>

<p>What instrument does the student play?</p>

<p>Does your second question refer to Roosevelt's music conservatory/department (I guess this dept would be within what they call the Chicago Conservatory of Performing Arts) or are you asking about the university as a whole?</p>

<p>I am a high school junior shopping for LAC's with an adjunct conservatory or strong music program. I study voice and piano and want to major in voice with an opportunity to study language, too. As far as Roosevelt University, I definitely want to know about the conservatory, but I would not mind some information on the general academics, too.</p>

<p>I'm currently a Junior at Berklee College of Music in Boston, majoring in Vocal Performance. I like Berklee because while it is a contemporary music school, we are still required to take classes in classical performance and composition. If you are thinking to come to Berklee just to perform or study music production and engineering you are wrong, cause you still have to take a total of 4 semesters in Ear Training, Harmony, Arranging, Counterpoint, Traditional Harmony, History of Western Music and Conducting. Also to receive a B.M you are required to take liberal arts classes such as English, Western Civilization, Art History and science. As well as music technology classes. When applying to colleges I knew I wanted to go to a music conservatory but I was torn between, contemporary music, musical theater, and classical/opera. I had gone to the Berklee summer 5 week programs for 2 years in a row and had already fallen in love with the school, and I applied early decision and was accepted early decision. It turned out I wasn't accepted to any of the schools I had applied to for Classical/Opera (MSM, Eastman, NEC, Mannes). And I finally decided I didn't want to major in Musical Theater undergrad, that I wanted a B.M in Performance. I think Berklee has been a great fit, obiviously there are some pros and cons about the school, but I think the best thing about Berklee is that there is so much, you can take classes ranging in all genres from Jazz, Rock, Country, Classical, Reggae, R&B etc. So I feel like in my 3 years at Berklee I have become a more rounded performer rather just being proficient in one genre, which is hard to get work in these days. Also Berklee has great business classes, I have learned so much about the industry about publishing your music, owning your own studio/record label/radio station and also information about music software programs, mics and pa systems. These are all required courses. I don't think I would have learned this info elsewhere. Also Berklee is one of the only schools with real live recording studios, I have had the chance for 2 semesters in a row now to have classes in the recording studios, to work on demos, jingles and background singing. I geuss the one thing I wish Berklee had was a Musical Theater Major, the majors Berklee offers are Performance, Music Education, Music Synthesis, Music Business, Music Production and Engineering, Composition, Jazz Composition, Songwriting, Professional Music, Film Scoring, Contemporary writing and Production. But no musical theater, we do have theater classes, but I geuss I wished Berklee had a musical theater as a major as well as a graduate school. I'm now looking at grad schools I'm thinking about Steinhardt at NYU and Boston Conservatory for Musical Theater, I'm not sure how competitive those programs are, my grades were horrible in HS and so were my sat's, and in college I have a 3.2 but I have a pretty great performance resume. For anyone applying to berklee, I would def reccomend coming to visit the school, take one of the summer programs, there are many to choose from such as the 5 week summer intensive program for all styles, and all instruments. Guitar sessions, gospel week, percussion week and the performance program are also great 1 week programs in the summer. I think going to the summer programs really helped me get my foot in the door with the coursework and the teachers. Berklee now requires everyone auditions, and in your application they want to see that you've been working on your theory, so study up on your music theory, take an ap music theory class at your high school, or buy some of the books berklee uses from berkleepress.com, the only negative things about berklee is that most of the teachers at the school graduated from berklee so it's kind of the same crew of people but we have many greatly known teachers at the school such as Livingston Taylor, Joe Lovano etc. Also, it is very expensive and like any school in the city housing is very limited, they do claim to have all this money in scholarships, but I have applied 7 times for a scholarship and have recieved nothing! Hope this all helps if you are thinking about applying to berklee, let me know if you have any other questions, or any advice for me on what my chances are getting into NYU'S steinhardt or Boston Conservatory for Grad school!</p>

<p>I just received an e-mail from Depauw saying they extended the application deadline to Feb 15.</p>

<p>Eastman had a 1% decline in applications. DePauw must be much worse.</p>

<p>can folks give detailed views on comparing Hartt, Cali, Mason Gross & B.U. rankings, how good the orchestras are, facilities, etc--thks so much</p>

<p>Just a word of caution. This is more an informational thread, and specific questions tend to get lost or go unanswered. It's often more effective to start a new thread, or add to an existing thread with a similar, related subject.</p>

<p>does UCLA have a good music program? I know their academics are off the charts
</p>

<p>Can anyone tell me about their classical/voice and opera programs?</p>

<p>This is a huge collection of links to all things musicological (academic):
[WWW</a> sites for musicologists](<a href=“http://www.ams-net.org/musicology_www.php]WWW”>http://www.ams-net.org/musicology_www.php)</p>

<p>thanks for posting this comprehensive link–useful!!!</p>

<p>Chapman Conservatory of Music is really good. Undergrads get starring roles in their operas.</p>

<p>I would like to add the University of Wisconsin, Madison to the list of schools with good music programs that also has good academics.</p>

<p>UW Madison is a large state university. The have a School of Music that is a department of the Arts and Sciences college. As a large state university, I would say that the School of Music alone would rival the size of a small liberal arts college or conservatory. Although they have a top Marching Band program, very few of the music students participate in the Marching Band.</p>

<p>My son will be majoring in Voice, and we can highly recommend Professor James Doing.</p>

<p>UW Madison is a Big 10 school, and has excellent academics. Somehow the kids still manage to learn despite being known as a party school. You can find almost any major you want, however, it will be difficult to double major in Music with any subject outside the College of Arts and Sciences.</p>

<p>Dear Binx, which one is better for me (undergrade piano student): PennState or Bowling Green State? I can’t afford to go to provate school. Thanks.</p>

<p>Gee, I don’t check this thread very often - What a surprise to open it and see my name!</p>

<p>Weepingwillow - Welcome! I have no idea. Even if I had any knowledge about these two schools, without knowing you I couldn’t begin to match you up. I am hoping some other pianists on this site will chime in with some comments about the specific programs. I have done a lot more investigation into schools with violin and horn programs, since those are what my children are studying.</p>

<p>Have you visited these schools? Do you know anything about the teachers there? Do you have a private teacher who is helping you? What grade are you in now? </p>

<p>Obviously, with any performance program, you will need to audition. So you will probably want to find a handful of programs you are excited about (rather than picking just one favorite). You are smart to understand the cost. Depending upon your talent / ability, you may find that private schools aren’t that much more expensive, if they offer scholarships or need based grants. So don’t rule anything out too soon.</p>

<p>I encourage you to read this thread if you haven’t already: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It will give you a lot of basic tips and things to think about, that will ultimately help you decide what path to pursue.</p>

<p>We live on LI - haven’t thought of Univ of Hartford but will check that out. I am the mom of a viola player - junior in HS - she wants to be a music educ major. i am looking for schools to apply.</p>

<p>My D - viola player - wants music ed - junior in HS. I came across Towson in my searches but it looks like it is a commuter school. We live on LI and i don’t want her to be at a campus where everyone goes home for the weekends. Do you know anything about this? Do you know if they have a good instrumental program?</p>

<p>Car, we’re in a similar situation. D is a junior clarinetist (South Jersey), looking for MusEd with a strong instrumental program, college/university as opposed to straight conservatory. Hartt (Univ of Hartford), Ithaca, Rutgers, Univ of Maryland are high on the regional list. NYU is her top choice, but, without a rep for much merit money, is out of our price range. Many on this board sing the praises of SUNY Fredonia and Potsdam (Crane), for NYers looking for serious MusEd/Performance. Schools in the “boonies” (by LI or NJ standards) may have fewer deserters on weekends. However
</p>

<p>NYU (Steinhart) also seems to draw an immediate distinction between MusEd and Performance majors (different auditions, for starters). Rutgers (on a recent visit) spoke at length about how they no longer do that. Ithaca and U MD seem to also treat all auditioners and underclassmen the same. We haven’t been to Hartt yet, but have heard it’s one of the best for MusEd/Performance.</p>

<p>car, I don’t know Towson’s rep as being a suitcase school, but one consideration for any music major is to remember that numerous recitals, performances, rehearsal sessions often involve weekend time. My guess is you will tend to find most music students still on campus during the weekends at most every program. Hartt (U/Hartford) recently added Rita Porfiris to the viola faculty [MyAuditions</a> | The Performing Artists Destination - MyAppointments](<a href=“http://www.myauditions.com/news/appoint/#]MyAuditions”>http://www.myauditions.com/news/appoint/#) Her webpage is here [Rita</a> Porfiris](<a href=“http://www.ritaporfiris.com/]Rita”>http://www.ritaporfiris.com/) </p>

<p>The Master List threads are a great resource for contact and experience from those accepted or attending specific institutions and programs. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/618208-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2009-a-58.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/618208-master-list-music-school-acceptances-fall-2009-a-58.html&lt;/a&gt; shows starlessyoru and beabop as having music ed acceptances at Towson. You may want to pm them for impressions if they don’t answer here.</p>

<p>Dadofclard, my son was a dual perf/ed major at Hartt, BM May '07. Feel free to ask any questions on or off the board about the program. I’ve posted comments in a number of previous threads.</p>

<p>As an aside, the “pinned” or “sticky” threads are largely informational in nature, and specific questions are often overlooked. I would suggest starting a new thread (or tagging on to a related topic) if at all possible.</p>