<p>Anyone have good first hand experience with The New School - Jazz School? At least, other than it is very expensive! Son is a drummer - has his heart set on ending up and living in New York. Thanks!</p>
<p>Cheerios, The New School for Jazz is a great conservatory located in a great part of NYC. If my son (also a drummer) had only been accepted there, we would have been happy to have him go. The drawback for us was that their liberal arts classes aren’t as rigorous as my son’s ideal would be (e.g., there was a class called “intro to liberal arts” on the schedule when he auditioned) However, friends we have there are very happy, working hard, and are in the jazz capital of the world. The New School personnel we met were very forthcoming about the fact that they take all their kids seriously, from security to living arrangements and so forth. If he had gone there, I would have felt confident with him under their supervision. They also have fairly generous merit aid to help with the price tag.</p>
<p>There are some absolutely fantastic musicians at the New School. Think Grammy band/NFAA winners caliber. It’s a big program though, like Berklee, which is a double edged sword. The best players get fabulous opportunities, while the more developing players may get somewhat more of a short shrift. But being in NYC, with all the gigging opportunities? Couldn’t be better than that!</p>
<p>New York City is certainly the place to be, especially for a jazz musician. Even if a jazz player doesn’t decide to go to school there, chances are good that (s)he’ll probably end up living there at some point in life anyway. The jazz department at the New School is one of the very best, even if it’s true that the overall university has a largely negative reputation.</p>