<p>My d is a jr. in hs. We are just starting our college search. She would like to major in vocal performance and math. We are starting our search with a limited range (mileage) from Cinti. Any suggestions where to start?? She likes the feel of a self contained school community vs. big city feel.</p>
<p>Take a look at Baldwin-Wallace in Berea, Ohio. It’s in a lovely small town and the conservatory facilities are brand-new, having just opened this fall.</p>
<p>Currently thinking Miami Univ (Oxford), Ohio Univ, Ohio Northern, Indiana U, Butler and DePauw. I will look at B-W. Any feedback about their Vocal Perf programs?</p>
<p>DePauw has improved their VP program a lot and is attracting attention as a result. Indiana is a school that I would avoid for an undergrad voice major, especially a soprano; the place has lovely performance facilities but undergrads don’t get anywhere near it, and most grad student VP sopranos don’t either! Their concentration is on the higher level student.
I assume that you are referring to Ohio State rather than Ohio University, because the latter does not have a music department. There are a couple of good teachers at Ohio State, but consider all things there carefully- there is a reason why the school has earned it’s ranking as the #1 Party School in the US (Check out the headlines from the school for this past weekend!)and it is another huge school. Miami of Ohio is a good school, smaller music department, but they are know for putting on good productions of “Safe” material (meaning appropriate for the age and abilities of the singers)- it’s worth a look. I’m not familiar with the other schools.
In addition to looking at B-W have you looked at Bowling Green? Their school of music is nice and voice faculty is good. Both of those schools are known to be generous with merit aid too.</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up on IU. My D is a soprano. I have read on other posts that schools with good grad programs take away opportunities for undergrads. We are not looking at Ohio State. I was talking about Ohio U. Their website lists a BM in Vocal Performance. I wonder if it is something new. Thanks for all your input. I appreciate it!</p>
<p>OK, let’s backtrack a moment and talk about performance opportunities. There is nothing wrong with allowing only graduate students and post grads to have the roles in operas since undergrads should be focused on learning proper technique and Bel Canto singing. There is plenty of time later on for roles and since the voice takes longer to mature it all works out, timing-wise! At IU, their productions are amazing- you can view many of them on line- but they are filled with much older performers, which, using circular logic, is part of what makes their productions so amazing.
You are correct in that OU does have a VP major, but some of the other schools you are looking at have much stronger programs. That might make your D’s idea of double majoring easier though. In all honesty, a top VP program is going to demand a lot of time and if a double major is desired it will take 5 years to accomplish.</p>
<p>“I assume that you are referring to Ohio State rather than Ohio University, because the latter does not have a music department. There are a couple of good teachers at Ohio State, but consider all things there carefully- there is a reason why the school has earned it’s ranking as the #1 Party School in the US”</p>
<p>Just a fine point - it’s Ohio University in Athens that got the #1 party chool designation, not Ohio State U in Columbus.</p>
<p>Have you considered CCM - the Conservatory at U Cincy? Not easy to get into but probably one of the best in the state.</p>
<p>My D and I both really liked Otterbein. They are better known for musical theater but there is crossover and we did no find a more collegial, nurturing environment. The VP program is very small.</p>
<p>Thanks. I will look at Otterbein. Do you know anything about Miami Oh, DePauw or Butler’s VP programs? D would like to stay closer to home.</p>
<p>@ohiobassmomOops, yes, even my D corrected my about Ohio University’s ranking! And the Halloween mayhem and arrests occurred there, not at Ohio State. Sorry! D encountered one really great singer from there, a guy, at NATS, but said the others were totally unremarkable, and the placements support that.
Otterbein has a good rep, at least for MT, so one would hope that the VP dept would be more than adequate. I know that they tend to put on Gilbert and Sullivan, which always gets my vote since it is very safe for younger voices and can utilize a lot of students within the casts. Check it out.
I know a young woman who attended undergrad at DePauw, and she is quite simply the finest singer of her age that I have ever encountered. Most of that is due to her inherant talent, of course, but it also means that the school did no harm to her during her time there. She has a very big voice and was not given roles there, which also turned out to be very wise. They’ve been doing a lot of advertising lately, so maybe they’re expanding?</p>