<p>I know that recently Yale had been given a HUGE donation for its music program. However, I believe this donation was used for the graduate program..not so much Yale's undergraduate music program. In fact, I hear that Yale really doesn't have much of an undergraduate program, and most musicians are turned off by Yale for this reason. I've been told that I would get lessons from graduate students, teaching assistants, etc. and I would hate that. Is there any truth to these rumors and assumptions? </p>
<p>If anyone knows specifically of its piano department, that'd be appreciated.</p>
<p>My son is a very serious pianist who kicked the tires hard and chose Yale. I can't tell you as much as he could, but he doesn't post on CC, so I'll do my best. </p>
<p>The academic side of Yale's undergrad music program is simply outstanding. Fabulous faculty, fabulous offerings across the board in theory, history, technology, composition, etc. Great EC activities, too, including many chamber ensembles, theater pits, orchestras, some for credit. There are abundant resources to fund pretty much any student production. Residential Colleges hve great resources, too. Some even have their own recording studios.</p>
<p>Here's the system for private piano lessons. It's somewhat scary (to me, anyway). At the beginning of freshman (and every) year, you audition for lessons. Top students, those who are conservatory-quality, will be assigned to a full faculty member. There are currently two faculty members (Yang and Parisot -- I may be misspelling the name) teaching piano undergrads -- each takes 10 undergrad students, who get their lessons for credit and for free. (Well, as part of their tuition.) Those who don't get assigned to faculty are assigned to graduate students -- no credit given and there is a charge for lessons, although lessons are heavily subsidized. The quality of the grad student teachers has improved rather significantly since Yale got the donation which made its graduate music program tuition-free. Some grad student teachers are quite excellent.</p>
<p>There are fantastic musicians among Yale's undergrads. Son knows at least two other top young pianists, one a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, going to Yale next fall.</p>
<p>the undergrad music program doesn't really have much limited resources besides the possibility that you might get a graduate student as your private lessons teacher (the same goes for string instrumentalists...there are 3 violin faculty professors each with about 6-8 students, and so you audition at the beginning of the year etc) -- otherwise there are plenty of music scores, library resources, recordings etc you can ever think of available for students...Yale's extra focus on the fine arts in addition to its sciences is one of the biggest reasons why I chose it</p>
<p>Yale's School of Music is absolutely top flight, but the priority is clearly the graduate program. Undergrad is a bit hit or miss. If it works it can be fabulous. If it doesn't, it can be pretty bad. The son of a friend - very accomplished pianist who has won regional competitions and performed at top concert halls around the country - was unable to get a satisfactory teacher at Yale and ended up commuting to NYC for lessons. After a couple of years, he dropped out and transferred to a well-known music school, from which he just graduated. Obviously Yale has much to offer that a music school can't, but if you're sure that music is your calling, an undergrad full-time music school might be a better choice.</p>
<p>I've been seriously considering dual enrolling at a major conservatory along with its affiliated academic school (juilliard+columbia, curtis+take classes at UPenn, UofRoch.+Eastman, etc.), but because I don't want to pursue a career in piano performance or pedagogy, I don't think that the extra courseload to the extreme that I'm considering is worth it. Instead, I'm trying to find a great college (such as Yale) that shines in both its academics and music, without having to attend two schools (Cincinnati+CCM is a good example, as well as Oberlin).</p>
<p>wjb: that audition process worries me, too. Does that mean that you won't know if you're going to be stuck with a TA or a professor until you already enroll at Yale? Is your son with a professor? </p>
<p>battleship: Are you a student at Yale that knows this first-hand? Is Yale not a Steinway & Sons school? </p>
<p>Does anyone know of other top tier colleges that really excel in their music department (specifically, piano)?</p>
<p>Are you guys crazy? Maybe your just talking about performance, but all around, Yale has the best, both undergraduation and graduation, music theory department. It is seriously rivaled by only a few institutions. The faculty is AMAZING! It obviously isn't the place if you're looking for a conservatory, but otherwise, the music theory undergraduate expirence would be great.</p>
<p>Don't take my opinion because I have no real expirence, but from scanning the webiste and reading articles by the faculty, it is one of, if the the, best place to study music theory.</p>
<p>This of course may not be the case with other fields in music...</p>
<p>What about the vocal dept? My daughter is attracted to Yale for the academics but would like to continue getting voice lessons. I know there are plenty of choral and acapella opportunities but what about opera?</p>
<p>vp:I know nothing about vocal music at Yale, but I recommend that your daughter contact the Department of Music. My son found the staff there most helpful.</p>
<p>theorygeek: I hope I made your point in my initial post. For academics and performance opportunities, Yale's undergraduate music experience is superlative.</p>
<p>
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battleship: Are you a student at Yale that knows this first-hand? Is Yale not a Steinway & Sons school?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yale is Steinway and Sons school, but the only ones you'll want to play are in the practice rooms in Sprague Hall, which is locked away for School of Music students (grad school). There are Steinways in the undergrad practice spaces and residential colleges, but they are out-of-shape and out-of-tune, so unless you're really good and get to have a faculty member teach you, you're out of luck.</p>
<p>I just did a little Googling to see what battleship (who I don't think is a Yale student) is talking about. I found two articles in the Yale Daily News on the subject of practice rooms at Yale. According to a 2006 article, pianos at Sprague and another popular alternative, 320 Temple, are well-maintained. Undergrads are not locked out of either location, but there is a shortage of pianos available to undergrads in both locations, especially at peak times of the day. “Only graduate students are allowed to sign up for a time slot in one of the 14 piano practice rooms in Sprague or the 20 rooms at another building at 320 Temple St., said Thomas Masse, deputy dean of the School of Music. Undergraduates taking lessons for credit can use any vacant room they find, though they may be kicked out at any time if the graduate student assigned to that room arrives.” </p>
<p>The article also states that the pianos at another major music building, Hendrie, are poor. The good news is that Hendrie is scheduled to receive a complete renovation, including new practice rooms and performance spaces, starting in 2009. </p>
<p>According to the article, many of the pianos in the residential colleges are in poor repair as well. I understand that space constraints can’t be remedied in a flash, but it’s quite surprising to me that with all its resources, Yale is not maintaining practice pianos. Can any current students speak to this issue? </p>
<p>I'm a Yale student NOT taking lessons for credit or anything like that. I just play the piano for my own enjoyment, but I take it seriously as a hobby. I can't find one practice room with a satisfactory piano. I'm sure if you are a student taking lessons for credit you will be able to find a place to practice, but for the rest of us just looking to practice once in a while, it won't be a pleasurable experience.</p>
<p>That is disappointing to hear, pageEL60. My son sat in on a lesson and spoke to several students taking lessons with faculty when he was on campus during Bulldog Days. None mentioned a shortage of decent practice pianos. But I think there should be enough pianos for all students who want to play, not just those taking lessons. If there is a piano in your residential college, have you tried asking the master or dean to have it tuned/repaired? I believe the residential college heads have discretionary funds available for things like this.</p>
<p>Yeah that's a good point. Complaining to your master sounds like a good option. Though there are pianos everywhere at Yale, my guess is that they aren't maintained b/c they aren't used as much, and the people who do play on them occassionally are not likely to complain.</p>