<p>Is the school know as a good college of music?......for flute?</p>
<p>If you are talking of UC Boulder - then yes, it is a very good music program.</p>
<p>yes I am. What do you know about it?</p>
<p>Ilovetheflute, the way you asked your question, it sounded as if University of Colorado, Boulder was a school you were considering to apply to for flute study in the future. But on the Master List of Final Decisions for Fall, 2009, you are listed as having chosen University of Colorado Boulder for flute performance. (I remembered you writing about a few other schools you were considering). So if you are planning to attend UC Boulder, I hope by now you know a lot about the place yourself and are happy with your decision. It might help if you are more specific about what you want to know.</p>
<p>Hahaha, I agree with rigaudon. Vague questions will always get vague answers.</p>
<p>UC Boulder is a good music music. In terms of pure verbal reputation, UC Boulder probably has the highest of any program west of Austin and east of LA.</p>
<p>stephmin, where does one find out this kind of information about the reputation of music schools (schools that are not on the premier list like Berklee, Eastman, Juilliard, etc.) You mentioned CU-boulder being one of the best between LA and Austin, so how does one find which others are some of the best between LA and, say, Kansas City?</p>
<p>Through years and years of being ‘in-the-know.’</p>
<p>; )</p>
<p>That last comment was only partially tongue-in-cheek though.</p>
<p>But more seriously - “reputation” as you know, is difficult to gauge. There will be loads of guides out there such Forbes or Princeton Review or USA Today or whatever, all eager to shelve out commercial ‘rankings’ of top programs for business, law, research, etc etc. (And there are exponentially more naysayers who are equally as fast to discount such rankings, or the very idea of ranking in general.) But for music, outside of the REALLY big name schools like Juilliard or Curtis, you really do have to take it into your own hands. Take a look at faculty listings - who teaches where? What are their credentials? That means both as a teacher and a performer? Were they good enough to have successfully put together a career themselves? Can you find any of their students - what are they doing and where have they gone since studying at the school? And yes - do keep in mind that personal faculty is THE most important factor in the music major. For someone in medicine or research, perhaps facilities carry more weight. For a history major looking to get a PhD, maybe the institution’s library or research capabilities might be of most importance. However in music…about 90% of the times, a student has decided to go where s/he does, mainly because who their private instructor is. Good performing spaces, spacious and plenty practice rooms, pretty campuses are nice extras; but conservatories almost always lack in the lattermost; and universities hardly ever place their music department on the top of their funding list to ensure quality practice space anyways.</p>
<p>My comment on UC Boulder holding an excellent reputation was based off my impressions through all my years of living inside the classical music community, researching schools to apply to, hearing things people speak of, and just all-in-all ‘noticing’ the things that happen. When I go to concerts and hear people perform, or when I come across a performer or a composer I might like or dislike, I notice the resumes of these people, and what schools they attended and who they studied with. And when 1 person tells me something about a place, I probably make a subconscious note of it. When 5 people tell me something about a place, I might have enough subconscious notes that I start forming my own opinions of a place. When 50 people tell me something about a place, I start thinking I know something about the place as well. When 20,000,000 people tell me something about a place, I begin to become quite sure I know about these places pretty well.</p>
<p>PS - as somebody who is part of the “classical” community, I will tell you here and now that Berklee is NOT part of any such “premier list” for classical music; and that people might look down on a Berklee degree so much to the point that if they see someone with a Berklee degree and someone with a degree from a school they’ve never even heard of, their natural instinct is to that latter resume.</p>
<p>Now I for one think this is unfair - as I’ve personally come across many talented and versatile musicians who have studied at Berklee, including some talented classical players as well. However - such is the stigma that Berklee has outside of the mainstream music world.</p>
<p>Sorry, can’t edit that post anymore - “…their natural instinct is to FAVOR that latter resume.”</p>
<p>Also wanted to add a disclaimer to that last paragraph, after the second to last sentence, that I’ve known some pretty crappy musicians for there as well.</p>
<p>imamiger, as for reputation, some of the best info comes from word of mouth from current students, grads, recent alumni. The broader your experience becomes in state, regional, national programs, the the depth of your contact base grows exponentially. Talking with parents, students, peers, ensemble directors, teachers, coaches all add additional info and insight. Where available, scan the makeup of preprofessional festival (Spoleto, Hot Springs, etc.) participants, and note the undergrad institutions that appear within and across instruments; similarly, knowing the backgrounds of recent orchestral chair winners and their particular backgrounds will often speak to the strength of a program or specific faculty. Similarly, the “pedigrees” of musicians in the highly competitive “training orchestras” (Civic Orchestra of Chicago, New World Symphony, etc) yield some interesting institution names. </p>
<p>Talk to music educators in your area, particularly recent grads. They tend to have a fresh broad base of contacts among peers and are usually happy to provide feedback. </p>
<p>Instrument specific internet forums are an excellent source for specific instructor and program feedback experiences. </p>
<p>An inside trick is to sign up for a music school or department’s news letter. It’s often a good inside look at the day to day goings on, and often will give you an indication of masterclass activity, faculty and student awards, honors, job placement. </p>
<p>A few instrument specific forum links here
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/608305-useful-music-links.html?highlight=links[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/608305-useful-music-links.html?highlight=links</a></p>
<p>You need to be a sponge, and absorb everything.</p>
<p>As the parent of a string player, we always paid particular attention to the quartet in residence. Even though these may change, the caliber of the predecessor and successor was a good indicator from our perspective. Again, like knowing faculty it involves some knowledge gleaned elsewhere. Knowing visiting artists, guest conductors give similar insight.</p>
<p>I am going there, but the website is fairly vague and I wanted to get maybe some inside information about it. I am still not really happy about going there (…Northwestern <em>tear</em>) but I will make the best of it. I was just curious if it had a good reputation.</p>
<p>I am a teensy bit concerned for you that you continue to have reservations regarding your choice after what I presume were thorough visits plus a discussion on this board re: McGill/Boulder. Attending either is an enormous investment of time and energy. Do you have a teacher, counselor or confidante with whom you can discuss your decision right away and determine whether or not your intuition is telling you to try to change it?</p>
<p>After all, what really matters isn’t what people “say” about a program. It is whether you fit with the teacher, the style, the peers on campus…You need to have some kind of psychological investment in it for it to work.</p>
<p>I hope you examine your reticence.
Cheers,
K</p>
<p>Okay, now I remember. You didn’t actually visit McGill and you were offered scholarship at CO, correct?
So, forget my comment about thorough visits. If you have reservations, you should consider trying to visit McGill so that your choice is truly informed by your gut feel. You may just be experiencing the “I don’t want to belong to a club that would have me as a member” syndrome : )</p>
<p>Yes that is correct. I was offered a scholarship at CO. I am still unsure about Ms. Jennings just because I did not have a lot of time to get to know her or her teaching style. I want to be an orchestral musician so I am not sure it it is the best place for that, but I guess it is too late now.</p>
<p>You should be careful when you post to assure your anonymity.</p>
<p>It looks like it’s time again for one of those unbiased, completely objective plugs for the University of Colorado College of Music (lol!). </p>
<p>First, the university itself is a wonderful school with a beautiful campus, town and surrounding area. The College of Music offers a BM, a BME, a BA (for those pursuing a double degree), a MM, a MME, a DMA and a PhD degree. There are also several certificate programs. There is no minor in music. The College has 550 students - 300 undergraduates and 250 graduates. There are several performance venues in the music building and another at Macky Auditorium, which is the large concert hall.</p>
<p>The College of Music is everything my D had hoped for in a music school - a great professor/teacher, a strong studio, a large full-time faculty, endless performance opportunities, a constant stream of visiting artists, a fantastic university symphony orchestra, the CU opera orchestra, and the CU chamber orchestra (there are also wind ensembles, bands, jazz ensembles, a campus orchestra, . . . .). I’m not sure where you get this idea that CU’s not the right place for a budding orchestral musician.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the flute studio, but the studio’s website would give anyone the impression that it’s a very strong one. Ms. Jennings has quite the resume, and she has a studio full of MM and DMA candidates from other strong music schools who clearly came to CU to study with her. In summary, there appears to be no shortage of talent in Ms. Jennings studio. My D would confirm the same is true of her studio.</p>
<p>From what I’ve read, it sounds like your first choice was Northwestern, but NU didn’t work out. That is unfortunate. Northwestern is clearly a fine music school, but that doesn’t mean other schools are chopped liver, particularly CU/Boulder.</p>
<p>From observing my D this past year, life for a freshman music performance major at any strong music school is not a cakewalk. The days are long. There are lots of hours in the practice room, and the environment is very challenging. You really, really need to go in with a good attitude.</p>
<p>Relax. Have a good summer (Review your music theory. The placement test is during orientation as are orchestra auditions and ensemble auditions.), and get ready for a great freshman year. </p>
<p>. . . and I agree with mamenyu’s last post.</p>
<p>oh thanks well should I delete the post?</p>
<p>I am happy about going to Boulder</p>
<p>You will love it there…and the weather could not be more glorious anywhere. Keep your chops in good shape this summer, and be prepared to give it your all. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ilovetheflute, there’s no need to delete the post. Disappointment with not getting into Northwestern, having to choose between UColorado Boulder and McGill, uncertaintities, decisions, buyers remorse… many have this angst. You’re not alone. They gave you a nice package, and minimizing undergrad debt is a good thing for students in general, musicians in particular, and especially if you’re considering grad school. </p>
<p>A program the quality of Boulder can position you to get into top grad programs.</p>
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<p>Excellent advice. And look forward. Don’t “what if” yourself crazy. Dive in with both feet, and shine. Good luck.</p>