<p>Hi,
I'm new at this, but I'm impressed with the sheer amount of wisdom and knowledge of the participants (violadad, bassdad, etc.)
So, my daughter is a Junior in HS, and a top viola player, and we are starting to look at conservatories - she may want to visit some already in early September. Her private teacher gave her a list of schools with top viola programs - mostly the usual suspects (Rice, Peabody, Oberlin, Eastman, and so on...) but one of the schools she mentions is a certain "Lynn Conservatory" in Florida. I never heard of it, but she claims, (and my research seems to indicate) that the conservatory is "on the rise." The viola teacher is Ralph Fielding, and the conservatory seems to have a very strong scholarship base, good faculty, and some promise. The college itself looks a bit sketchy though.
Does anyone know anything about that program, and about Lynn U. in general? Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks</p>
<p>Fielding is exceptional, and I’ll answer more fully a bit later. Lynn is well worth a look see if you are in that area. Do not discount the program.</p>
<p>I know very little about Lynn University, but they do seem to have some incredible teachers so they are going to be coming up more and more frequently on this board.</p>
<p>Don’t forget IU-Jacobs which has Atar Arad - an amazing viola teacher.</p>
<p>Lynn has some incredible faculty, particularly in strings, especially for a small program.</p>
<p>As I said, if it’s in your locale, or if you are planning to visit other schools in the area, it may well be worth a visit. The enrollment for the university is about 2400, so there may be issues with the actual size of the conservatory, and if all instrumentation is sufficently represented. I could find no in depth ensemble/performing organization detail on the website, so that would be an area to address. Concerns might be depth, but given the faculty, I don’t think peer quality of other music students would be an issue.</p>
<p>The poster hrnobmom recently indicated her daughter was accepted in the post bachelor’s Professional Performance Certificate program at Lynn. You might want to pm or email her directly if she doesn’t respond within this thread.</p>
<p>I don’t anything about the academic rigor of Lynn and a search of CC’s Search and Selection and Admission forums yielded just a few passing mentions.</p>
<p>To flesh out the etceteras in the schools you’ve mentioned, if you’re contemplating Rice, then Mannes, Juilliard, NEC, and MSM should be included unless you’re not looking at the straight conservatories.</p>
<p>stringfollies mentioned IU Jacobs, and I’d add UMich Ann Arbor, and Penn State with Tim Deighton.</p>
<p>If you have seen these past threads
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/587536-viola-performance.html?highlight=viola[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/587536-viola-performance.html?highlight=viola</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/494942-indiana-vs-boston-conservatory-viola.html?highlight=viola[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/494942-indiana-vs-boston-conservatory-viola.html?highlight=viola</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/299542-top-universities-viola-performance.html?highlight=viola[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/299542-top-universities-viola-performance.html?highlight=viola</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/242769-good-schools-viola.html?highlight=viola[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/242769-good-schools-viola.html?highlight=viola</a></p>
<p>violamandad has a violist son at MSM, tomdug has a daughter at oberlin, othermusicdad has a d at UColorado/Boulder if you are looking for direct input from current undergrads.</p>
<p>I missed mentioning RedHerring, with a daughter at Rice, having transferred from Blair.</p>
<p>I don’t know if she’s studying with Dunham, or Ivo-Jan van der Werff.</p>
<p>What now exists at Lynn was originally an independent school called the Harid Conservatory. It was run on the Curtis model: extremely small, tuition free, quite competitive. But the money ran out, and Harid became part of Lynn. This association saved it financially, but it’s now burdened with the association with a not-very-good university.</p>
<p>I am from South Florida and the local reputation of the music teachers at Lynn is very high. Many of the higher level high school students take lessons there and participate in their pre college program. Some of these students have been very successful at getting in to conservatories (2 from my S’s graduating HS class). Ralph Fielding has the reputation of being among the top Viola teachers in South Florida and he comes highly recommended. </p>
<p>Since Lynn is a local school for us it is hard to get an objective feeling for how it would rank as a conservatory. I do not know what kind of student it attracts nationally or internationally. Students locally who go there are either not able to get in to the school of their choice and it is a backup option, or they are getting full tuition and fees to attend. I know personally of three current conservatory students there, two who are highly accomplished who would be competitive at any conservatory in the country, and one mid level student. The reputation of the string faculty is high. They are enjoying their experience and love their teachers. These students do not live on campus.</p>
<p>That being said, Lynn University is a third or fourth tier school. It does not attract students locally, they would choose to go to the other many local options. I don’t know of any students among both of my son’s peers who have even applied to Lynn. </p>
<p>If you have any specific questions about viola programs of faculty you can PM me. My son has just completed his college search and we are familiar with many of the viola programs.</p>
<p>Thank you all.
Yes, we are looking at all options. I was just curious about Lynn, since I couldn’t find much about it. Now I do - great faculty, small, perhaps not the top, but evidently very good, but connected to a not-so-good university.
Does such connection hurt a conservatory?
From what I understand, the vast majority of the conservatories within colleges and universities seem to be somewhat separate form the schools (Peabody even physically so), and apart form the double degrees, the students at a given conservatory only take very few classes at the institutions of which the conservatories are part of.
Am I correct? And if so, is a connection to a school with lesser reputation (UNT for example, Lynn, and perhaps some others) really detrimental to the quality of the conservatory as such, or, on the other hand a connection with a great school (Bard, Oberlin, etc.) of a great advantage for someone who - like my daughter - really wants to work, work, work, and work on her musical skills?
Many questions on my mind…</p>
<p>Consider NEC as well. Excellent strings and chamber music program; with superstar viola teachers like Kim Kashkashian, Martha Katz, and Roger Tapping.</p>
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<p>The academic aspects quite honestly depend on what your student needs and wants from a program. If enlightened discourse and academic stimulation is a driving force, then combo programs of the Tufts/NEC, Harvard/NEC, Juilliard/Columbia options exist. Eastman/UR, JHU/Peabody, Oberlin Con & College, Northwestern, Bard all over varying degrees of “do-ability” and cross registration and degree options. </p>
<p>Lawrence, Gettysburg, IU Jacobs, UMich, all have similar options. The list is endless. </p>
<p>Part of this is knowing your kid, and matching a school to need and goals. If a student is of an Oberlin, Bard, Northwestern caliber academically, Lynn may not be the place for that. Some will complain a conservatory is too music focused, and doesn’t provide enough academic stimulation, others argue that a high level pursuit of both music and an academic discipline is counterproductive and a diversion.</p>
<p>The trick is finding “like minds”. Many need a mix of both music and other interests, and these can be either self directed, or enhanced or achieved through a collegiate, academic setting within or outside of a musical peer group.</p>
<p>[Peabody</a> Institute - Conservatory Admissions: The Double Degree Dilemma](<a href=“http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/doubledegree]Peabody”>http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/doubledegree) is a good read to try and help you and your student define themselves in terms of where they might fit.</p>