<p>I'm a clarinet and alto sax player and drum major of my high school marching band, thinking about college. What are some of the best schools for Music Education, Performance, and Composition on the west coast?</p>
<p>USC Thornton School of Music is probably the best in the west coast. Not sure about composition, sorry!</p>
<p>USC and UCLA will probably be your best bets for performance and composition. For Ed you might look at some of the other UC's and even some of the CSU's. U of W also has a pretty good program. I don't know much about the schools in Oregon.
A word about San Francisco Conservatory - they've been a pretty hit and miss school for a while now, but one of their better departments is actually Clarinet. Luis Baez is an excellent player, and everyone I know who's studied with him really liked him. However, SFCM is moving into a new facility this year so there's really no telling what impact that will have on the quality of the school. It's best to wait a few years and see how the school grows into it's new facility before you apply there.</p>
<p>UCLA and UC Santa Barbara both offer BM degrees as well as graduate degrees in music performance. They also offer composition degrees. UC Berkeley offers a BA degree in music, with concentration in either performance, history, or ethnomusicology. They do not have performance faculty, though they do subsize lessons. The orchestra is excellent and performs frequently; San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra is open to applicants up to 21 years old and is one of the best youth orchestras around (it is also free and will tour, probably in Europe, in summer 2008). Many wind and woodwind players from San Francisco Conservatory are in the Youth Orchestra too. The new building for the San Francisco Conservatory will be located in civic center, right near Davies Hall (home of the San Francisco Symphony). It is on the BART line, unlike the old location -- very easy access. It should be a great facility.</p>
<p>I loathe Los Angeles. So.</p>
<p>You mentioned UW has a good program, I've been trying to find out about their music department for ages, but no one on these boards ever knows anything about it. Have you heard anything?</p>
<p>San Francisco Conservatory?</p>
<p>Heard someone mention them as being good, sorry we dont do west coast but thought I would throw the name out and others could comment</p>
<p>They have a great reputation and are about to move into a beautiful new building next to the SF symphony hall, if they haven't already.</p>
<p>SFC apparently doesn't have any saxophone instruction. =/</p>
<p>I have no direct knowledge about the program but I have heard that the music program is strong at Univ of the Pacific. I have looked at the website -- not sure about saxophone but I would suggest giving them a look to see if they are an option to pursue more thoroughly.</p>
<p>SFC is looking to expand and improve their program. Like all programs, it depends on the teacher...they have some incredibly talented musicians and some who aren't great. I don't know about sax, specifically, but UOP, Cal State Hayward, Arizona State, Fresno State all have good music programs and should be investigated. One of the All States is held at San Luis Obispo to try to recruit...there's also U of Santa Clara and San Jose State. Stanford has great composition...they have Jon Berger who is the head of the music department. And of course, there's the incomparable Leland Stanford Junior Marching Band....If you want it all, you may have to bite the bullet and go to LA.</p>
<p>BandTenHut - my sister is going to UW, she's majoring in Creative Writing but she is very active in theatre, which is one of the reasons she chose it. I believe UW has a very good theatre/music program, I would definitely be considering it if I wasn't looking for something on the east coast.</p>
<p>Try Santa Clara in California. It is north of LA and therefore attracts a different type of student.</p>