I was admitted to the piano performance programs at the University of Michigan and Boston University. I am currently on the priority waitlist at Carnegie Mellon and I’m hoping to get off of that waitlist.
Assuming I’m admitted to all three, which one has the best piano program/overall music program. Thanks!
Are you doing jazz? Because Michigan has Benny Green, and he’s amazing. Sorry, I’m clueless on the classical front.
Classical performance, but good to know!
Have you had samples lessons with the piano professor at each school? Is there a reason you like CMU more than the other two? Proximity to home? The professor? The size of the campus. Ann Arbor will be the classic college town experience. Boston will be the big city. Not sure about CMU and Pittsburgh! Is the cost the same for you at all three? Proximity to home and opportunities for your family to hear you play? Have you compared the curriculums?
If you were asking about composition, I would say they’re generally comparable, but Michigan holds the edge as the best known and biggest department, with more ‘name’ professors. But I don’t know about piano performance.
Definitely Michigan.
@etsy98 Who would you study with at UMich?
As the Mom of a kiddo headed from Undergrad to Grad, it’s all about the teacher and where that teacher learned. The name on the school won’t get you an audition for a symphony chair-your skills will. Hard work and excellent instruction. (PS-and check out level of theory department. A solid theory background is crucial.) Least amount of debt and best teacher you can afford.
It is all going to come down to the teacher, and hopefully you have looked into that, hopefully had sample lessons and whatnot. U Michigan has a great to elite music program, it is probably IMO the most competitive of the three for piano admission (and take that with the caveat it is just my opinion, not an expert on piano just based on impressions). CMU is a great academic school and they have a strong music program. BU has a strong music school as well, and from what I know of them they have a strong piano department. BU is in Boston, CMU is in Pittsburgh, both city areas with their own charms. U Mich is Ann Arbor, which is a traditional college town (and U Mich of course has a top football team lol…).
I kind of agree with classicalpercmom, I would look at all the factors and decide for yourself, and I agree, that factors like finances and of course the teacher should weigh in. Keep in mind that most music students these days who by the end of 4 years want to stick with music, generally end up going to grad school, and that may make the decision easier. If it were me, based on what I know of the schools, I would probably rank it as U Mich/BU/CMU, but that is me and my impression, which I beg of you don’t use to make you decision. If you haven’t done it, and can, try and get sample lessons with the teachers at the program, if not, do research, see what students of the teacher have done, see if you can find recorded master classes online with them, see their teachers and backgrounds, and also as classicalpercmom said, check out the whole music program, see what the theory is like, and also see what else is out there, what others have written about the programs. Do UG students get a lot of playing opportunities? How good is the chamber program? Is there the ability to do other gigs when there, you might find it easier to find gigs as a pianst in Boston or Pittsburgh than you might in Ann Arbor…and then weigh it up.
Don’t go for the name of the school, names do indicate in more than a few cases how competitive the school is (chicken and egg thing, does the name attract top musicians, or did the name come about because they attracted top musicians when they didn’t have a name)…but in the end, coming out of 4 years of UG well prepared and not stressed out with how to pay back a mountain of loans should be the goal, and even if you decide grad school isn’t for you, the goal still should be to have the ability to get into a top program even if you don’t plan on it:)
University of Michigan. The classical piano faculty is very good and focused on teaching. In D’s experience, each faculty member’s students adores their professor.
And even though your focus will be classical, there are opportunities to take in performances from amazing jazz pianists too, like Benny Green. 