My son is a junior. He is a percussionist, has been first chair in the H.S. Band since he was a freshman, he participates youth orchestra, made All State and I believe would love to have a career in an orchestra, however he realizes that this is an incredibly difficult feat for any instrument, but especially so for percussion due the the small number of positions in each, so he has decided against pursuing that path. Additionally, he acknowledges that he does not have the self discipline to practice the way that he should and has been amazed at how little has gotten him as far as it has; he knows that it will not continue that way forever. Obviously this is NOT the set of characteristics that makes for a performance major and he knows it. So... he has decided that he would like to pursue a career in optometry, but would like to stay immersed in percussion at college.
Does anyone have any suggestions or advice with regard to how we should proceed? He has thought that maybe he could major in music and take the pre requisites for optometry during the summers or as his electives; I am just wondering if there are things we are not taking into consideration?? I understand that being at a school with a conservatory would not necessarily be helpful due to the competition and lack of access to the best percussion professors for lessons? If he chose a performance degree and got accepted into a conservatory, would he be able to take these pre-reqs or would the program be too demanding? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
We have a preliminary list but would really like to begin making some visits:
Bard
Boston University
NYU
Columbia
Gettysburg
Queens College
Johns Hopkins
Temple
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Liberal Arts Schools with strong classical percussion
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Berklee acceptance average rate for this year?
Berklee acceptance average rate for this year? :-/
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Talent has Hunger
Saw this film last night. http://www.boston.com/event/film-talent-has-hunger-5642482 and https://www.****/talenthashunger about Paul Katz, who teaches cello at New England Conservatory.
While various aspects of his pedagogy were fascinating, the most interesting aspect of the film for me was the varied outcomes for his students, who are all fairly recent grads and are finding their way in the contemporary music world.
Katz and two students (one a member of the Parker Quartet, one a teacher herself) were present for questions. They mentioned that they had wanted to discuss social responsibility in the film and also wanted some "new music" included, but overall the film really covered the ground they had envisioned.
I commented to Katz on the way in which he gives his students time to mature and come to true commitment on their own terms. I thought this was a great model for parents of talented students of music.
This film is traveling around so watch for it. Eventually I am sure it will be available as a DVD.
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Shopping and restaurant recommendations near CIM
We're traveling to Cleveland for a few days at the end of this week to visit our S at CIM. We will have some time when he is in class and we need to keep ourselves occupied so I thought it might be a good time to do some Christmas shopping. Does anyone have any suggestions for shopping areas that are not too far from CIM? I'm looking for unique, local boutiquey kinds of shops rather than malls or national retailers. Also, restaurant suggestions would be appreciated as well. Thanks!
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Change piano teacher in a conservatory
I'm a MM student majoring in piano in a prestigious conservatory. I applied several schools for DMA including my current school. My current teacher is a great performer but he doesn't seem to care about his students too much. He often cuts lesson time and his studio only has several students left. I really want to switch to the other professor's studio. That professor's studio is very hard to get in and he is friendly with my current teacher. Our school's DMA program is very competitive and I'm thinking about meeting the professor I want to study with before auditioning (however, if he thinks i'm not good enough he will still reject taking me in his studio)
I'm friendly with my current teacher and since he has so few students, I'm afraid it will hurt him if I tell him I want to study with the other professor. Anybody has experience with dealing this kind of situation? should I talk to the professor I want to study with before talking to my current teacher?
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first audition is done!
DS had his first audition yesterday at one of our in-state public universities, where he is applying as a Music Ed major. I'd rather not say which school for privacy reasons. He thinks it went pretty well despite a stressful week leading up to it due to 12/1 application deadlines. The December audition date is the least popular date since it's before the RD deadline, so it wasn't too chaotic, and everyone was very relaxed and friendly and they did a good job selling the school. They said at the info session that their Music Ed grads typically have multiple job offers to consider when they graduate (it's located in a major metro area with a number of good public school districts) - that is always good to hear! DS was happy to see a friend from one of his previous camps who was auditioning on a different instrument.
This was the perfect first audition to have - an easy drive from home and one of the two profs at his audition was his private teacher. He might have a decision from that school before the holidays since he applied by the EA deadline. DS says he definitely would be happy there if his more selective choices don't work out, or if he decides he wants to be closer to home, or if getting a job in that specific metro area is a high priority. It's affordable, too, even at sticker price.
One down, at least 4 or 5 more to go! Two more apps with later deadlines left to finish - DS is still waffling on whether or not to apply to one of them. The other should be an easy app with no new essays to write.
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Unsure about Music Education
Hi everyone, I've browsed this forum for a long time, this is my first time making a post.
Basically, I am having trouble deciding whether or not a major in music education is good for me. I know that I would like to be a high school teacher of some sort, but I just don't know whether being a music teacher is appropriate.
To provide some information about myself, I am currently ending my junior year. I joined choir as a freshman, and I began taking voice lessons after the first year. Over the past few years I have gotten more and more involved in choir and have taken it more and more seriously. At this point, I enjoy singing and learning about music much more than I enjoy any of my other classes. I am signed up for AP Music Theory next year, and I'm looking forward to it very much. I have no doubt that music has become my number one passion in school.
There are a number of things holding me back from definitely pursuing music education. Firstly, I feel like I am very behind where other future music majors are by the end of their junior year. It seems like everyone who majors in music has been doing it forever, whereas I am just someone who was introduced to music at the start of high school and who has developed a passion for it. I'm concerned about auditions for college, although I did read that auditions for music education are not as intense as they are for performance? But can I have any idea of exactly how intense they generally are? If I were to begin practicing with my voice teacher for auditions this summer, would I even realistically stand a chance at being accepted into a program?
Secondly, I have always very much excelled in academics. This shouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that I believe my parents would be opposed to me following a path in music. I have always placed a lot of importance on academics, and so have my parents, although at this point I care much more about music than I do about academic subjects. Although I personally know that a person can be a good musician and a good academic student, I feel as if the reaction from my parents would be along the lines of "Really? A kid who does so well in academic subjects wants to major in music?"
If majoring in music education were realistic for me, I would do it in a heartbeat. I have no doubt that this is what I want to do, but I just don't know if it's actually appropriate for me. I am unsure of how to even go about talking to my parents, voice teacher, music teachers, or counselor about the subject. For a student who's whole life has revolved around academics but wants to study music, is this just a waste of time?
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Music Conservatories that are the most Generous with Financial Aid?
Hi,
So I've been taking music lessons that have really made me consider pursuing a music career and I don't want to have any regrets about not even trying. I'll be discussing this further with my teacher after the break. I know it's a long shot, but with my financial situation what I decided to do was to audition only to those schools that can offer me the aid that I need. If I don't get in then it wasn't meant to be. So to be blunt, I'm in the less than 10k income range so we're talking schools that can offer serious support. I know about Colburn, and Curtis, but are there any others I should have on my radar?
My teacher is an alum of Manhatten and Julliard so I we will talk about what sort of financial provisions can be made there, as well as at other schools.
Thanks!
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Contemporary Vocal Performance AND Music Business Programs
Looking for some help targeting College Music programs for my soon to be High School Junior daughter. She's got dreams of being a "rock / pop star" and I support her but also want her to have a realistic outlook and practical approach to the music business. I'm her biggest cheerleader and she's got some talent but I know many times success in music is "who you know", "what's hot at the moment", and "do you have the right look", more than talent. So I'd like a program that will give her the business side of the business to promote her music or help her get an industry job if she doesn't get her "big break".
We've got some time but wanted to research programs that are equally weighted in vocal performance AND music business. We live in Connecticut and are open to programs anywhere but her preferences are big cities on the east or west coast - open to UK or Canada too.
So far she's an honor roll student (3.5 GPA) and will be taking a couple AP courses this fall. She's been accepted and will be attending a Performing Arts Magnet program next year, has taken some guitar and begun vocal coaching. She's attended summer workshops at Berklee, SUNY Purchase and Hartford Stage over the past 2 summers. We're looking to start visiting schools this year.
I'm being an optimist about finding the best school for her regardless of cost but am worried about that. Doubtful we'll qualify for need-based aid and as her Dad - fighting for visitation and custody to get her on this path to support her dream has eaten eaten away my savings.
Dream schools are:
- Berklee
- NYU
- USC - Thorton
- Miami
- Drexel
- Yale - on Dad's list just because...
Looking into:
- College of Saint Rose
- Full Sail - really like the success their graduates have had but not sure about vocal performance aspect or the real world reputation (read stories about accreditation issues)
- Memphis
- Cal State Northridge
- University of Hartford
- Georgia State
- Belmont
- Kennesaw State
Thanks for any thoughts!
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Applying to top schools- music supplement with piano accompaniment?
Hi,
I'll be applying to some selective schools including Harvard and on their website, it says, "please do not submit videos of recitals or ensemble performances."
Does that mean that they (and other colleges) would prefer to hear only my instrument solo without any piano accompaniment? Will they penalize you if you do submit just a solo without the piano? I'm conflicted because I thought playing with piano shows professionalism and preparation.
If it helps, I've been playing the flute for 8 years now and will be playing pieces from Ibert and Mozart.
(I understand that there are numerous threads warning applicants to reconsider submitting a supplement but I truly want to and think it may help my application overall)
Thanks!
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Berklee Vocal Performance Questions
Should I apply as a freshman or a transfer? I currently am a freshman at a state college majoring not in anything music related? I was wondering if either of these could better my chances! I know it is about talent, but just curious. Also should I submit my college transcript or no ?
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Composition Interviews
Hi, so I passed the Composition pre-screening for Boston Conservatory so far! And I'm really interested in studying there, so I hope I could get some insight into what the Composition Interviews are like. They've mentioned that in addition to the interview, there will be a test on theory and general music knowledge. Anyone know more about the test? Also, does anyone know how many students pass the prescreening, and then pass the interview to get accepted? How many composition students do they accept per year?
I'm an international student - is there anyone on this site who's done a Skype interview for composition? What is it like? And how are theory tests conducted in such cases? Any other international applicants for composition on this site?
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Rock Voice! School suggestions?
I know about Berklee, Belmont?? I am struggling finding others.
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When do prescreening results usually come out for music schools such as Northwestern's music school?
Bienen's deadline was on December 1st and I was just wondering when I will know if I passed the prescreening round or not.
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Instrumental Portion of Composition Interview
Hi. I posted this this morning on an older post, but not sure it would be seen, so posting as a separate string. If a student has a composition interview, how does the instrument part of the interview work? Is it just for competence or are the schools looking for high-level performance? Will the student be required to essentially repeat the music they submitted for the pre-screen? Is there sight-reading? Is it discussion about why composition and not the instrument (the student is quite strong on the instrument)? Any thoughts on how the instrumental part of the interview works and what is expected would be appreciated.
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Rice and Michigan Vocal Performance Opportunities for Undergraduates?
My daughter- who is now a senior in high school was just notified that she has been accepted for a live audition in VP at the Shepherd School of Music. Can anyone can tell us from experience how many performing opportunities there are at Rice for undergraduates? Also what about University of Michigan? This information is not easy to find, we have spent hours looking with no success and would like information from people who went there or are familiar with these schools. Are any undergraduates cast in Operas? We are assuming undergraduates perform in mostly Opera scenes and ensembles. Thank you!
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Summer Vocal Performance Programs for High School Students?
Hi! I am a freshman in high school who is looking for summer vocal performance programs. Does anyone have any suggestions?
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Musicians and Parents - Introduce yourself!
I don't know if this will work, but sometimes when I'm reading a post, I'm wishing I could remember more about the poster - parent or student? Performance? Music Ed? What instrument? I thought it might be nice if we could have a quick point of reference. Hopefully, you will all jump in and help keep this thread toward the front. I'll go first:
Parent (Mom), S is horn performance major at Juilliard, D is HS senior, violinist, looking to either minor or continue as avocation - not sure where.
Next?
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Hofstra vs. Queens vs. Chapman
Hi, music people! I'm a current freshman at Hofstra University, majoring in music education. My primary instruments are piano and voice.
I'm thinking about transferring to CUNY Queens (Aaron Copland) or Chapman (Hall-Musco), because I feel that Hofstra's music program and reputation are lacking compared to my grades. I'm not feeling pushed enough.
My question is, should I stay at Hofstra? Since they don't have a very strong music program, I'm a good candidate for leadership roles there, but is that worth more than the fact that their department isn't as good as I want it to be? Should I choose prestige over resume-building opportunities?
My second question is, if I leave Hofstra, which school should I choose? I fell in love with Queens, but I'm worried that Aaron Copland isn't as prestigious because it's a CUNY, and it's not a private university. At the same time, I know nothing about Chapman and whether or not the program will fit me.
I'll be visiting Chapman and exploring Queens a little more, but I would like to know: If you were in my shoes, would you stay or leave? And if you left, would you choose Queens or Chapman?
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Didn't pass prescreens: was I being unrealistic?
I'm a flutist and piccoloist from Long Island. I've made NY all state piccolo twice, I'm headed to all eastern in the spring, and I 've been principal of both my youth orchestras for several years. I've known for a while I'm in the awkward limbo where I'd be at least the best of the freshmen at most state schools, but getting accepted into a conservatory is quite a reach. Still, I applied to Vanderbilt Blair (the only conservatory I applied to) and hoped to at least get a live audition. Yesterday I was informed I did not pass the prescreen round at Blair. I'm not shocked but I'm taking it pretty hard. Was it unrealistic to apply there? Is it still worth focusing on performance if I can't get into a conservatory (I've been debating between performance and education for some time). I understand flute is competitive, but this was a huge blow to my confidence. What do I do next? My audition at SUNY Potsdam went really well, but I still have several left at Hartt, Purchase (prescreen withstanding), CUNY Queens, and Hofstra (which I will probably cancel). How does SUNY Purchase's conservatory rank?
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