<p>I'm a junior in high school looking to be a trombone performance major in college. I am looking for some suggestions for good schools. Distance isn't really an issue because I have close relatives in most parts of the country. I don't want to attend a conservatory because I still want to get the full college feel and maybe take some non-music courses so I don't over stress in college. I want to start possibly planning some trips, but I don't really know where to begin. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Brass is good at Northwestern U. Baylor has turned out some excellent trombonists. Indiana U and U Michigan both have music programs that are strong in every discipline; they are also decent universities. Rice has very good and competitive music and strong academics. Bard is a small LAC that has some excellent music instructors (don’t know anything about their trombone. If you don’t mind leaving the country, McGill offers good music and academics.</p>
<p>Are you looking more for a large university like Indiana U and U Mich or a smaller LAC?</p>
<p>I’d prefer a medium/large school. I’d rather not go to a smaller school. Thank you for the suggestions so far!</p>
<p>There are many good tombone schools out there and a lot will depend on where you feel comfortable in the end. Doing music performance is a high stress major on its own so look carefully at the general education requirements which will vary at each university before you choose a college. Starting today through Saturday is the Eastern Trombone Workshop and you can go to their web site and listen live to some of the various university’s trombone choirs which may not be from places you think of. The Trombone Forum is another good place to look and ask for ideas, they have a listing of where the current top trombone professionals studied which may be useful. Northwestern, Eastman and IU along with University of North Texas are probably the most famous trombone schools that are not a true conservatory but SUNY Purchase, Rutgers, Penn State, University of Miaimi, Temple, DePaul, University of Arizona all have great teachers too. Most important thing is to try and take lessons with some professors and visit the schools that interest you.</p>
<p>Northwestern (Mick Mulcahy, Randy Hawes, AND Pete Ellefson…hard to argue there)
Indiana (Ellefson, M. Dee Stewart, and Carl Lenthe)
University of Texas - Austin (Dr. Brickens)
Southern Methodist University (John Kitzman–DEFINITELY worth checking out)
DePaul (Mark Fisher and Charlie Vernon)
Florida State (John Drew)
Western Michigan (Steve Wolfinbarger)</p>
<p>Eastman is something to look into, but from the students I’ve worked with there, URochester is far enough away where you’ll feel pretty separate, so that might not be the non-conservatory vibe you’re looking for. I’ve also heard about some pretty non-productive drama between the two trombone studios there, though it’s reputedly getting better.</p>
<p>Tromboneforum . org has some pretty good threads about picking schools (including one that links to a list of where major orchestral players went to school), and I think Stacy’s site has some aggregation of where up-and-coming players have been coming from. Pretty unsurprisingly, Juilliard, Eastman, Curtis, Northwestern and Indiana are the clear frontrunners, by the numbers.</p>
<p>I have already taken some sample lessons/tours at Northwestern and DePaul because I have family in Chicago, so I just did it while on vacation, but I will start doing some more at the other schools. Thanks for all the suggestions!</p>
<p>Brent Phillips and the Baylor Trombone Studio are worth looking at.</p>
<p>UT Austin has one of the best trombone studios around. It’s getting tougher to get into though!</p>
<p>Hm… I think I worked with Brent Phillips at a band camp a little while ago. I remember him being super nice and an amazing player. He played the Flight of the Bumblebee just randomly when we requested it. If I am thinking of the same person, I’ll definitely check into Baylor.</p>
<p>Here is a fun link: [Orchestral</a> Trombonists](<a href=“http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p_b-ZtcpsnGpQQRqwRxwtDg]Orchestral”>http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p_b-ZtcpsnGpQQRqwRxwtDg)
It actually lists professional orchestral trombonists by the schools they attended. Keep in mind that the right teacher and playing opportunities for you are probably more important than the name of the school.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s a cool list. It’s amazing how many great players like Charlie Vernon just came from a state school not known for music. I’ll keep that list in mind.</p>
<p>I love that the third most listed teacher is Arnold Jacobs, who isn’t a trombonist at all.</p>
<p>That’s a fascinating link, Moonmaid. Do you know if there is such a list anywhere for trumpet, not to mention other instruments? Not that a list like this necessarily means a lot in the larger scheme of things, and obviously things change over time, (and apparently the list may not be totally accurate) but it IS very interesting…</p>
<p>Trombonists have the best websites, between things like that spreadsheet, [TromboneExcerpts.org[/url</a>] and [url=<a href="The WebAlias Network: WebAlias Not Found</a> Trombone Site at remember.to/practice](<a href=“http://www.tromboneexcerpts.org%5DTromboneExcerpts.org%5B/url”>http://www.tromboneexcerpts.org). </p>
<p>BTW, momophony, if you’re referring to my comment, I’m sure they all did study with Jacobs; he was the tuba prof at Northwestern and principal in CSO (and one of the most respected brass teachers ever). If not, feel free to disregard.</p>
<p>Trombonists are some of the most interesting people I know! I don’t know if any other websites like that exist for trumpets or other instruments - just stumbled across that one when my daughter was looking into colleges.</p>
<p>Additionally you’ll want to consider several other factors in culling the list once you’ve evaluated the professors and reputation of the programs.</p>
<p>Jazz or orchestral or both?</p>
<p>Do grad students dominate the ensemble opportunities?</p>
<p>It’s great to have a top trombone studio but what about French Horn, if the music department doesn’t have many performance majors than your opportunities for brass quintet get limited. Same as tuba. Normally there are enough good trumpets to join with you but consider the depth of these others.</p>
<p>Considering the professor remains the entire stint of your education will you have opportunities to learn from adjunct faculty? Realize at some schools that during several of the semesters during your attendance might have you receiving instruction from a hired hand from the local orchestra. This is normally a good thing but understand the lay of the land before you commit.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d use this one instead of starting another thread on a very similar topic-
Does anyone know of any smaller colleges or conservatories besides the big names like Julliard and Curtis that are good for trombone?</p>
<p>UNT, Michigan and Baylor have had very strong trombone studios. In particular, you might want to check out UNT which has a very strong track record of producing good trombonists. Smaller schools that have good reputations for brass are Northwestern and Rice, although for people in the know, Rice has a very big name for music (and you indicated that you were not looking for big name schools).</p>
<p>One place to start would be to look at the schools that trombone competition winners have attended; check out the International Trombone Association website for past winners of the various competitions.</p>
<p>Frost has very generous scholarships this year for brass players. Not sure how small you want though or how small a name you would like.</p>
<p>Remember that music schools/conservatories inside large colleges/universities often have a much more intimate feel than many small colleges do. You tend to take most of your classes in the music building with the same small group of music students and develop a tight network.</p>
<p>Are there any more like “second tier” type schools? I know it’s all based on the teacher you click with, but just for some schools where I’d have a better chance at.</p>