Klarinet Archive - Posting 000160.txt from 1999/03

From: HatNYC62@-----.com
Subj: [kl] A Few Observations on choosing colleges
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 12:04:38 -0500

Just a few comments based on my own experiences and observations.

A school's band program has little or no relationship to its quality as an
educational institution. You can play in a band anywhere, but you can't
necessarily play in an orchestra anywhere.

If you don't know much about the teacher at the school where you are applying,
you should try to get a performance tape of the instructor. I believe it is
less common for poor performers to make great teachers than for great
performers to be poor teachers (although this too is relatively rare). Thus,
if the teacher is a player of note, look at the track record.

If you plan to study music education, I think you should still look for the
best private instructor and the strongest music performance department. Also,
look at the school's record of placing students in good teaching positions.
Some instructors have more pull in this kind of thing than others. Elsa
Vehrder at Michigan State has been very successful placing her students in
good teaching positions, and they can play, too.

Many schools advertise that they have a strong music education program. What
exactly does that mean? If you learn to play at a high level, you should then
be able to teach it to others. If you never learn to play, you'll just be
passing on what's already printed in the textbooks you have studied in
education class.

David Hattner, NYC

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