<p>I am currently a high school junior, and am searching for schools where I will possibly apply to next school year as a violin performance major. USC thornton is my first choice, but it is hard for me to be sure if I am a strong contender compared to other students who are going to apply. Of course thornton students are going to be really good, especially on a competitive instrument such as violin, but just how strong are they? I know this is probably a difficult question to answer, but can someone give me a general idea? Is getting into thornton just as difficult as getting into a music conservatory (colburn, curtis, etc)? Also some basic information about USC and thornton itself would be appreciated.</p>
<p>kianak-
USC has a very, very strong violin department, besides having Midori as its chairman, they also now have Glenn Dictorow, who besides being the retired CM of the NY Phil, also taught very, very high level students at Juilliard and MSM, and I believe they have some other top teachers as well. From what I know of the violin world, it is considered to be as competitive as any of the top music schools, roughly the same level as the other top schools, prob not as competitive as Curtis, but that is true of almost all the other programs vis a vis Curtis. So assume that you will be competing in the same talent pool as those other schools.</p>
<p>In terms of how good you are, one way is to look at what level of repertoire the schools require, they list their requirements for auditions. If you are a Junior, you should be close to having your repertoire picked out, or at least a general idea of the level of concerto, and be working actively on the rep with your teacher. If you are not at the level they talk about, or don’t have major requirements, that might be a red flag.</p>
<p>Obviously, your teacher should be a good judge of where you are, and it is a first place to start. If you aren’t sure if your teacher knows the levels required, or want confirmation, one way is to find a music program close to your house and arrange an assessment with someone who teaches there, or with a private teacher who has a track record of kids getting into top schools, and pay them for an assessment, to hear your strengths and weaknesses and get an idea. </p>
<p>Note that even with that, it is hard to really know how you will do on an audition, as many have said on here before, it often seems to come down to serendipity or other factors not entirely known. Friend of my son’s won one of the most prestigious international competitions on violin just before he auditioned, and didn’t get into Curtis, to give you an idea. So don’t automatically assume, unless teachers tell you otherwise, that you don’t have a chance, if they seem to feel you are at the right level, then don’t try to find the school that will admit you, find the schools you want to go to, specifically the teachers you might want to work with, and take it from there:). </p>
<p>One note, because Thornton is part of the USC university, it means that there is a difference from conservatory admits, in that you will have to be accepted both by Thornton and by USC as a whole, which means you also will have to meet the academic standards of the entire university. Note that USC is extremely competitive academically, but they do make allowances for music students, they might be willing to take lower test scores, or someone without a load of AP’s and so forth, knowing how intense music study is; doesn’t mean you can slack off and say school doesn’t matter, but in a conservatory your audition is the key, in a place like USC your audition has to be strong (put it this way, have a 2300 SAT, 4.0 gpa, 10 AP’s, etc, etc, you will get into USC academically likely, but if your audition is not great, you don’t get into Thornton) and your academics need to be stellar, a conservatory looks pretty much only at the audition, academics may or may not count in tie breakers and such, but is not a primary means.</p>
<p>No clear answers, but a violist and cellist we know at USC were accepted at Juilliard and were also accepted as transfer students later on (they chose not to transfer).</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. The reason I really like USC is because as a music major, I would be able to interact with other people and participate in other activities that don’t concern music, seeing how intense being a music major is.</p>
<p>musicprnt-
My grades are decent, but definately not stellar, and I have not taken the SAT or ACT yet. As for violin repertoire, I am currently finishing up the Bruch violin concerto. My main concern is that I won’t be able to catch up with all the other students who are probably working on much more advanced music. I will talk to my teacher about this and see what she has to say. </p>
<p>@ kianak-
It is a good idea to talk to your teacher about this, As a junior you have roughly a year to get your audition rep prepared, and the Bruch in the hierarchy of concertos is not one of the more advanced ones (as beautiful as it is), and that could be a concern. With music school admits there is some leeway with the academics, but you also need to be a strong player, and the violin is uber competitive. Obviously, take my comments as what they are, since i am not a violin teacher, and even if I were I haven’t heard you play, so it is talking in generalities. If you seriously want to study the violin, talk to your teacher about a plan to try and get you to the next level. One thing to think about is that if you seriously want to study the violin, you always have the option of a gap year, to spend perfecting your playing. </p>
USC has a very strong violin department, in fact its entire strings department is wonderful. USC’s violin students are at an extremely high level…definitely on the same level as Curtis, Eastman, Juilliard, etc. I am a graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music (Performer’s Certificate Percussion Performance) and I knew several violinists and Cellists who went to Juilliard and Curtis as undergraduate students and then decided to take their graduate degrees at USC. Glenn Dicterow, Midori, Martin Chalifour (L.A. Philharmonic Concertmaster), Margaret Batjer (L.A. Chamber Orchestra Concertmaster) and a couple others are on the Violin faculty…pretty impressive! You can be a B student and get into the USC Thornton School of Music.