I currently go to roberts wesleyan college and am a music education major. I’d like to double major in music performance or do a performance honors program if I can(my school lets me do neither I wish they did). As much as I’d like the level of education and oppertunity around at a conservatory like eastmen I know I can’t handle the riggor of it much as I might want too. Trust me when I say if I could get in and thrive at eastmen i’d do it in a heartbeat. Something major needs to change and I either have to make this school work for me or find one that’s better. I don’t now if there’s ever a school out there that has what I want or need. If I stay there is a study abroad opertunity for me junior year but sure if that’s enough to keep me here.
Pros of my school:
-Christan education
-Caring facultly
-small student body
-appartments on campus for upper classmen
- I take methods classes in all the instraments(not that I love the classes but I understand there benifit)
-access to wifi in almost anywhere on campus - only 20 minities away from eastmen and rochester
-Ther are non-music extracuricular activities(dance ministry)
-there is a community theatre that operates on campus and student only campus plays
-There is a student opera
-Student lounge for music majors
-There is a study abroad option for music majors
Cons:
-Not a lot of performance opertunitys and what there is is music performance perfered
-no public transit and I don’t have a car
-Unless you get around the rules you can’t live off campus
-The student only theatre isn’t that good and the comunity theatre is pretty good but students from other schools(like eastmen) and community members get in more then we do and there aren’t student run theatre programs or even ways tohelp out back stage
-I am close friends with literally no one
-The opera progam is music performance vocalists perfered
-There are literally no music internships listed in the career center, notta
-Next to impossible to get a job on campus if you don’t have work study
-outside of privite lessons the music program isn’t that strong
- I’m a vocal major my friend who goes to eastmen understands tons about the biology of the larenex and throat and the vocal tract and thats not taught at all here and it seems like useful information. At least through the school you don’t get to teach or work with kids at all until atleast junior year
-The music staff isn’t good at making acomidations for anything or considering change - You can’t be as rigourous with your music studies as you’d like because lets face it libreal arts classes, some are useful and some I wanna take but being forced to take as many as we have to means less time to take something that would help you.
-There isn’t any foreign langues offered expect german and ASL - Most of our education classes aren’t music based
-We are stuck on campus and most of the time there’s nothing going on
-You can’t double major in music performance here no matter how long your willing to stay at school
-There is no music industry classes or anything, not that i’d major in that but I want to learn the basics
-Music program isn’t that strong, the fact the instramental majors don’t even have studio class every week will tell you somthing.
I’d really like to make my current school work and make it feel like home but the idea that there might be someplace better dosen’t escape me. I just don’t know where to look. I’d even be ok doing some summer programs to fill in the blanks, to learn somthing new. My parents and I are even willing to have me stay an extra semiester or two in undergrad so I can take some of those excuriculars or have me take summer courses. People always talk about conferences and workshops I don’t even know how to find them or i’d go. Ideally i’d like to stay in new york state if I transfer but surrounding states would be ok too.