 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: alyssa86
Date: 2003-04-26 16:31
Hi. I'm a junior this year. I finally have to start thinking about life after high school.
Right now, I'm thinking of Eastman, McGill, Manhattan, Hartt, NYU, and New England Conservatory. I'd like to stay in the Northeast.
My parents want me to seriously consider McGill because it is so cheap (like $8000 USD). I don't know though...Is it as hard to get into as those other schools? Is it as prestigous? Is their orchestra as "good" as american orchestras?
I don't know much about Canadian schools. Can you think of a US univeristy that's comparable to McGill? (is it "in the league" of Harvard, Yale, etc. or is it more like NYU or Northwestern?)
I've heard that the Manhattan school of music is horrible in terms of living conditions and how they treat their students. What do u think?
Alyssa
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Author: YummiClari
Date: 2003-04-26 23:16
Yes, MSM is old. But it has a good reputation.
Academically, McGill is superior to "Harvard, Yale, etc." in many (most?) aspects. It's one of the top 5 North American schools. Although you'd be getting a better education at McGill, if you're into sports, you'd be disappointed. They do have okay teams, but life at school doesn't revolve around the jocks like at harvard. You would lose your status as a "god," since Canadians value more than just athletic talent (e.g. intelligence, personality). Their music school should be as good as the very best US conservatories. Be prepared to work your ass off. Canadians aren't as lazy as us Americans.
If you think you're good enough for McGill, you should also seriosly consider Eastman. You would definitely get in. I'm at Eastman now, and i LOVE it!! It's the 5th school i've been to now (after transferring from Princeton, then to New England Conservatory, then to harvard, then McGill). Academics here are top notch (unlike at Princeton and Harvard...lazy, lax schools) but they're not as difficult as they are at McGill (i had to transfer b/c all my undergrad courses were like grad school courses...couldn't handle it!). You'll love it here. It's an absolutely perfect school. Jon Manasse is an awesome teacher...I think he's better than Bob Crowley at McGill, at least in my opinion. Want details? go to www.rochester.edu/Eastman
Best,
Dean
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-04-26 23:27
Montreal can be VERY cold in the Winter.
Are you prepared to live in a predominantly French-speaking city?
One of the Woodwind regulars, Sylvain can speak directly to the quality of education there, I believe Sylvain is a dual-major in McGill.
I don't think you have a grasp of what 'cheap' means.
$8000 is alot of money, if you're spending it.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-04-26 23:34
YummiClari wrote:
> Academically, McGill is superior to "Harvard, Yale, etc." in
> many (most?) aspects. It's one of the top 5 North American
> schools.
Well, looking at the international rankings available, it's up there, but "one of the top 5" is a bit of a stretch. York & U of Toronto beat it in some categories ... and some US schools beat all of those in other categories.
Which means, like in clarinets, YMMV.
(BTW - when I'm hiring people in programming-intensive areas a degree from U of Waterloo carries more weight than McGill ![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif) )
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Author: Jim E.
Date: 2003-04-27 03:46
Cheap is as cheap does. (OK, Forrest Gump was on TV tonight!) We're paying out of state tuition at Westchester U. (PA) for our son, total per year currently is over $17,000. Our NJ state schools come in around $16,000. $8,000 sounds great.
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Author: cyso_clarinetist
Date: 2003-04-27 04:20
Dean -
Jon Manasse isn't taking on any of the freshman students going in next year, what makes you think he would take in more the year after?
More than likely if one goes to eastman they will study with Ken Grant.
James
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2003-04-27 15:44
Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes...all in NYC.
And you can study with and number of great player/teachers.
And hear LIVE, some of the greatest music in the world.
NYC could be your kind of town?
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: CPW
Date: 2003-04-27 16:57
How about Canegie Mellon Univ in Pittsburgh?
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Author: ctt489
Date: 2003-04-27 22:25
Hartt at the Univ of Hartford in Bloomfield CT is more 'relaxed' in comparison to Eastman, McGill, Manhattan. It's reputation is slowly growing but from a historical perspective it went from a Music Conservatory to an Arts School which may or may not have bearing on your decision. It's also a private type school not state so It's better to get full scholarship. It is also regarded as a highly sought after school for graduate work in music education. It depends what direction you want - performance, education, technology, theater, dance. Hartt has them all but I would consider other options. It's a great school to get a taste of the world of the arts but much of the old time faculty are changing hands and new young faces are coming in. If you would like e-mail me and I can tell you more. Best of Luck!
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2003-04-28 02:26
Have you considered Oberlin, Peabody or the Cleveland Institute of Music? I've visited all of them within the last year or so (I'm a senior).
If part of what you're looking at in McGill is its academics, maybe you should consider Yale and Columbia (visited both of those also) and schools like that. Be aware that your grades will count a lot more than your tape (they don't have auditions) in the Ivy League or any of the small liberal arts schools. Your classes would be much more academic and less performance based. Also, Canadian schools are fairly different from US schools. Look up McGill in the Fiske college guide- he pretty much writes colleges' ad copy for them but usually has a few valid points about what it's like to be a student at them.
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-04-28 03:47
alyssa,
It might come as a surprise to you that there are orchestras outside america that are not too bad, indeed there are also fine schools of music in Toronto, London, Canberra ... to name but a few.
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Author: Laurie
Date: 2003-04-28 04:51
I think one of the main important aspects of finding a music is being able to work and get along with the clarinet professor. I looked at many music schools and made a point to meet with each clarient professor, and if possible take a lesson, there were MANY schools, i liked and would have went, but i just didnt' click with the teacher. I looked at NEC, Boston Univeristy, New York University, Fredonia, Ithaca, Hofstra, Rutgers, Fredonia, Crane and Hartt. I felt soo comfortable and really liked Dr. Woy at the Crane School. Just in my lesson I took so much out of it, and learned soo much. He is an incredibe person, performer and teacher. I love it here. It's a demanding program - but I know when i graduate i'll be as talanted as a performer as strong as i will be a music educator. It's worth considering. My sn is LBHughes24 if you wanna talk. Enjoy the college hunt !
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-04-28 05:18
Another vote for the Crane School of Music (State Univ of NY at Potsdam), although I went there many years before Laurie did.
Find a school that has a clarinet teacher who will guide you responsibly with high standards of excellence and who is also keenly aware of what is current in both music education and performance. For me, at that time, that person was David Etheridge.
Also, as HAT said, see how much orchestral playing you will really get to do. At Crane I played a tremendous amount of orchestral repertoire (as well as chamber music) in those 4 years, which has paid huge dividends professionally...GBK
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-04-28 15:10
"..."Ah, Pottsdam in February..."
Which gives you more reason to stay inside and practice...GBK ("but it's a dry cold" - yeah, right)
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Author: toricacuv
Date: 2003-04-29 15:23
i don't know about their music program, but mcgill is incredible. an ivy league education at an affordable price.
many people (outside of the US) consider Harvard the McGill of America these days. harvard's reputation seems to be going way downhill.â
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Author: MSE
Date: 2003-04-29 19:29
Eastman is a great school. I went there for my Freshman and Sophomore years. Studied with Ken Grant and then transfered to Jon Manasse's studio. Manasse is awesome. He really taught me how to "play the clarinet" and basically teaches you how to teach yourself in essence.
I also studied with Tom Martin at BU (He also teaches at NEC) He was excellent as well. Definitey more hard core in terms of orchesteral playing....
Boston is a much better city in terms of gigging, networking, etc. Rochester is a little scary. But, if you're in a city where there's not much to do, you spend more time practicing.
Good luck!
Holly
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2003-04-29 23:51
"life at school doesn't revolve around the jocks like at harvard"
Be serious. When I was there, jocks were pretty low on the food chain. By all accounts, things haven't changed much (although it decidedly not the place to go to major in performance).
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Author: Mohammeddisto
Date: 2003-04-30 02:49
hey, uh...Mark.
There are international college rankings available?? I didn't know that! I've only heard of the US News & WR rankings.
Can u tell me where u get your rankings from?
thanks
Roger
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-04-30 03:04
Mohammeddisto wrote:
> hey, uh...Mark.
>
> There are international college rankings available?? I didn't
> know that! I've only heard of the US News & WR rankings.
>
> Can u tell me where u get your rankings from?
It's amazing what u can find when ur Googling around.
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Author: Mohammeddisto
Date: 2003-04-30 03:12
where?????
i searched for "international college rankings" but couldn't find anything good. Nothing really international. i found some business school rankings, tho. but no compsci, etc. :(
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-04-30 22:12
"Harvard's reputation seems to be going way downhill..."
Must be because they only accepted 1 in every 10 qualified applicant.
If I were to choose a city in which to live, and be restricted to no more than 75 miles in any direction, Montreal would be tough to beat.
You could easily spend the first hour of your weekend just trying to get out of Boston, and that's without rush-hour traffic. So I would choose MTL.
But nobody is asking me to attend their school, now are they?
But let's face some facts in the real world...
If the applicant is good enough to be accepted into any of these programs, they have the resources to start a collegiate term well.
Only those with an abiding interest in their own education, that will perform the necessary duties will make anything of it.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2003-11-07 22:11
I stumbled upon this so it might be a bit too late to put in my 2cents..
I spent 5 years at McGill as a Graduate Student in computer science and spent a lot of time hanging out in the music department.
The teachers there are all good enought to send you to a professional career in performance. That will depend mostly on how dedicated you are to practising. The orchestra is excellent but extremely hard to get into. It's a 2 round blind audition and only the top 3 players get in.
The others are placed in the contemporary and wind ensemble and seated depending on how they performed at the audition. This can be a good motivation tool or a complete turn off...
Outside of private lessons, the classes are quite challenging but not impossible. It's a university program so you will have to go through quite a few courses of music theory, music history and musicianship (ear training, transposing, keyboard and sight reading/singing) even in a performance program.
They have a nice dual major Education/Music in case you think you need a backup or love to teach.
Bottom line is, if you have the potential and the dedication, McGill is good enough to prepare you for a professional career. It does not guarantee you will make it but no school can.
-S
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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