Wesleyan Music...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
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<p>Posted this below on Bowdoin thread, visiting Wesfest this Friday, why Wesleyan vs. Bowdoin, Oberlin, JHU???</p>

<p>"Parent of son who's passion is MUSIC -- popular/jazz/electronic composition, recording, performing. Plays sax, guitar, piano, etc., plus vocal. At Lawrenceville School, jazz ensemble lead sax and guitar, lead baritone in vocal group Laurentians. He is and would be a regular at the local Coffeehouse, etc. Plays in bands/ensembles and has numerous original compositions/recordings ranging from acoustic pop to hard rock electric, jazz and electronic (think Trent Reznor!!) on net.) This past year, he discovered musical theater, too!! Academically, VERY strong...you get the idea. I rally think liberal arts makes sense with a music concentration vs. a conservatory (he visited Juilliard and pursued a more academic route...)</p>

<p>Waitlist Columbia (#1 choice) and accepted Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Oberlin, JHU, NYU Honors, and Rochester...</p>

<p>He visited Bowdoin and really liked it, recognizes strength of academics, loves the house system (similar to Lawrenceville) but it appears his concern is the perceived weak Bowdoin music program...</p>

<p>Can anyone weigh in on Bowdoin music vs. say Wesleyan, Oberlin, JHU?</p>

<p>More importantly to a parent, can anyone provide insight as to how important the music program is to the "quality" of the overall liberal arts academics??</p>

<p>THANKS!!!"</p>

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<p>I can give you some parental input. My older child (who is very musically involved) also nixed Bowdoin because of the almost non-existent music scene there. She actually didn’t get into Wes but is at a different LAC doing lots of music stuff. My younger kid is at Wes, partially for the music, and is both in the Orchestra and also an independent student jazz/creative music group that self assembled from a bunch of friends. Honestly, she finds the Orchestra good, but maybe not fantastic. We have friends’ kids at Oberlin (and went myself years ago) and can say that there is also a very active music scene at Oberlin, both in and out of the Conservatory. Your child has to visit, preferably overnight and check out Wesleyan and Oberlin. (My daughter at Wes preferred the vibe and kids there over Oberlin, and is loving her first year at Wesleyan).</p>