UVM Music Dept - thoughts?

College Majors Music Major
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I have been reading this forum and CC for quite a while and have learned a lot. I am hoping that there are folks out there who can give me a better sense of the strength of the UVM Music Department.

This will be long, but from reading CC for a while I think it will be easier if I just lay out all the facts, so here goes: My son is a senior at a suburban Boston high school. He plays the jazz trumpet (and keyboards) and basically lives and breathes music. Loves to gig. Has taken private lessons and classes at NEC Prep for the past few years. Various pit bands, Music camp. All-state jazz.

His time at NEC Prep has given him insight in the conservatory world and he decided during junior year that he didn’t want to go that route. He decided to apply to schools as a BA in music, although he did apply to Berklee because he feels it is different from other conservatories. He was accepted to Berklee with a $20K scholarship.

ACT score = 33. Has a weighted GPA of 4.5/5.0 and about a 3.4 unweighted. Most of his classes have been the most rigorous and he gets his schoolwork done, but at the last minute. For him, opportunities to play take precedence over most things. We are full pay, but being full pay would not be easy. Younger sibling in 8th grade.

Along with Berklee, he applied to a bunch of schools. Some he has taken out of the running. Here are the other ones he’s considering:

UMass because it’s the state flagship and seems to have a good music program with good jazz. He has been accepted as a BA in music. Audition was required. The music department is wooing him. Talent scholarship and other small infusions of funds. He did not get into the honors college.

UVM because he is a flannel wearing, scruffy faced kid who has heard great things about Burlington. Plus the fact that Ray Vega is at UVM suggests that the music program is solid. He was accepted as a BA in music, $17K per year in merit, and Honors College. He hasn’t received any personal correspondence from the music department since his audition, whereas UMass is much more attentive. That is one of the reasons I am wondering about UVM. I am thinking it could be because he’s a BA rather than a BM. A private lesson is probably in order. He did audition. He’s had a private lesson at UMass and they are inviting him again to visit.

Tufts because he has musical friends there who love it and because it’s strong academically and all the usual reasons that everyone seems to love Tufts. Fifty kids from his class applied. He applied RD. He almost applied ED2 but wanted to keep his options open, even though by that point Tufts was his first choice. A bit painful but I didn’t want to push. He’s the type who has trouble deciding what to order at a restaurant and then second guesses once he’s ordered.

Lawrence because I found out about on CC and he talked to the rep at a CTCL event and liked what he heard. He will visit but he thinks it’s probably too small. RD.

Skidmore because it’s an LAC with strong music and he visited and liked it. At least three of his friends are also applying there. He sent a video for the Filene scholarship. RD.

At this point, he says his top two schools are Tufts and UVM. Given that Tufts and UVM are his top choices, and Naviance shows that his GPA is low for Tufts, it is looking like it could be UVM. In terms of state schools, the UVM Honors College tips the scales for me. I will say that he and I attended an amazing concert at UMass that was so impressive on so many levels, but I think he could would distracted living in one of the big dorms.

So he and my husband have just come back from accepted students day at UVM and my husband is wondering if S is going to find his musical “tribe” up there and if the musical energy level and musical rigor is strong enough. I guess what’s going on is that our son has a musical “spark” and our hope is that he ends up in a place that will cultivate that spark. He also has an intellectual spark that has dimmed a bit in the teenage years, but my hope is that can be cultivated, too.

I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

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Sometimes, at schools that offer a BM, the BA music students have fewer opportunities, less access to the best teachers and so on. Not always, but it bears checking out, as you seem to know. Of your son’s list, Tufts and Skidmore do not have BM’s.

Tufts Music Department is wonderful: I have some personal experience with it, and also know a jazz sax player who didn’t major in music but had a great experience with music classes and extracurriculars there, while continuing to do gigs in the Boston area.

I only know a student or two who went to UVM for music education and loved it. I went to UVM in the 70’s myself and go back to Burlington on occasion, a great college town with lots of outdoorsy opportunities nearby, and the downtown has clubs for gigging etc.

It seems strange that he did not get into the honors college at UMass, but did at UVM…

Is your son sure he does not want to do a BM? If he is open to Berklee, why not the jazz program at UMass, for instance? Or Lawrence’s conservatory, UVM’s BM?

Does he have broad academic interests? Has he considered a double degree?

Is he a Howard, Alexander, Jennifer or Mike in this essay? http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html

Overall he has a great list, honestly, but for a BA I would lean toward Tufts (If finances can meet the expense). Does he mind being close to home?

ps If UMass is still rolling admissions and UVM is not- and I don’t know that- maybe that could explain the difference in timing of attention to your son.

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UMass has a wonderful music program and I do know many kids who are bright, talented and have ended up being super happy and successful at UMass. I would definitely not rule it out. The challenge is dealing with the size and the overall party tone of the main stream school. The kid’s I know who can get into the honors college seem to not be affected by that because the dorms are filled with kids like them. What I would do is call UMass and talk to them and see if you can negotiate getting him in to the honors college. Massachusetts has some pretty strict cut-offs on paper for the state honors college, but I know from personal experience that there is some flexibility with this. If the music school is wooing them then I would explain to those in charge that your son is going to need a dorm where he can focus and he will need to be around other kids who are focused like him in order to excel.

My eldest went to UVM. It is a great state school because it is relatively small, has amazing faculty and as you know the town is just charming. That being said one of the most important things for a young aspiring jazz musician is the ability to play with as many different types of people and groups as possible. I don’t know how big the music department is at UVM but one downside might be that it is too small and too limiting. It helps to have an active gig scene. And although Burlington is a hip cool town with lots of bars and venues I would try to get a sense of what the landscape is for emerging local musicians. It might be more limiting than you think due to the fact that groups come there on tour rather than clubs hiring local musicians. Going North to Montreal is always an option for gigs if your son was to go there.

As an NEC-Prep Parent Alum I would strongly recommend that you talk to Dave Zoffer or Rick Mclaughlin about your son’s choices. Those two have been around a long time (Rick if you see this I apologize…you are still young) and they are both great advisors for kids who are like your son. They have helped many a young person decide what musical path is right for them and they also stay in touch with many of their ex-students so they can speak to the arc of a young musician’s career. Ken Schaphurst is also a good person to talk to (although he might be less available and personally I would go to Dave or Rick over Ken).

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Stacjip, what do you think about the issue of being a BA music student at schools like UMass or UVM (the ones you discussed above) that have a BM program? Is there any effect on performance opportunities, access to teacher and so on for a BA music major at these two schools? Do they take different music classes than the BM students?

At Tufts there is no BM degree, or at Skidmore…wondering if that is a plus.

5

If I were this student I would look closely at each program and find out what the “schedule” and requirements are. a BM is obviously going to involve a lot more actual playing and musical work than a BA. But as Don Braden (Harvard '85) tells students at Litchfield Jazz Camp, you can make your music scene anywhere and get experience playing with a wide variety of musicians anywhere but you have to make it a priority. Again it would probably be best for this parent and student to talk to the NEC prep staff because they have seen extremely talented kids go to a range of programs and can speak to how that has shaped their musical careers. And that would probably help this student sort out his options because he can then see how the different paths have influenced others.

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My daughter is a student at UMass. She went in as a flute performance major, but decided to minor in music and major in Biology. Although she is now considered a non-major, she has auditioned for, and is playing in both the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra. Being a BA student should not be a different than a BM student as far as performance opportunities ot teacher access. My daughter continues to take lessons and attend studio (as her schedule permits), and is still receiving her music scholarship. Also, according to the website, the difference between a BA and a BM is that the BA students do not take the piano or conducting classes. The BA also only requires 6 semesters of lessons and ensembles. However, it would be very easy to change from a BA to a BM if that was of interest.

As for the trumpet studio at UMass, from what I’ve heard, it’s amazing. Eric Berlin, the trumpet professor, was actually nominated for a Grammy last year. I’ve also heard that the Jazz Program is quite good. I believe that they are actually having a Jazz Showcase on March 1, so that would be something worth checking out if you’re within driving distance.

As far as the Honors College (which my daughter is in), the average GPA for incoming students (in 2014) was 4.24 (weighted). I’ve heard that it was even higher for this past fall. This correlates with the incoming GPA for students at UMass as well. Each year the GPA has been increasing as the applicant pool has grown. In regards to housing (if not in Honors), they do have something called a Fine Arts RAP. If you are in this program, all of the students in the RAP would be housed in the same dorm (near the Fine Arts Center), and would take some required classes as a group.