Temple Jazz

<p>My S will be a HS junior next year and he is putting together his list of schools to visit. He is interested in studying jazz guitar and will be attending the Eastman jazz program this summer. He prefers a university environment over a conservatory. Temple has risen to the top of his list. Coincidentally, I grew up a few miles from Temple, though I don't live in Philly anymore. I never mentioned Temple to him; somehow he uncovered it on his own. </p>

<p>I have read what I could find through the search engine on CC regarding Temple . If anyone has anything new to add regarding the jazz program, auditioning, visiting, etc., it would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Similar interest here. S is in same grade, and will also be at Eastman Summer Jazz Studies this summer. We plan to visit Temple the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend. I keep reading that Temple is big, impersonal, disorganized. Maybe not so for Boyer students? We already know that he likes Philly, having visited UArts last fall. I know Temple’s location may not be as pleasant as UArts’, but I understand the campus itself is pretty good.</p>

<p>Temple has a great music program. It was one of the schools in my son’s final choices. If you grew up near Temple you will be very pleasantly surprised to see all the growth and positive changes at Temple. I am not certain about the jazz program as my son was interested in the classical music program - but I can say that Temple is definitely a great school and worth considering and since it is state related is certainly less expensive than most of the private schools even for an out of state resident.</p>

<p>I’m a Temple student and I LOVE it! I’m a flute/ music ed major, so not jazz, but I can answer any music/ boyer questions! Temple can be intimidating as far as the size of the university and the city may be overwhelming for some, but ask any music student and they will tell you that for us it is the exact opposite! Everyone knows everyone in the music school! I would def. not say it is a disorganized school (university or music school). Professors are wonderful, the talent is amazing and I don’t think I have anything bad to say about it. Now…for music students it is a different ball game when you take non-music classes bc the classes are huge compared to what you’re used to and you prbly won’t know the professor but I’ve had some wonderful professors outside of the music school! If anyone has any specific questions about Temple or Boyer, please let me know! I’m happy to help! Feel free to PM me or ask on this thread!</p>

<p>S applied to and was accepted at Temple for jazz (piano), and like the first two posters also attended the Eastman program the summer before senior year. He very much liked the idea of going to school in Philadelphia, but in both of our visits never made any connection with anyone from the jazz studies department. Before our initial visit, S sent multiple emails to the jazz dept email (there were no individual emails for the specific professors), and never received a response. Perhaps this was just our experience and others have had greater success than we did. Nevertheless, we did have a meeting with the person in music admissions on our visit, which was very helpful, and we found out too late that we should have contacted her about setting up a sample lesson. As a side note, a number of the jazz professors are adjunct faculty, so it is likely that they are active professional musicians who probably spend a lot of time away from Temple, which would explain why we had difficulty reaching them. We generally liked Temple as a university, and Temple is considered to have a very fine music program due, in part, to the presence of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the fact that a number of the orchestra members teach at Temple. In our spring 2009 visit, we were happy to see that the music facilities were in the process of an expansion (H went with S to the audition this year, so I didn’t get to see the results). We attended a senior jazz recital, and were a little shocked by the recital hall compared with others we’ve seen, but we talked with as many students as we could, and they were all very positive about the jazz program and faculty, and were happy to be there. They emphasized that it is a very caring environment and felt that the faculty and other students were like family.</p>

<p>On the day of the audition, there were two audition rooms going simultaneously for jazz, so he never saw Terrell Stafford. In talking with some of the Temple students in the waiting area, he learned that the jazz audition repertoire as stated on the website is not as strictly adhered to as the website indicates, so he changed his selections on the spot. They had a student rhythm section, and although he had lead sheets available for them, they didn’t need them. A couple of the faculty members made favorable comments at the end of the audition, so S felt like the change in selections worked in his favor.</p>

<p>Although our impressions were mixed, Temple for jazz is still on our list. S #2 (sophomore - trombone) also wants to study jazz within a university music school, so it’s very possible that we’ll do the drill again.</p>

<p>And decided on Indiana, as I see on the master decision list. I keep wondering if we should look there, but I keep thinking it might be better for grad school due to its size. Of course, Temple is very large as well. We ARE heading out that way in Feb.</p>

<p>What was his impression of fellow pianists at the Eastman camp, talent-wise? It seems tough to get a handle on which schools should be classified as reach/target/safety based on my son’s talent level, so I always look to gather any sort of info I can find.</p>

<p>To all the responders, thanks so much for the information. I appreciate all of the great insight and advice regarding visits to Temple. To TrumpetDad, we will see you in Rochester!</p>

<p>The Eastman camp had a couple of extremely talented jazz pianists. S felt like he was behind them in talent but perhaps ahead of the others (total of 6). The top two are going to Eastman and Oberlin in the fall (S applied to both but did not get in, though he did pass the prescreen at Eastman). S sought honest feedback from the person he worked with most closely at the camp, who told him that he thought S would be able to get into a “good” program. We didn’t really know how to define that, so we assumed he might have a shot at a top program, but otherwise should be able to get into a solid program somewhere. The most telling thing in hindsight is that S says those at the Eastman camp who auditioned and got into Eastman were either in the top combo or the top big band (S was in the second highest combo and wasn’t in a big band). Therefore, the placements at the camp should tell you a lot about where your S stacks up relative to the others.</p>

<p>Not really knowing for sure, particularly since nothing is for sure in auditioned programs, we thought Oberlin, Eastman and Indiana were reaches, Temple a target, and Virginia Commonwealth University a safety. As far as the size of Indiana, the music school is large, but the jazz program is small, and actually smaller than Temple’s. Since he’s going into a small program, we were not at all concerned about the overall size of the music program or the university.</p>

<p>Our daughter looked at Temple for Jazz Vocal, and we were all impressed by our visits to Boyer. If you get in touch with the admissions officer for Boyer/Jazz, she does a great job of keeping you updated via email on stuff that is going on. At least once a year, the jazz department offers a full-day seminar, “Jazz Student for a Day”, which our daughter did, and enjoyed. We never felt as though it were an impersonal program at all. We did meet Terrell Stafford; our impression is that he runs a fairly intimate department, with a family sort of feel. The students my daughter met were all very positive about their experience at Temple.
Temple WAS on our short list, plus D was offered a juicy academic scholarship … but she opted for York up in Toronto, and the jazz scene up there. But Temple is definitely worth a visit.</p>

<p>Attended a Temple Open House on Saturday, which included a talk by Terell Stafford, head of Jazz Studies. He says they’ve got 17 jazz ensembles now, and they’re up to 90 Jazz Studies majors. He stressed that the various ensembles cover a wide variety of styles, and that this has been a conscious effort in order to evolve from the straight-ahead reputation that the department once had. This variety, he says, should help Jazz Studies majors transition into a wider variety of professional opportunities in today’s world. And when they’re deciding which students to accept, he says there’s no prescribed cap for each instrument: they prefer to accept all high-quality applicants. If that means he has to then hire additional faculty, then so be it. He does most of his performing in NYC, so he tends to find instructors who are based there, and who also teach at places like MSM and the New School, so you’re likely to get the same instructors at Temple for far less money. He says he used to teach at both Juilliard and Temple and found that he would feel frustrated at the end of a typical day at Juilliard, but feel satisfied at the end of a typical day at Temple. So he left Juilliard for a full-time position at Temple. He was very well spoken and well-dressed. All of the music department heads who spoke to students/parents were dressed in suits. And everywhere we went the student volunteers were most friendly.</p>

<p>Hi TrumpetDad. Thanks for the report. Temple is still on my son’s list, although we haven’t visited yet. Glad to hear your visit went well.</p>

<p>I’m sending him own for the Jazz Student for a Day event: [Boyer</a> College of Music and Dance, Temple University](<a href=“Temple University | Boyer College of Music and Dance”>Temple University | Boyer College of Music and Dance)</p>

<p>Duquesne has a great jazz program in Pittsburgh to look at as well as Temple if you are looking for good teachers and a strong local jazz scene. Temple never really cropped up on the jazz side when my son was looking, just the classical which is very good. The student for a day program at Temple was very useful but we found their auditions, depending on which day you go (son did a brass only day) gave very little info unlike other colleges where it is wrapped around information sessions.</p>

<p>Duquesne is on our list. We did a brief self-tour while we were nearby in July.</p>

<p>Thanks for the continued updates on Temple. We still have some interest there for S #2.</p>

<p>I visited Temple with my S yesterday. He is interested in composition. The visit at Boyer was terrible, but the overall campus tour was awesome. The admissions person at Boyer was quite cold, disinterested, and almost dismissive of us. We got no tour of the building or very much information about the composition program. I’m hoping the school itself is better than the admissions person!</p>

<p>My son is a freshman at Boyer this year (he’s currently “just” a Music major, but is planning to try and change his major to Comp). I can’t begin to tell you how much he loves it! His experience with both Temple in general and Boyer in particular has been overall positive. The professors seem to be accessible and helpful. The classes are small (his Comp I class has 4 students), everyone is supportive, and there is a lot to do outside of class for the student who looks for it.</p>

<p>For example, I just got back from a recital at Temple, put up by a group called “conTemplum” - the recital consisted of works composed and performed by students. My son had one of his pieces performed live for the first time ever. A lot of students attended, and I saw a good 8-10 faculty there as well. Their next recital is 11-15, for anyone interested in attending. </p>

<p>honestmom - you were also there right in the middle of Homecoming, so it’s possible it wasn’t the best time for a visit. If you want more of my input, feel free to ask. If your son would like to pick A’s brain, I’m sure he’d be willing to email with him. Just shoot me a PM.</p>

<p>Good stuff, mtiger1. My son will be around on 11/9 for the jazz student for a day event.</p>