 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bcl1dso
Date: 2010-02-03 07:36
Just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on going to USC for an undergraduate degree in clarinet performance? Yes, I do realize what the price tag is. =)
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2010-02-03 10:40
You probably won't be admitted.
It IS that competitive.
This year there were 82 applicants auditioning for 2 spots.
2nd Chair Pennsylvania All State Band (and an Interlochen Scholarship winner) didn't even make it. (my student)
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Paul Miller
Date: 2010-02-03 16:41
It's very difficult to gain admission to the USC clarinet studio, but if you get in it is worth serious consideration.
Here's the thing. Yehuda's students all turn out quite well, but they were very good going in. If you get into the USC studio you will almost certainly have offers from other good programs as well. It would be a very smart idea to take lessons with all these teachers before you commit to a school.
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Author: Clarimeister
Date: 2010-02-03 20:50
Exactly why I applied and auditioned for UCLA. Great music program, a thousand times cheaper, and still a fantastic clarinet teacher in Dr. Gary Gray. I hope I get in! I think I did pretty well.
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Author: Paul Miller
Date: 2010-02-03 20:59
I studied with Gary in my undergraduate program. He's great, but you really do need to ask a lot of questions to get the most out of the lessons. That's not a bad thing at all because it means among other things that you're spending serious time thinking about the clarinet and your approach to it.
Also, if you're at UCLA, take the collaborative piano class with Jennifer Snow. This will hook you up with a piano player and coaching sessions as well as weekly master classes. Very, very good educational value there.
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Author: Clarimeister
Date: 2010-02-04 02:08
Oh thank you very much and I will definitely consider that over there, shall I get accepted. Thanks! I want to study with Dr. Gray so much, and you're not the first person that's told me about asking a lot of questions to him to get your most out. I pray I get in!
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Author: bcl1dso
Date: 2010-02-04 08:45
And if one were to be one of the lucky two to get in, then what are your thoughts on going to USC and studying with Yehuda Gilad?
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Author: vin
Date: 2010-02-04 11:24
Agreed with David Blumberg. Mind-blowing results as a teacher.
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Author: srattle
Date: 2010-02-04 12:51
David:
<You probably won't be admitted.
It IS that competitive.
This year there were 82 applicants auditioning for 2 spots.
2nd Chair Pennsylvania All State Band (and an Interlochen Scholarship winner) didn't even make it. (my student)>
Don't you find this a little harsh and unnecessarily discouraging? Shouldn't we be encouraging people to work their hardest, and aim high?
How do you know that bcl1dso doesn't have what it takes to make this audition, and if Yehuda is as great a teacher as you say he is (I don't know how he teaches, only his reputation) then saying something discouraging might mean someone's loss of an amazing teacher!
I understand honesty, and think it's important, but maybe not if you don't know the person personally
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2010-02-04 13:11
Btw- I wouldn't say don't audition. But the reality is that if you aren't basically unbeatable right now, it's a climb up Everest to get accepted.
You would have an easier time getting accepted to Curtis or Juilliard than to that studio.
Same student auditioned in Boston and they were talking scholarship $$$.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-02-04 13:21
>>Don't you find this a little harsh and unnecessarily discouraging? Shouldn't we be encouraging people to work their hardest, and aim high?
>>
I don't consider the honest answer discouraging at all -- quite the opposite. Implicit in David's answer is the reassuring news that with a history of 82 people competing for only 2 spots, rejection is no reason for discouragement. Someone who didn't know those statistics might take rejection very hard, as evidence that, "I'm not good enough." With the statistics set forth, rejection means next to nothing, and the next to nothing it means is, "The deciders were forced to look for reasons or excuses to reject nearly everybody -- including some excellent people."
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-02-04 16:53
Whether you would do well with Yehuda, as with just about any teacher, depends largely on compatibility of style, goals, and personality. If you are looking for an orchestral-track traditional-literature paying-job-or-bust focus where you don't care how many hours of woodshedding it takes, he can probably guide you pretty well in that direction. If you're looking to explore new music, master extended techniques, improvise, explore alternate avenues of performance, he might not be the best choice for you. Not that he couldn't help you with that... it's just not what he's known for.
I played in a few of masterclasses with him a couple years back. I got a lot out of it, as far as traditional chops goes, but I discovered pretty quickly that my goals were in a different direction that his teaching, and that I disagreed with him in some significant ways. Then again, my goals are in a different direction than probably 95% of teachers out there. I needed to find a teacher that, when I casually mess around with some glisses as I warm up, makes helpful suggestions toward improving the glisses rather than ignoring it and getting down to more "serious" business. Yehuda would not be the one to give input on microphone placement and amplification for death metal bass clarinet.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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