Klarinet Archive - Posting 000710.txt from 1995/06

From: Laura R Bornhoeft <lbornhoe@-----.EDU>
Subj: Conservatories vs. Departments
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 1995 20:57:35 -0400

I'll take this opportunity to put in a plug for my alma mater, Lawrence
University in Appleton, WI.

It has a conservatory of music affiliated with a small liberal arts
college. As they so frequently brag, Lawrence is one of only two such
institutions in the country (Oberlin is the other). Because of its size
and the fact that it's a residential school, conservatory students cannot
escape mixing with people with a variety of interests. Indeed, taking
classes in the college is strongly encouraged (and required, at least the
freshman core program) for music students.

Almost all of the music faculty are full-time, as opposed to the big
university I'm studying at now, where the department consists of 10-12
full-time members, and most applied instruction is done by adjunct
faculty, which don't really get involved with the school much deeper than
giving the lessons and turning in the grades. On the other hand, because
Washington, DC, is loaded with professional musicians (plenty of military
bands, presence of the Kennedy Center, etc.), the quality of the
instruction is high. Despite the size of the school, however, the string
section of the orchestra is almost entirely made up of community members
and non-music majors.

I guess that the choice depends on what you're looking for -- and at. An
exceptional talent needs to be properly nurtured, but there are plenty of
people who aren't geniuses (genii?) but have musical aptitude enough to
do the important jobs of educating the next generation, preparing pieces
for publication, developing and maintaining instruments, public relations,
fund-raising, etc. (I hope I haven't stepped on any toes with
that last sentence.) There's room in this world for both conservatories
and departments, as long as there are enough students to populate the
programs. (But at the same time, the students should be aware that
they're not guaranteed a job in music that pays enough to live on, and
should develop other abilities which will provide a living wage.)

Laura Bornhoeft