Suggestions of Colleges with Music Majors

<p>Thanks to everyone who previously posted on this string. I have found the info very helpful. My S is a junior in HS and is trying to narrow down is college list to his top 10. He will be entering college in the fall of 2011. He is interested in pursuing a double major in Vocal Performance (Baritone/Opera) and History/English/Economics but has a preference for a small liberal arts college (<5000). He is a strong student but not at the top of his class. His voice audition will probably be more impressive than his grades/test scores to these top schools. We have visited schools both large and small: Vanderbilt, Northwestern, St. Olaf, Oberlin, Kenyon, Bucknell, Indiana, DePauw, Rhodes, Colgate, Lawrence, Michigan. Liked St. Olaf, Bucknell and Colgate but havenā€™t seen the last two colleges mentioned. Looking for some guidance.</p>

<p>threeboys, these are a few of the threads that mention Bucknell</p>

<p><a href=ā€œhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/459406-vocal-su-ithaca-getysburg-jmu-bucknell.html?highlight=bucknell[/url]ā€>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/459406-vocal-su-ithaca-getysburg-jmu-bucknell.html?highlight=bucknell&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=ā€œhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/753873-east-coast-2nd-tier-voice-programs.html?highlight=bucknell[/url]ā€>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/753873-east-coast-2nd-tier-voice-programs.html?highlight=bucknell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Looking through the '08 acceptance thread, the posters Franklinbm and pplake both have daughters with acceptances there for vocal performance (but neither indicated it was a their final choice). You may want to search for past posts under those user names, ot try pmig them for their impressions. </p>

<p>And a very out of date reference to Colgate from '05.
<a href=ā€œhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/39327-east-coast-small-lacs-have-great-music-departments.html?highlight=colgate[/url]ā€>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/39327-east-coast-small-lacs-have-great-music-departments.html?highlight=colgate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Neither is a program I would recommend for a serious instrumentalist bent on a performance career, or even an advanced student used to high level musical peers. The situation could well be different from a vocal perspective.</p>

<p>Iā€™m not sure this is the correct thread to post this item, but my D is a soprano who wants to try to pursue both classical and musical theatre studies. We are wondering if anyone knows if you are a BFA vocal performance major at Carnegie Mellon, is it possible to study classical and MT repertoire simultaneously or are your either a classical vocal performance major or a MT vocal performance major? </p>

<p>The CMU website states the following:
ā€œThe vocal performance program at Carnegie Mellon prepares singers for professional careers in opera, music theatre, and the concert stage. Alumni of the School of Music are currently performing with orchestras and opera companies around the world, as well as performing key roles on Broadwayā€¦ā€ </p>

<p>ā€œEach year, the School of Music presents two fully-staged productions, one opera and one musical theater, with all roles assigned to undergraduate students.ā€</p>

<p>ā€œThe choral program and the opera/music theatre productions at Carnegie Mellon are under the expert direction of the renowned choral master, Robert Page.ā€ </p>

<p>ā€œWhile there is close collaboration between the School of Music and the School of Drama, it is important to note that the Vocal Performance Major in the School of Music is a separate program of study from the Music Theater Major in the School or Drama. Talented young singers and actors may wish to apply to both programs with separate auditioning processes for each. Every two years, the School of Music and the School of Drama present a joint production for students in both programs of study.ā€</p>

<p>laladreams, you might get a little more insight into this at the musical theater forum [Musical</a> Theater Major - College Confidential](<a href=ā€œhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/]Musicalā€>Musical Theater Major - College Confidential Forums). From memory, I donā€™t recall a lot of past discussion cross discipline here within the music major forum.</p>

<p>Thanks Violadad! Iā€™ll try the MT Carnegie Mellon discussion.</p>

<p>threeboys</p>

<p>You might want to take a look at Simpson college in Iowaā€¦My DD knows 2 girls (both very good) who are going there for music performance (both vocalist)ā€¦they really like it. Full time student body is about 1500</p>

<p>Thanks for the suggestion. Weā€™ll look into Simpson</p>

<p>Iā€™m a sophomore in Highschool, and Iā€™m planning on majoring in voice performance. (I figure itā€™s better for me to get a head start with college searching)
I live in Seattle, so Iā€™m basically as far away from the east coast as I can get. Most of the colleges Iā€™m planning on applying to(or atleast for now) are pretty far and my parents said that we wont have much time or money to travel to all the places, so my only option is to send a recorded audition. Iā€™m wondering if recorded auditions will hurt my chances in any way?</p>

<p>I am a junior in high school in Northern California and have played piano since I was four. Most of my studies have been classical but in the last few years I have also fallen in love with Jazz. My teacher feels I would get a deeper training studying classical piano performance even for a possible future in Jazz. My piano teacher (of many years) is not part of the traditional circuit and does not do recitals and I have not been in any competitions. All my attention recently has been classical to prepare for applications next year. I just had my first visit and had two private lessons at Rice. They felt I have quite a bit of technical work to do in the next year to have any chance of acceptance to a top level conservatory. Playing Beethoven they found issues with timing and hand synchronization. They felt it would be unlikely but possible I would improve enough in one year for this level of conservatory but complimented me on my musicality and passion for music.</p>

<p>I am looking at my options. Practice a ton over the next year and try for some second tier schools in classical piano performance, switch to Jazz and try and determine which level of school I would be right for, or look for a great smaller liberal arts school or larger University with a strong music department.</p>

<p>My GPA is around 3.7 from a challenging private school. I love school and would like to find a school where I can enjoy both piano as well as general studies. I thrive when teachers know me so lean towards a smaller to mid size schools. I would like to find a school where I would have a private lesson each week and where I could practice for several hours each day. My original list included schools such as Oberlin, Rice, Bard, Lawrence and NYU. Rice I think is out based on the feedback and competition for those spots. I am not sure if Lawrence and NYU are at a different level than Rice and Oberlin and Bard. Bard is still a strong option outside the conservatory. Oberlin and NYU could still be a Jazz option depending on the level they would be looking for.</p>

<p>So my questions are:</p>

<p>1) What smaller to mid size liberal arts schools or Universities have great music departments with a good piano performance program with preference towards the East Coast, the West Coast and the Mid West? (On my list now are Lewis & Clark, Whitman, Bard, Vassar - donā€™t know much about them so any information on these would be helpful or new ideas)
2) What do people think about the rigor of a Jazz major as compared to the rigor of a piano performance major? (Could be Eastman, Oberlin, NYU or others)
3) Which of the music schools might be considered 2nd tier in piano with the ability to accept a bit wider range of musician? (Would this be Lawrence, NYU, Indiana University, Illinois Wesleyan or?)
4) Also have on my list University of Colorado, University of Montana, University of Oregon, University of Redlands, UC Santa Cruz and Sonoma State)</p>

<p>Any new ideas or thoughts on the schools I listed would be most appreciated.</p>

<p>Oberlin generally admits fewer pianists to their jazz program than to their classical program and they will be opening an amazing new building primarily for the jazz department this spring. ([Oberlin</a> College Litoff Building](<a href=ā€œhttp://www.oberlin.edu/litoff/]Oberlinā€>http://www.oberlin.edu/litoff/)) I am not discouraging you from applying there, but I do think you have to assume that the competition is going to be first rate.</p>

<p>Hi Pianofam: Donā€™t forget to add New England Conservatory to your list. My s plays with a number of students there in a jazz combo and several of them are studying both classical and jazz. NEC also has a 5-year program with Tufts if you want to pursue a joint BM-BA degree program. Among his jazz friends, NYU, NEC, Eastman, McGill, and Oberlin all rate high. For liberal arts schools with strong music programs back East, you might also want to investigate Wesleyan (CT), Skidmore, Columbia & Princeton (in addition to Vassar). Youā€™re starting your search at the right time. Good luck!</p>

<p>Pianofam, I am not familiar with all of these schools. With regard to jazz, Eastman and Oberlin are ā€œfirst tierā€ and I do not know anything about jazz piano at NYU, it may be at same level as the other two. For classical piano, Indiana University is definitely first tier and should not considered to be an easier admit than Rice. I have the impression that the Bard conservatory also is highly competitive. Without knowing much about all these other schools, I think that on your last list, Colorado Boulder stands out as likely being the most competitive of that group. The thing it is important to understand about classical piano is that there are very advanced and talented students from all over the world applying for piano performance programs in the U.S. The competition is fierce. But I would not assume that programs for jazz piano are going to be a lot less competitive or ā€œrigorousā€ as you say. Sorry I canā€™t be more helpful, just do not know about the other schools you mentioned. Good luck.</p>

<p>To Three Boys:</p>

<p>I saw the thread because opera-mom mentioned Simpson College. My daughter is a vocal performance freshman there this year and absolutely loves it - we think it is a phenomenal school for vocal performance. </p>

<p>You were mentioning your sonā€™s grades vs. talent. My daughter was in the top 17% of her class. We consider her smart, but not a genius. Her SAT scores were acceptable, but not stellar. We needed her to pull in some big scholarships to go to college. While she got a very nice music scholarship at Simpson, they gave her LARGE amounts of money for academic scholarship. We consider her more talented than smart, but Simpson had more money to give for academics.</p>

<p>She is one of the top freshman vocalists at the school. Sheā€™s got a 3.1 GPA. I just wanted to chime in on what a great school Simpson is, and that it might be a good fit for your son.</p>

<p>Donā€™t recall seeing it mentioned, and to be honest I did not check, but those interested in jazz may want to look at U Wisconsin Eau Claire based on the comments here <a href=ā€œhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064266453-post6.html[/url]ā€>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064266453-post6.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You might want to consider ā€œCollaborative Pianoā€ programs and look at Westminster Choir College (in Princeton, NJ and has a VERY small yet charming campus), and add the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) to your list as well.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

<p>My daughter and I attended Barbiere de savillia at the Met last week while in NYC for her final audition and there onstage as the countā€™s servant was John Moore, a former member of their Lindemann Young Artist development program, and a graduate of Simpson College just a few years ago. Simpson has a very strong reputation for undergrad voice and close ties to DesMoines Opera which is a frequent starting point for folks who go on to summers at Santa Fe, Central City and Wolf Trap. On the downside for many is the fact that the town is small and so is the school. It just depends on your priorities.</p>

<p>CIMā€™s collaborative degree is masters and doctoral only, as are many, if not most collaborative degrees (I donā€™t know about Westminster, but Shenandoah has a BM in CPā€”know nothing else about it besides that is exists).</p>

<p>Pianofam-CIMā€™s piano dept is first-rate and because the school is small, students and faculty are very collegial and itā€™s easier to get personalized attention.
singingsophomore- it depends upon you and upon the school. I know, thatā€™s a confusing answer, but some singers come across much better in person than they do in a recording, and the quality of recordings can vary so much that a less-than-perfect one can put you out of the running. Also, for VP, many schools will only accept an in-person audition (you will usually have to take other exams in theory/ear training/sight singing on the day of the audition), so youā€™ll have to do your homework to begin with. If you are good and can narrow your list of schools down to just a few, doing the on campus auditions can be very manageable and will certainly be to your advantage. You are very smart to begin your search now, so feel free to ask questions about schools and weā€™ll supply the information that we can.</p>

<p>My daughter is a talented rock drummer, and would like to pursue her interest in college.
Sheā€™s interested in colleges, universities, music and art schools, or music schools.
Weā€™re just beginning our search, and have only heard about Berklee in Boston.
We would appreciate any ideas. Thanks.</p>

<p>Waldorf, welcome. Iā€™d suggest reading this as an overview to music admissions <a href=ā€œhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html[/url]ā€>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/258796-so-you-want-music-major-one-familys-experience.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Hereā€™s a place to start for schools you may want to look at.
<a href=ā€œhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/752896-music-schools-embrace-contemporary-musicians-suggestions-requested.html[/url]ā€>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/752896-music-schools-embrace-contemporary-musicians-suggestions-requested.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;