Hello BBI, I need some advice on college music schools or colleges that have a good music program.
My daughter has been playing clarinet since she was 4, she is now 16 and can play a really mean clarinet Polka akin to Leslie West playing guitar on Sharp Dressed Man. She also plays Jazz ensemble and classical pieces.
In the end, I think she will end up wanting to be a music teacher in some form. The best outcome is being part of an Orchestra somewhere. Just asking which schools out there would be good choices.
Cincinnati and USF have terrific music programs.
My friends’ son just graduated from Eastman, and got a free ride with Cincinnati for his masters. I would recommend looking into Eastman. It is associated with U of Rochester, so she can always take her courses there if she decides the music program isn’t right.
Probably the best in the country
Go look at the US News top music schools list.
May also want to consider SUNY Purchase Conservatory program.
So assuming she doesn't have some deep down dream of being in a professional orchestra, which if she does have that dream certain schools would put her in a better position. If that is a dream if her's best of luck. But make sure she's aware that many more people don't make it than do and those that don't can end up with a lot of debt pursuing that dream.
But if her plan is to teach music, I would suggest she research the school districts in the country that have the best music programs and see if she likes a college that feeds graduates into the areas around those school districts.
Have her apply for performance if that's what she wants to do. She'll quickly see where she is in terms of performance with her peers. She can always switch to education, if her grades are good. At UConn, the music Ed kids are in the same classes and ensembles as the performance kids. They just have a bunch of Ed classes in addition to the music and gen ed stuff.
In the end, my daughter decided against performance and decided on education. we went with in-state 5 year program for my daughter at UConn where she'll graduate with a masters and teaching cert. About a year from now she'll be getting both and be ready to work in 48 states. It's a really solid career and it's a great time to get into teaching with the boomers leaving and Gen X teachers not far behind. But the cost of the education matters. If you don't mind paying private school tuition at Rochester or Berklee, great. But for us, it made sense to take the in state option and save 80K. It's not easy making money in performance so I think the cost might be even more important there. But that was our approach. Good luck!
Have her apply for performance if that's what she wants to do. She'll quickly see where she is in terms of performance with her peers. She can always switch to education, if her grades are good. At UConn, the music Ed kids are in the same classes and ensembles as the performance kids. They just have a bunch of Ed classes in addition to the music and gen ed stuff.
In the end, my daughter decided against performance and decided on education. we went with in-state 5 year program for my daughter at UConn where she'll graduate with a masters and teaching cert. About a year from now she'll be getting both and be ready to work in 48 states. It's a really solid career and it's a great time to get into teaching with the boomers leaving and Gen X teachers not far behind. But the cost of the education matters. If you don't mind paying private school tuition at Rochester or Berklee, great. But for us, it made sense to take the in state option and save 80K. It's not easy making money in performance so I think the cost might be even more important there. But that was our approach. Good luck!
This is a smart path. Obviously you want your kid to go for the gold and chase their music dreams but smart to have a solid fallback.
Have her apply for performance if that's what she wants to do. She'll quickly see where she is in terms of performance with her peers. She can always switch to education, if her grades are good. At UConn, the music Ed kids are in the same classes and ensembles as the performance kids. They just have a bunch of Ed classes in addition to the music and gen ed stuff.
In the end, my daughter decided against performance and decided on education. we went with in-state 5 year program for my daughter at UConn where she'll graduate with a masters and teaching cert. About a year from now she'll be getting both and be ready to work in 48 states. It's a really solid career and it's a great time to get into teaching with the boomers leaving and Gen X teachers not far behind. But the cost of the education matters. If you don't mind paying private school tuition at Rochester or Berklee, great. But for us, it made sense to take the in state option and save 80K. It's not easy making money in performance so I think the cost might be even more important there. But that was our approach. Good luck!
Thanks for this advice Heis and everyone. I will be looking into these schools with her. I didn't realize the track difference between Performance and education. My question is if she goes the performance track..are their colleges that include the "Education" inclusive of performance. The reason why I ask because this would be a good fall back to being a teacher in case orchestra doesn't pay the bills.
First, separate out the conservatories from the group, this includes schools like Juilliard, Curtis, New England Conservatory, etc. These are typically orchestra prep schools where the goal is not necessarily to graduate but to win an audition. If you consider that there are more United States Senators than there are flute jobs in major orchestras in the US, this might not be her path, but it's not my place to say..
Schools like Eastman are more diverse in their degree offerings, but fit into the same tier of institutions. Berkelee is terrific but tends to be a school geared towards commercial music more than music education.
The next tier are the large music programs with top ranked music education programs. The cream of the crop are schools like Michigan, Indiana, Texas, and Florida State (the latter is my doctoral alma mater) but nearly all large land grant schools with large marching band programs and large music departments boast really excellent music education programs. Northeast schools like UConn and Rutgers fall into this category. The next tier are smaller, regional universities and liberal arts colleges, too many to count. (Side note: many of the SUNY's punch well above their weight, particularly Stony Brook.) I went to a smallish California State school for my undergraduate degree back when it was well-known for music education. Most of my peers are excellent teachers without the big time pedigree.
Here's the absolute truth: As long as the school she attends has a well-regarded faculty, is accredited, and has a comprehensive program that offers her opportunities to perform in a variety of ensembles and settings, including marching band (vital for a potential secondary music teacher in 2024) then she is at the right place. What she wants is a B.M. or B.A. in Music Ed from a school that has good mentors (active in their field) and exposes her to a variety of experiences (instrumental, vocal, orchestral) that will allow her flexibilty to find that vital first job when the time comes.
She won't get rich, but I wouldn't trade my happy, comfortable, and fulfilled life for all of the money in the world.
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Rochester and Berklee have been mentioned, BU has a great music program - Those are the schools my daughter was interested in. If you're looking at performance with an eye on that as a career then a great school like that would make sense. A lot of the big state schools and larger universities also have great music programs.
Have her apply for performance if that's what she wants to do. She'll quickly see where she is in terms of performance with her peers. She can always switch to education, if her grades are good. At UConn, the music Ed kids are in the same classes and ensembles as the performance kids. They just have a bunch of Ed classes in addition to the music and gen ed stuff.
In the end, my daughter decided against performance and decided on education. we went with in-state 5 year program for my daughter at UConn where she'll graduate with a masters and teaching cert. About a year from now she'll be getting both and be ready to work in 48 states. It's a really solid career and it's a great time to get into teaching with the boomers leaving and Gen X teachers not far behind. But the cost of the education matters. If you don't mind paying private school tuition at Rochester or Berklee, great. But for us, it made sense to take the in state option and save 80K. It's not easy making money in performance so I think the cost might be even more important there. But that was our approach. Good luck!
Thanks for this advice Heis and everyone. I will be looking into these schools with her. I didn't realize the track difference between Performance and education. My question is if she goes the performance track..are their colleges that include the "Education" inclusive of performance. The reason why I ask because this would be a good fall back to being a teacher in case orchestra doesn't pay the bills.
Another option is a performance/music business option (albeit 5 years). I have a nephew who did that at Syracuse. My son was also talented and undecided - after being the youngest participant in the Eastman Arrangers Holiday and getting a partial scholarship from Downbeat to Berklee he decided on Engineering at Cornell. (He is now vice chair of the Rochester Philharmonic).
My point is it is very worthwhile to keep her options open.
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Rochester and Berklee have been mentioned, BU has a great music program - Those are the schools my daughter was interested in. If you're looking at performance with an eye on that as a career then a great school like that would make sense. A lot of the big state schools and larger universities also have great music programs.
Have her apply for performance if that's what she wants to do. She'll quickly see where she is in terms of performance with her peers. She can always switch to education, if her grades are good. At UConn, the music Ed kids are in the same classes and ensembles as the performance kids. They just have a bunch of Ed classes in addition to the music and gen ed stuff.
In the end, my daughter decided against performance and decided on education. we went with in-state 5 year program for my daughter at UConn where she'll graduate with a masters and teaching cert. About a year from now she'll be getting both and be ready to work in 48 states. It's a really solid career and it's a great time to get into teaching with the boomers leaving and Gen X teachers not far behind. But the cost of the education matters. If you don't mind paying private school tuition at Rochester or Berklee, great. But for us, it made sense to take the in state option and save 80K. It's not easy making money in performance so I think the cost might be even more important there. But that was our approach. Good luck!
Thanks for this advice Heis and everyone. I will be looking into these schools with her. I didn't realize the track difference between Performance and education. My question is if she goes the performance track..are their colleges that include the "Education" inclusive of performance. The reason why I ask because this would be a good fall back to being a teacher in case orchestra doesn't pay the bills.
I missed this question in my first response. If she wants a dual degree, then Schools like Eastman, Indiana, Michigan, Florida State offer excellent performance degree with excellent music education degrees. The most typical "fall back" option however is to get an undergraduate degree in Music Education while performing at the highest level possible and then a M.M. in performance at a conservatory or big school.
May also want to consider SUNY Purchase Conservatory program.
I have no personal experience, but I believe SUNY Potsdam also has a pretty good music program.
Quote:
Rochester and Berklee have been mentioned, BU has a great music program - Those are the schools my daughter was interested in. If you're looking at performance with an eye on that as a career then a great school like that would make sense. A lot of the big state schools and larger universities also have great music programs.
Have her apply for performance if that's what she wants to do. She'll quickly see where she is in terms of performance with her peers. She can always switch to education, if her grades are good. At UConn, the music Ed kids are in the same classes and ensembles as the performance kids. They just have a bunch of Ed classes in addition to the music and gen ed stuff.
In the end, my daughter decided against performance and decided on education. we went with in-state 5 year program for my daughter at UConn where she'll graduate with a masters and teaching cert. About a year from now she'll be getting both and be ready to work in 48 states. It's a really solid career and it's a great time to get into teaching with the boomers leaving and Gen X teachers not far behind. But the cost of the education matters. If you don't mind paying private school tuition at Rochester or Berklee, great. But for us, it made sense to take the in state option and save 80K. It's not easy making money in performance so I think the cost might be even more important there. But that was our approach. Good luck!
Thanks for this advice Heis and everyone. I will be looking into these schools with her. I didn't realize the track difference between Performance and education. My question is if she goes the performance track..are their colleges that include the "Education" inclusive of performance. The reason why I ask because this would be a good fall back to being a teacher in case orchestra doesn't pay the bills.
My daughter does have friends who are doing both performance AND education. And she has friends who started in each and switched to the other.
Indiana University IN and West Chester University in PA are two schools that could assist with the dual options you were seeking too.
First, separate out the conservatories from the group, this includes schools like Juilliard, Curtis, New England Conservatory, etc. These are typically orchestra prep schools where the goal is not necessarily to graduate but to win an audition. If you consider that there are more United States Senators than there are flute jobs in major orchestras in the US, this might not be her path, but it's not my place to say..
Schools like Eastman are more diverse in their degree offerings, but fit into the same tier of institutions. Berkelee is terrific but tends to be a school geared towards commercial music more than music education.
The next tier are the large music programs with top ranked music education programs. The cream of the crop are schools like Michigan, Indiana, Texas, and Florida State (the latter is my doctoral alma mater) but nearly all large land grant schools with large marching band programs and large music departments boast really excellent music education programs. Northeast schools like UConn and Rutgers fall into this category. The next tier are smaller, regional universities and liberal arts colleges, too many to count. (Side note: many of the SUNY's punch well above their weight, particularly Stony Brook.) I went to a smallish California State school for my undergraduate degree back when it was well-known for music education. Most of my peers are excellent teachers without the big time pedigree.
Here's the absolute truth: As long as the school she attends has a well-regarded faculty, is accredited, and has a comprehensive program that offers her opportunities to perform in a variety of ensembles and settings, including marching band (vital for a potential secondary music teacher in 2024) then she is at the right place. What she wants is a B.M. or B.A. in Music Ed from a school that has good mentors (active in their field) and exposes her to a variety of experiences (instrumental, vocal, orchestral) that will allow her flexibilty to find that vital first job when the time comes.
She won't get rich, but I wouldn't trade my happy, comfortable, and fulfilled life for all of the money in the world.
Thanks Buff for this information.
Indiana University IN and West Chester University in PA are two schools that could assist with the dual options you were seeking too.
Two excellent schools.
University of Texas
University of North Texas
Butler
all amazing!
Does she have a private teacher? Good relationship with your daughter's hs teacher? They should be the guiding force.
If going for music education, different than performance. Berklee great school for contemporary music, jazz, music education not so much. Eastman, Julliard - no ed program.
I would be glad to help in any way. We've put tons of kids into great programs, my son is now 16 and looking at music schools too.
University of Texas
University of North Texas
Butler
all amazing!
Does she have a private teacher? Good relationship with your daughter's hs teacher? They should be the guiding force.
If going for music education, different than performance. Berklee great school for contemporary music, jazz, music education not so much. Eastman, Julliard - no ed program.
I would be glad to help in any way. We've put tons of kids into great programs, my son is now 16 and looking at music schools too.
To answer your question, yes, My daughter has had a private tutor for last 10 years and is in the county orchestra and Jazz ensemble. I will look into Texas.
On the same note though, I've never been on a gig and asked to see my diploma, they just care that you play well and are a good person
My daughter goes to the summer Ithaca music program.
Thanks for this!
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May also want to consider SUNY Purchase Conservatory program.
I have no personal experience, but I believe SUNY Potsdam also has a pretty good music program.
+1
I attended SUNY Potsdam, although I wasn't enrolled in the Crane School of Music. It's tough to get into and very competitive, but if you want to be a music teacher or professional musician, I would consider it.
They really focus on undergrads and have only a small graduate program.