I am a sophomore in high school and have been playing classical violin since I was 3 years old. It is a huge part of my life. I want to continue taking lessons and playing in ensembles in college, but do not want to major in music.
What academic universities have good musical opportunities for non music majors at a high level?
Would I be able to play with the conservatory or music school students even if I am not a music major?
I will be an international student from Japan and I am having a hard time searching about US colleges on my own. Please help!
Thanks
It would be helpful to know what and where (locale) you want to study.
I still have not narrowed down what I want to study, but I am interested in architecture, international relations, communications, etc.
I am open to any region in the US, but I want to be in a town close to a big city.
If I were to have a preference…I want to be on the west coast, which would be closer to Japan. Are there any schools on the west coast that would fit my needs?
You could try Stanford or UC Berkeley, if you have the grades/scores, and for Berkeley, the money. Neither have performance tracks as a major, so the ensembles are open to everyone. In addition, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra accepts players through the age of 21 and is of the highest caliber.
I will definitely look into that:)
Do you know if there are opportunities to play chamber music at Stanford, Berkeley, or schools alike?
Yes, there are definitely opportunities for chamber music at those schools. There will be other students like you - they studied music seriously for years but wished to major in another subject.
USC and UCLA in LA would be more difficult for a non-major to perform in the top level ensembles, as they have Schools of Music with students majoring in Performance.
@spiritManager beat me to it! Yes to Stanford and Berkeley. Also look into the Claremont Consortium http://www.claremont.edu/ Pomona (part of the consortium) offers music lessons and performance opportunities to non majors.
http://www.pomona.edu/academics/departments/music/#prospectives
@Musicamusica - thanks for reminding me of the Claremont Colleges. You’d think I’d remember since my older S went to Claremont McKenna and took lessons there (through Pomona & rented an instrument - as he was learning something new,) and his best friend at Pitzer double majored with Music, and his roommate formed a band. There’s lots of music in the 5C’s, and some great adjunct faculty. Equal access from all five of the colleges, and the ensembles open to all the students.
I really wanted my D to go to Claremont McKenna as an undergrad. However, I pushed hard enough to make it completely unappealing to her. [-(
A lot of the top academic schools, that don’t offer performance degrees, have decent performing programs for students, the ivies are known for that, especially (but not limited to) Harvard, Yale and Princeton. While it isn’t dogma, it also seems to be true that the schools that have music performance programs don’t necessarily offer great opportunities for non majors, they generally isolate the majors from the non majors, and the level of playing for the non majors seems to be a lot less. Obviously, every school is different, but it may be better to look at a program without a performance degree program.
What I would do in your case (or what I would tell my son, if he was doing something similar), would be to find the schools you want to go to academically, and then e-mail the schools you potentially want to go to and ask about music for non majors, what opportunities they have and so forth, and narrow down the list at that point, rather than directly trying to find programs with top music opportunities for non majors. For one thing, a school may have a dynamite program for non majors, but in the area you want to study, either doesn’t have it at all, or has a department that is so so, and if you are interested in studying something, wouldn’t you want a better quality program? Or wouldn’t you want to be at a school that has better quality programs in general academically (given that a lot of kids don’t study what they think they will before going to school).
I agree with the above. Choose schools with the location, size, “vibe” and academics that you might like and then check out the music extracurriculars. In most cases it will help to avoid colleges/universities with music schools or conservatories, since BM performance candidates will get more opportunities. Be aware also that you can study anywhere where you have access to a really good teacher so you can continue lessons. You are not alone at all in what you are looking for. Good luck!
p.s. coming back to add that I looked up a few schools…Occidental and Whittier have music departments, which would be good for you; University of the Pacific and University of Puget Sound have music school/conservatory, which might mean more limited opportunities. But if you like schools that do have music schools, don’t write them off, but instead write them to inquire if a non- music major BA student can play in the best ensembles.
You can also consider a double degree, double major, or major/minor.
How would the musical opportunities be different if I were to say double major or get a double degree?
There’s some good threads here that talk about how challenging it is to double major with music - 'll look for them. And as the mother of an architecture major, I think that would be an impossible combination. Architecture at most American universities is just brutal. Lots of all-nighters.
Here is an essay you might find useful:
http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html
I know a few students who have double majored (BA program) with music and, say, French or literature. Combining music with STEM would be tough but people do do it.
Double degree programs are 5 years and can be BA/BM or BA/MM. The BA in the latter is of course not in music, and in the BA/MM program it can also be in something other than music.