Attending college is one of the most important decisions for any young musician. The amount of talent, dedication, time, and yes, even connections it takes to get into a top career is actually mind-blowing.
Music students, especially classical music performance majors and Music Theatre performance majors, typically have one major goal in mind: to secure a performance position within a major ensemble or company. We have examined the top schools for music performance and composition in the country that have consistently led their students to the top awards, symphonic orchestras, Broadway gigs, professorial positions, and other highly coveted jobs in the nation. Additionally, we have looked at the general reputation of the music schools, the performance opportunities available at each school, and what the schools can offer from a financial standpoint. Believe it or not, three top music colleges are completely free of tuition to all students!
Without further ado, here are the top 15 colleges for music in the US.
15. Oberlin Conservatory of Music – Oberlin, OH
One of the midwest’s top colleges for music, Oberlin’s music conservatory is a strictly undergraduate program. While the chance to work with graduate students may be something students will miss out on, the biggest benefit for not having graduate students at this program is that less competition exists for winning lead roles in the school’s opera productions as well as more personalized attention towards students in the classical performance and composition majors. Certainly, the sense of individualism is strong at Oberlin, as the entire college’s enrollment is approximately just 600 students, making it nearly three times smaller than other major music schools including Indiana and North Texas, and almost 8 times smaller than Berklee.
Students of Oberlin frequently ascend to many of the top professional orchestras and ensembles throughout America and beyond. A great benefit of Oberlin is that it is neither a stand-alone conservatory nor attached to a major university; rather, Oberlin is attached to a progressive and leading liberal arts college. The free-thinking liberal climate of the liberal arts college can be of tremendous benefit to the growing artist at the conservatory. The only other top music schools I am aware of that are attached to excellent liberal arts colleges are the Ithaca College School of Music and the Bard College-Conservatory of Music.
The intellectual atmosphere of Oberlin’s academic community can be of great benefit to the aspiring musician, especially for the undergraduate looking to double major. Oberlin offers a 5 year double-degree program between the Conservatory and main academic campus for those interested in pursuing more than just an excellent and unparalleled music degree.
14. University of North Texas College of Music – Denton, TX
The University of North Texas is the largest college of music accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, making it one of the largest music conservatories in the world. Noted for outstanding programs all around, the school was the very first in the entire world to offer a degree in jazz performance. In fact, it’s jazz program is so highly lauded, the school’s premiere jazz ensemble, the One O’Clock Band, has been actually nominated for six Grammy awards! While most top music colleges in the US host between 400-600 performances per academic year, the University of North Texas presents over 1,000. Truly, even considering the incredibly large enrollment of the music college, there is never a shortage of opportunity for music students to find an ensemble or concert to participate in. Students of North Texas can be found in many of the major professional ensembles throughout the world, as well as in coveted teaching positions throughout the globe.
13. Manhattan School of Music (New York, NY)
In addition, the school offers an amazing contemporary music performance program, a unique, one-of-a-kind degree that prepares students not in the traditions of Beethoven and Brahms, but rather, in the traditions of the fiery, passionate modern music ensembles Kronos Quartet and Bang On a Can, who were recently featured on the long-running children’s show Arthur. Students of the MSM contemporary performance program are frequently cited as successful freelance musicians throughout New York City and beyond.
Outside of clarinet and contemporary music, MSM is an incredibly impressive music school, hosting distinguished strings, woodwind, piano, percussion, and composition faculties of the highest distinction.
12. New England Conservatory (Boston, MA)
A legendary institution located in the heart of Boston, the New England Conservatory can claim as alumni many of the most impressive names working in the classical and contemporary music industry today, including jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, clarinetist Don Byron, violist Roberto Diaz, percussionist Vic Firth, soprano Phyllis Curtin, just to name a few.
Boasting a faculty of musicians that are among the most accomplished classical musicians in the country, the New England Conservatory holds a strong, historical relationship to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which is located right down the street from NEC. As such, students of the New England Conservatory are frequently studying with teachers who hold concurrent positions in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Outside of the BSO, the city of Boston itself offers a number of classical music offerings that many students and alumni of NEC participate in, including the Handel & Haydn Society, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and others.
Unlike other top music programs, the New England Conservatory is a leader in teaching its students how to take their career into their own hands and have established the “Entrepreneurial Musician” program. In addition, the school hosts one of the most impressive, accomplished, and professional-sounding jazz bands in the country. A leading school, any serious music performance major must consider the New England Conservatory for advanced study.
You have UNT as No. 15!?
it is an excellent program!
Much more excellent than No. 15.
Nice job on the article. It’s tough job to rank schools like that! No one will ever agree 🙂
In my opinion you shouldn’t apologize for ranking Berklee so high as it is one of the premier jazz schools in the country. That being said you obviously ranked UNT way to low but I think you are probably figuring that out. It is arguably the best jazz program in the world and certainly the largest. In addition it has a respectable classical program and a great music education program which to me would clearly rank it higher than Berklee….and that’s BEFORE you factor in that it’s a PUBLIC UNIVERSITY and is far less expensive than Berklee. I’d love to know your thoughts!
Jim Riley,
UNT Alumnist and professional musician.
oh no, berklee is not only about jazz, it is also about digital music and all the style you can find, check out berklee first the write this comment. And also there are a lot of other questions, personally berklee wasn’t my primarily school to apply when I was in high school, went to a lot of summer programs all around, I met some really good professors and some really bad ones, not saying their ability but their way of teaching, their auttitude towards student too, as a professor you may look at a school as their ability, but really, for a student, I look at which will do the best for me, comes out that berklee have a very friendly environment, both professors and classmates. For me, as a student, it doesn’t really matter how good my professors are, because their ability is been proven by the college and their career, what it matters is that can she/he taught me something, can I work with this guy and feeling comfortable to learn, that is the reason I choose berklee. And for me, you trying to rank a school by ability and just ability, it is really not just that simple.
I was quite surprised to see Juilliard in No. 3
where is full sail university ???
Indiana and Florida state have been the two largest colleges of music in the country for over 50 years so I find some of this amusing as they mention professors that other schools like Eastman who got all their degrees at Florida State and where students and classmates of mine, One in particular mentioned was John MARCELLUS, trombone who puts his students in most major symphonies, they failed to mention that on the faculty at Florida State for many decades was the number one American opera composer, number to a classmate was the first female to win a Pulitzer in music composition Ellen TAFFE Zwillich,, And for pop the lead trumpet player on all of Frank Sinatra‘s recordings for 30 years was a graduate of Florida State. The world right now I’m composer arts Ernst von …PS
My accompanist for my Carnegie Hall recital had all of her degrees from Indiana and at that time all of my degrees were from Florida State..
FSU ALSO HAS LARGEST MARCHING BAND IN THE WORLD
Yes. So true. Thanks for writing, Bill. And happy belated birthday!
<3 good to hear from you James, and thank you.
wuuuuuuuuuuh
How many choirs you have is irrelevant.
How come no mention of which school has the most graduates making a living wage in their major?
Because that is a difficult statistic to quantify. What’s the cutoff time? one year? five? ten? What’s the grace period after graduation? What about those who never even pursued a career in their major? What about people who majored in performance and went into teaching music? Does that count as ‘in their major?” Such a number is meaningless unless you first define a long list of criteria. That said, lists such as this are more for fun than critical comparison.
Simple, their major is performance. No need more than 5 years. You pursue it and make accomplishments as a musical performer or you don’t. Simple as that. No silly excuses or grey areas. If you aren’t sure about performing you can go to a liberal arts school. You only go to a legitimate music school/conservatory to master your craft and make a living as a performer, so that is all that matters.
Just throwing this in here. My wife went to Eastman and has been a public school orchestra teacher for the last 12 years. She had little desire in performance as a career but still wanted the education a conservatory gave her.
I am sure there are millions of people, perhaps billions who are making a living in jobs that they did not directly major in. That wasn’t the point of this article.
There are not a billion people on Earth who even have a college degree.
Acutally, 6.7% of the world’s population has a college degree. As of 2018 03 06, the world’s population is estimated at 6.7B. That means that slightly less than 510M people (509,200,000) have a college degree of some sort.
Jacobs School of Music at IU — WOO HOO!!! 🙂
As much as I’ve loved my time at IU, I find that this kind of ranking is disingenuous. What exactly is the criteria? It seems to be name dropping than anything else. For your information, Joshua Bell is only present for less than a week a year, giving one concert and give around 4-5 lessons. This improves my education marginally compared to adequate rehearsal spaces (of which there are not enough of good quality nor quantity).
There are so many subtleties as to what makes a good school for music that it is completely pointless to attempt to rank them, especially given the 1-on-1 interactions with your private teacher. I feel as long as you have a good private teacher that you get along with, and the environment to inspire practice, you can and will be successful.
Prospective conservatory students, my advice is to ignore these rankings and seek out individual teachers as a top priority. Afterwards, look into what sort of environment the school has and if it will further your studies with your teacher.
i share your view that this ranking is a bit dubious. And pound for pound you’d have to go with Curtis or Julliard. But taking it to task for Bell not really “present” at IU is off base. He grew up there. He has played more within the walls of IU than any other place. He is a fixture in Bloomington. I think it would be interesting to see a ranking of schools with the best music students (on an absolute basis or on average). Like this, it couldn’t be done, but that might be the mark of the “best.”.. just a thought.
Mark, I don’t disagree on many of your points, although I certainly don’t think my lists are disingenuous. They are one man’s evaluation, and I hope that many prospective music students will use them as a guide when applying to colleges. Certainly, when I was in high school and applying to college music programs, there was no place online for me to check out basically any information on college music programs, except on the websites of colleges themselves.
Even though the subtleties are most certainly infinite with every program and individual, how can you even have a grasp on them if you have no way to research the schools?
Without question, the best music school is the college that works best for an individuals particular tastes and needs. Juilliard and Indiana will be great for some while some schools will be best for others. I would never argue that.
However, I think there is value in placing a researched evaluation online of the top music schools and presenting it to people. If you don’t feel that way Mark, that is totally fine, inevitably some people will like my work and others won’t. I just hope to help someone.
Certainly 15 great music schools, although the order in which they’re ranked seems arbitrary. Apples to oranges in some cases. Entertaining though! (btw, Rivers Cuomo did not attend Berklee College of Music. He attended Berklee’s 5-week summer program for high school students.)
IU!
At least you tried to indicate the strong points of each school. Obviously, where one decides to go depends really on one’s instrument, or maybe even who is teaching there. What you DON’T seem to mention is that any “ranking” of this sort is subject to sudden change, such as when a key faculty member leaves, or a major field is suddenly eliminated (such as the elimination of their organ program by New England Conservatory a few years ago). I suspect any of us who have actually completed music degrees and have some professional years under our belts, would come up with “top fifteen” lists which may or may not correspond to this one.
While I appreciate your research and useful information on these programs, the notion of assigning them rankings (implying that there is a universal quantifiable standard against which all music programs can be measured) is not only absurd, but contributing to the unnecessarily competitive and cut throat nature of the music world.
As you’ve described, these schools have different strengths and weaknesses. Is it really necessary to pit schools (and by extension, musicians) against each other? Isn’t there enough ego floating around this scene with out one more arbitrary ranking list? The arts have it hard enough without artists stepping all over each other too.
A great music school will help a student cultivate their own unique musical voice. When it comes down to it, we live in a generation with an absurdly high technical standard in musicians. And a voice, an innovative perspective – these are the things that will truly help you stand out enough to make a successful career.
The more we create universal standards of good playing, the more we crank out musicians that ALL SOUND THE SAME.
In short – keep the info, lose the numbers.
– An alum of one of these schools
I wholeheartedly agree with Rachel’s comment… the information is useful to the aspiring music student, but yes, keep the information, but ‘lose the numbers’ (rankings)!! What PURPOSE do they serve? I was so pleased to see most all of the top music colleges I know personally listed here – with the exception of University of Cincinnati College of Music and the University of Miami School of Music, to name just two. I have four former students who attended The Jacobs School (UI) and one fantastic colleague with whom I currently work. I have had twelve former students graduate from The University of North Texas @ Denton, most in Jazz Performance and Studies. Other students of mine have degrees from Rice University Shepard School, Oberlin, Peabody, and again, one school not making ‘your’ list – Northwestern University. I have one former trombone prodigy who is in graduate school at USC for film directing, and a terrific former principal trumpet student who has 3 degrees from USC. My own college professors were graduates of USC (even serving under Dmitri Shostakovich when he was in Los Angeles for a time), Cincinnati, Oberlin, Eastman, VanderCook, University of Texas, Peabody, Texas Women’s University and North Texas State, Sam Houston State, University of Oklahoma (Choral Studies), University of Miami, and Berklee. Most importantly, if you are going to do a survey of something such as this, shouldn’t you EMPHASIZE that where one studies should be first of all, a ‘GOOD FIT’ for the particular student, and have the best PROFESSORS for that student’s interest? I myself, attended a medium-sized high school in a small town. I don’t think I would have performed as well at a music college of 2,000 majors. My music teachers helped direct me to a medium-sized State school of music in Texas where there were 600 majors – and EVERY class I took was taught by a full-ranked professor – not a Graduate Assistant. My instrumental professor was the best within a 1,500-mile range for ME. I THRIVED beautifully at Sam Houston State University and I’ve had so many other students who have done the same at many state colleges that offer a tremendous education.
I am a musician, singer, former piano teacher, current high school music & theatre arts instructor and I say, “Bravo Rachel!!!!…and David”!
No University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music in the top 15? How interesting. I disagree, but ok.
Rice ahead of UNT in music? That seems unlikely at best.
Doesn’t shock me at all. It’s got the best college orchestra in the country, by a landslide. I don’t think you’ll find much disagreement on that front, either. Easily some of the best wind and brass studios in the world. And the strings are super solid, too.
Also, note that I have no affiliation with the school whatsoever–just speakin’ the truth.
Not only is it ahead, but it should (and usually is considered) much higher on this list. 15 students attending in the 14-15 academic year won 18 orchestral jobs (consider that the population of the music school is under 300). St. Paul, St. Louis, Seattle, Houston to name a few. And that’s not including recently graduated students who have also won several jobs just this academic year alone.
i like your compliment
Just to be clear – Oberlin college enrollment – 2900, of which the Conservatory comprises 600.
Oberlin is mostly undergrad , but the conservatory does offer a Masters in Historical Performance (its one of the best period instrument conservatory programs) and I believe they also offer masters in organ and art history. Also- you really should include Peabody- they are most certainly up there with the rest.
I think the list is darn close. But I would hesitate to put any school in the top 15 that does not have a jazz program. (Curtis). A serious oversight.
Indiana’s Jacobs School and The Curtis Institute are different, but both deserve to be ranked #1, especially Indiana in vocal performance. Yale seems a bit over-rated, perhaps due to their massive endowment. Yes, the name Yale is great on a sweatshirt, but for a music performance CV, not so much. What schools are missing? Some say Kentucky is doing some good work, but more than any school I would say it is the University of Maryland that is conspicuously missing from this list. They have superb facilities, a great location near Washington, a stellar voice faculty (the extraordinary Delores Zieglar, to name just one) and the exemplary Ed Maclary leading the UMD Chorale.
As a graduate of both Oberlin and IU, I find the rankings quite shocking. Oberlin is unlike any other school in the world, and the instruction I received there made my life a cakewalk at Indiana. I tested out of every single graduate entrance exam, no small task considering the reputation of the Indiana Theory and Musicology faculty. In many ways, Oberlin is everything IU is not. Their focus on nurturing the undergraduate is something truly special. There were sophomores at Oberlin who could blow IU graduate students out of the water. For all its wonderful faculty, IU is a bit of a factory. One former dean had the motto “You’ve gotta have a lot of milk to get cream.” That pretty much sums it up.
While I agree with these being great performing music schools, I do think that one school needs to be added to your list. VanderCook College of Music in Chicago is a fantastic school if you want to be a music educator. Not everyone wants to perform. Some of us teach. I do not know of a better music education college in the country. I got my undergraduate in music education from another school and my master’s of music education from VanderCook. It was such an amazing place to go. The faculty is from all over and are all dedicated to teaching people how to TEACH music education.
I completely agree! And with that I also have to say that it would be so very hard to rank colleges like this, because there are so many factors going into a fine arts college. For example Juilliard has an amazing classical music program, but if you are looking for education about digital music, Juilliard wouldn’t be the best.
How is it that many of these schools have quite low (or no) rankings on your other top 10 lists, but then end up in the top 15 music schools over all?
These are very different schools. IU admits hundreds of freshmen music majors each year, Curtis may admit fewer than twenty. Who is teaching that particular year makes a huge difference. Whether you wish to study jazz or classical, vocal or instrumental, performance or theory/history/education all make a difference. In the end, ranking is always difficult and there is a healthy degree of subjectivity in such lists. Every school on here certainly belongs on such a list, but I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the numerical order.
Ummm… Peabody?
Here’s hoping UNC-Greensboro is number 16. Hats off to the top 15!
The only true rankings are instrument specific.
Without going into too much bashing, there are schools listed here that will happily take the money from the parents of a marginal music student, knowing that it’s unlikely they will ever succeed or, even, graduate. These are the private (conservatory) institutions that, unless a student is getting a 50% or better scholarship on tuition, indicating the school actually cares, you’re actually better off not attending. Too many young musicians are shelling out $200,000-$300,00 to graduate … and entering a profession that rarely pays that amount back over a lifetime of work. One of the great things about a music school in a public university, like UNT (which, IMHO, in this poll is ranked way too low, especially for jazz studies) is that they are affordable, accessible plus have top notch facilities and faculty – but they do not coddle students or create a false illusion of “artistic brilliance.” Young musicians actually see how competitive the music business is, and get a good idea, right away, if a career in music is in their future. The players that graduate from an affordable college music program, like UNT, are the ones getting high profile gigs and making records.
asking for help me to state studing music school, I don’t have parent’s i need your help
In terms of affordability, go to Western Washington in WA state, and most state universities in your place- Temple U in Phila is a great place for choral and piano, music education too. Why is Philadelphia Univ of the Arts not mentioned here? When it used to be PMA, I had the best education ever- tons of accompaniment opportunities for the pianist, and really well known musicians- both from the Phila orchestra and well known names taught there. It is an inclusive (opera to jazz, classical to excellent student string/ full orchestras) to ISU in Normal, where I even went to UK and to Austria for exchange programs. Number one rule- for a performer: find a Teacher/ guru in your instrument, and send him/ her a spectacular audition tape. Then start the application process. A GPA of 3.2 or higher is required for most college entrances- be it an undergraduate or a graduate institution. Good luck. Don’t stick to ten, apply to twenty colleges/ conservatories if you have the time. Small towns are great if your budget is low. Good luck. Piano Teacher, now in India. MsGayathri
Thanks, Steve. My son is about to audition at many of these schools, and I wondered about the message merit scholarships convey. I’ve heard it both ways – do others agree that the amount correlates to the confidence of success? And if a student outperforms the expectation, is there a tradition of raising the merit scholarship? Would greatly appreciate any experiences, folklore (IUs’ department consistently ranked #1, too :), mythology, etc. We are intent on him finding the best place for him (not parents or others :), though money must come in to final decision.
EXCUSE me…how about the Cleveland Institute of Music? It just happens to be one of the top schools for string studies in the world?!
As a grad of CIM myself, I totally agree. The brass department ain’t too shabby either.
OK so check it out ..I like your list but the ranking is totally absurd.I went to Eastman and was one of the 13% that got accepted. It seemed like a great place as it had classical and a Jazz program; both, which was rare in the mid 70’s. Unfortunately my private teacher was really not the right fit.As stated by some other folks on this page, your private teacher is paramount.Also, what are you looking to accomplish. What are your main goals and interests.Knowing what your really there for will help determine what school is right for you. Also man .. check out the area in which you’ll be spending these so important years studying. It really does make a difference.Though Eastman is a great school Rochester in the winter can be pretty trying. 82 days of snow in a row my sophmore year and zero sunlight. The town isn’t all that great either. To sum it up ,it’s just really an individual type thing.
The Juilliard School is #1, hands down, always has been, always will be. In terms of worldwide name recognition, in terms of the sheer number of household names produced by it, in terms of facilities and access to concerts and sheer volume of culture and coolness, and in terms of location in the cultural and financial mecca of the United States (and not in some provincial backwater like Bloomington or a ghetto like Philly), Juilliard is FAR and away the top school not in the country but in the entire world. As anyone on the street if they’ve hear of Juilliard and they probably have. Not so “Jacobs” or “Curtis”. Jacobs and Curtis have fine instruction, to be sure. But their locations sucks, their programs are overall not as good either. Seriously, you want to live in Bloomington? Go ahead. I’ll stay in SoHo.
You’ve obviously never been to Bloomington. IU school of Music is the best!
Lillian, your attitude is very provincial. As for myself, I wouldn’t choose SoHo. 🙂
I enjoyed Bloomington and Mr. Michel Block also. But I wasn’t there for a degree, I just took lessons, and wanted to sing in the choir. Quite expensive though- tuition and cost of living wise.
I CHOSE to move to Bloomington from a large metropolitan area after spending a month-long period here for 7 summers. Ms. Fuchs, New York is wonderful, but Bloomington is a breath of wonderful music-filled air. In addition to a wide variety of ethnic restaurants, terrific city parks and nearby state parks and national forests, the university and city offers opportunities beyond the music-making that are diverse, stimulating and exciting. Yes, it is a small town, and that allows students, faculty and townspeople to enjoy an existence that is less stress-filled than NYC. My daughter went to IU for her BM and then to Juilliard for her MM; in addition she spent 2 years in Paris at the Conservatoire, and now lives in The Hague. When she comes home to Bloomington, she is blissfully happy to be here. I hope you will have an opportunity to come visit Bloomington with an open mind soon and explore all that it offers. Sincerely, Ruth Cord
I really love to come from what you said!
I am looking for a very good music school or perharps a great music teacher that will help inspire creativity and not just being like every other existing hit musician out there.
Do. Please. Stay in Soho. NYC narcissists are so tiresome.
If you’ve actually experienced Bloomington, Indiana, you would know it blankets music and the arts in the community. This little oasis of the mid-west, has pleasant neurotics, visiting celebrities, and fire breathing flame throwers walking the streets! It’s a very cool small town. Hands down. People miss it when they leave.
Pshaw to the Debbie-Soho-downer!
Lillian, your impressions are dated. Are you seriously recommending students pay an extraordinarily high tuition plus sky high living expenses just to have the famous old name Julliard on their tee-shirt. When a classical voice student gets there they soon learn that preference for opera roles is given to the Young Artists over at the Met. Julliard was, and still is famous, and perhaps worthy of its ranking is areas other than classical voice, but I have not seen a respectable ranking in years that has them ahead of either Curtis (#1 conservatory) or Indiana Jacobs (#1 university, #1 in voice).
That’s an overstatement. The world is big, and here in America we tend only to know what is done in our country. I was so lucky to study in Juilliard and in two major european conservatories, and those schools were as good as (if not better than) Juilliard. In a global world we should not be talking about US rankings, but world rankings, and let’s be honest, Europe has the best music education available, great teachers, the best orchestras and n incredibly busy classical music scene… we have resources and nicer facilities.
The best institutions in Europe (in no particular order):
Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Moscow)
Royal Academy of Music (London)
Royal College of Music (London)
Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt (Weimar)
Hochschule für Musik Feliz Mendelssohn (Leipzig)
Hochschule für Musik (Köln)
Hochschule für Musik Hans Eisler (Berlin)
University of Music (Vienna)
Mozarteum (Salzburg)
Conservatorium van Amsterdam (Amsterdam)
Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía (Madrid)
Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris (Paris)
“Ghetto like Philly.” Seriously? How many sections of Philadelphia have you ever actually visited?
I am not going to argue with you that the Jailyard and Curtis are too-notch institutions. I am going to suggest that your reply is elitist, poorly informed, and ridiculous: you obviously haven’t spent any real time in Bloomington. My doctoral degree here at IU has been full of discovery and I have met some very open, talented, worldly, sophisticated people from all over the world. I chose IU over NY schools because it was a quiet place to do my work, and I have been fortunate enough to have opportunities around the world now. You do not have to be in NYC for a music degree to live a full, enriched life.
I completely understand where you are coming from, but you must understand that there are many other things going into each college that would determine its rank. I am sure Bloomington is a great school, but the reason it may have been ranked so low is because it might have had other branches of education that were not as good as the branch of music that you studied in. Certain subjects to study are better than others depending on the specific school you are looking at. So don’t be alarmed or upset that the school you were looking at or went to wasn’t considered one of the best over all, because it very well might have been the best in whatever subject that you were studying in.
I have not seen any statistics about job placement rates. How many brilliant, yet unemployed musicians are out there? If these schools want to proudly display your article as a banner of their excellence (I went to IU and trust me, they have!), then let’s ask the real question: Is it responsible to churn out killer players year after year in increasing numbers with an economy experiencing stagnancy? Debt is real. Joblessness is real. There are way too many music schools and it’s really just irresponsible! The market can not handle all of us. At community colleges, you have a better chance of getting a job with an associate’s in nursing than with a doctorate from your #1 school mentioned. Fact.
That’s true. so many musicians is without a job. At the end it’s not important which university you have finished but the point is… Do you have a good job? I wish to see some ranking showing us how many % of students got a job …
Rice would be close, if not at the top of that ranking. 15 students attending in the 14-15 academic year won 18 orchestral jobs (consider that the population of the music school is under 300). St. Paul, St. Louis, Seattle, Houston to name a few. And that’s not including recently graduated students who have also won several jobs just this academic year alone.
Your statement about joblessness IS real and YES people with Associates Degrees in other disciplines have better job prospects.. I went from teaching 40 private piano students weekly for years prior to graduating with a Full-Scholarship Cum Laude to working currently at a Rental Car Return Lot. I don’t like living on Cruise Ships but I may have to go back to that. I went to a Conservatory for Classical Piano Studies and Graduated from a California State University for Jazz Performance Studies. I also studied privately(funded from my own pocket) with top musicians in the nation(one being a Blue Note Pianist). I’ve been beat down to working a job I get paid $11.00 per hour for and have to regularly argue with people that they must pay for damage charges. I don’t have parents anymore to fall back on and the Corporate Band Work has literally vanished. Everyday I struggle with continuing to retain my Piano-Skills AFTER eight-hours of toiling at a dead-end job. That’s the painful truth.
Agree!!!!
IU had an incredible music program for my son. He not only had some of the best violin professors but was exposed to top notch operas. There opera performances were as good as we saw in Lincoln center. Set designers had unbelievable experiences. Because of the great programs as well of some talent on his part, , my son was able to get incredible scholarships for his masters and doctorate to UM. Look for Univ of Miami in the future. They are getting the top musicians from Eastman, Indiana etc. UM is giving the next level to musicians by having them work with top artists in the field like Joshua Bell, Chick Corea, the Miami Saxaphone Quartet, George Benson, Terence Blanchard, Michael Feinstein , Gloria Estafan, and Pharrell Williams to just name a few.
Thank you for sharing your story. I have read a great deal into U Miami and their programs. You are right, they are doing exceptionally impressive things at that school.
You should probably amend this to “Top 15 music performance schools.” Because a lot of these places do not have any sort of music education program. If you want to be a music teacher, which many do, these are not generally the places you go.
nice
Hello Bill.
Please take a good look at the University of Maryland in College Park. I believe UMD deserves to be in the top ten music schools in the nation. UMD has stellar facilities, an exceptional faculty (especially voice and chorus), a strong opera program and a highly advantageous location only miles from Washington DC, the Kennedy Center and the White House. Upon closer inspection, I believe that you will agree this is a program worthy of top ten status.
The author’s point is The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music offers more opportunities to learn and perform than most conservatories. Unlike music conservatories, if your career goal is wind music education. You can turn your nose up at this, IU has something music conservatories don’t, a Big Ten Marching Band. IU’s Music Education Majors job placement is 100%!!
Wow, i thougt that Juilliard was the Best School on Classical Music education. Uhm, just a little question, wich of them asks less money for the tution? Im latin american! 😀
Bill, while I appreciate the good work you do, this list has a serious issue. You’ve completely ignored jazz programs, which in some cases is bigger than the classical programs at some of these schools. For example, at this point, in 2014, the fact that your No.2 music school in the whole country doesn’t even have a jazz program makes this list invalid as far as i’m concerned. In fact, your whole website is very low on any jazz content, and Jazz is a huge part of music education these days.
I learned tons at NewSchool Jazz and Mannes is no slouch.
The Absoulte BEST is : Curtis Institute of Music The Absolute worst is UNLV
This list is quite subjective and reflects rankings based on marketing a “big name”. I have met current students and graduates of these schools who were not interesting or competent when compared to others studying in schools not listed here.
Last, a cheer for my Alma Mater:
University of Iowa School of Music!
I think it must be an oversight that Cincinnati isn’t on this list. It should probably be 4th. As a teacher who has taught students who have attended most of these schools, I can tell you that Juilliard students are the best prepared both musically and professionally. They teach great attention to detail and help students network and make connections with people who can really make a difference in the field.
I would agree with the lack of standing regarding U.C. I have a question! My son played in band (Moeller High School, plays trumpet and baritone) but wanted to try computer science and minor in music. Computer science is just not working out and now he is considering a music major. He took on music theory class and aced it and his professor is encouraging him to be a music major at Wittenberg in Ohio. He loves Wittenberg and we want to keep him there. Does anyone know anything about Wittenberg?
I agree with your rankings. It is obvious you did a lot of research here. I attended the Music School at Indiana, and it is an excellent school within a a very supportive community. Well done, Bill.
Madonna didn’t graduate from UM, and she was there on a dance scholarship.
Could you perhaps look at some overseas institutions for your website?
I am a vocalist (pop and R&B) who is also interested in obtaining ‘in-studio’ knowledge and marketing myself. I have looked at a few schools but the production piece does not contain both (at least at this schools). Can you recommend a school and major that will allow me to continue my vocal training all while teaching me about the studio?
also, I am out of Ohio but will travel if need be
My son wants to pursue contemporary composing, but does not want to attend a four year college. Any recommendations?
Interlochen art academy. 😀 you won’t be disappointed. It should be in this list. I’ve no idea why it isn’t.
I think Juilliard school is te best.
Can juilliard get student in other contruy,???
I do not see Bienen School of Music on this list?
Any thoughts on Belmont University or Lipscomb University in Nashville?
For Music Business….
Thanks for any input!
You left out the Cleveland Institute of Music, which in most legitimate rankings is placed within the top four next to Juilliard, Curtis, and Eastman. Faculty are all of the principals from The Cleveland Orchestra, the Cavani Quartet, the former director of Cleveland Opera, other celebrated chamber coaches, guitarists, recordings engineers, composers and concert pianists, and great singers from around the world. Students and faculty a like won and were nominated for Grammy’s this past season and the latest winner of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis is a CIM student. Seems silly to leave it off this list. If Berklee, IU, Oberlin, and North Texas are here, then CIM definitely should be too considering its international reputation and caliber of student.
I was fortunate to attend the number one music school IU for my MME Degree!
Where is Interlochen?????
Ohio, I believe.
Interlochen is in Northern Michigan
Of all the colleges mentioned above , how many offer scholarships ? I stay in India and I play the guitar . Please help !
hey i am 14, and i know i am a little to young but singing is my life and i was looking at my fave group Karmin and how they went to Berkley and i want to go there so bad so i would love to know more about this collage so if u can go to my email and send me a few things so that i may be able to know how much it cost for out of state and other i know it will be a lot but i will do my best to give i my all i really want this
A very good list. The biggest problem in ranking is inherent. It evaluates the overall environment and collective number of oportunities, and few students will care about that. They care about the very specific things they do, e.g. sing opera, play French horn, etc. If you are good enough and lucky to get a full scholarship it doesn’t matter that much how many others do, as long as they are good. The overall quality of a music school depends on three things: the intellectual and professional growth the academic environment provides (actually more like what it insists on–this includes such things as library facilites, etc.), the ability of the private teachers to inspire and demand excellence (by whatever methods they choose–some pretty scary), and the quality (and competitiveness) of the students you rub shoulders with. This last one includes ensemble participation. I learned as much from my fellow students at IU as from my teachers. This is not to underestimate what I got from my teachers, who were great. If you are a violinist, it does not matter one whit whether your school has a fine saxophone or percussion ensemble. If you are a composer, the main thing is that your school performs your music, although the students who perform it will get absolutely nothing from doing so. There is a good reason the choice of schools here does not include those known for music education: there is hardly any relation now between teaching music and performing it. As a friend of mine wisely said, “I would not choose a teacher simply because he loves to teach any more than I would choose a surgeon because he loves to cut.” He must also have ability, experience, and judgement. The teachers I learned most from, at every level, were the best performers and scholars. Most would not know what a lesson plan or PowerPoint are.
I agree with your excellent assessment.
I know seventeen is still a bit young, but I crave the making of music!!! Last year I was put in a program that introduced me to interactive media; I went through 3/4 of the class until I was currently homeschooled. But when I heard what my teacher had thought of my music making talent, I’ve been jumping on any opportunity I have to make music!!! I have dealt with ProTools and GarageBand, and I love them both. So, if there any recommendations on what colleges are specialized in specifically making music, please let me know! Thank you!!
Thanks for the info.
You did a great job man!
Are you into teaching music or perhaps do you know how one can get a very good private music teacher?
Sir i am really happy and much convinced by these info. I respect your effort. I am from India and applied for pursuing bachelorette of performing arts in indian classical music. I started learning indian music from my childhood. I have appeared for grade 2 violin music last year. I m thinking to apply for b.a. Music in royal academy of music after completion of my degree. Please bless me with your precious suggestion.
I am so interested and will like to school in one of these music.
Coming from a poor kid with dreams of being a famous drummer, I wish I could go to one of these schools. I just can’t afford it.
Don’t give up on your dream! Many scholarships are need and ability based, so you can get low income scholarships and money for being good at what you play! Also, look at state schools that have good music programs and those aren’t as expensive. If you have some talent in your area and work hard, you can do it! Good luck to you!
What matters to the individual musician is which college and teacher can best help him or her accomplish desired goals. If only a college teaching position is desired, attend a high-ranked school with a well-known teacher. Whether the well-known teacher is a great teacher is not always critical in this situation – the desired goal is a college teaching position that may or may not require an accomplished performer. I have seen cases where the student hardly studied with the well-known teacher (who was on sabbatical for a year) and still landed a teaching position. A serious performer needs a hands-on teacher who has great pedagogical skills, professional performance experience and the desire and energy to help a performer obtain professional performance opportunities. It also helps if said teacher is currently performing while teaching the student. When I was a young musician, many woodwind performers in New York were students of Joe Allard and in Los Angeles, Bill Green. These students wanted to work with these great teachers WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE EVEN CONNECTED TO A UNIVERSITY because they produced professional performers as well as great teachers. So, many factors contribute to receiving outstanding musical instruction. There are excellent teachers both in and out of the university environment, regardless of how schools are ranked. Finally, if an aspiring musician wishes to perform professionally in NY or LA, no one cares what college they went to – THEY JUST WANT TO HEAR THEM PLAY!
What about Northwestern?
Yale is not the only free school at graduate level (Curtis, of course, has a smaller graduate program). University of Michigan’s endowment is among the largest in the world, not to mention the support they get as a public university. Their doctoral programs are free and pay a decent stipend to cover the cost of living in Ann Arbor, as do a few of their masters programs, such as MA in composition, or collaborative piano with the renowned Martin Katz.
“Please be assured that your application will be given every consideration. We regret very much, however, that because the requests for financial awards far exceed available funds, the School is unable to assist many well-qualified and deserving students. We encourage students to investigate any available outside sources of funding to help finance your graduate school education. ”
-taken right off the scholarships/financial aid page of UoM
Florida State, anyone? Some may say that the performance studios don’t place as many students professionally, but their doctoral programs are top notch and no one, I mean no one, has more credentials in music education research. No one.
Top music ed school by far
I went to Oberlin and while I was not their best student I did extremely well on the grad school college exam in music. I found, many, MANY excellent players there. The academics are also likely more rigorous than at other music schools as the Arts and Science division where one takes such courses is highly selective. A rich experience indeed. Denk was a double degree major and Rorem lamented that even HE was not even accepted. My era filled first chairs in St Louis and D.C. Spano is a grad too.
My son plays bass guitar and some keyboarding. He is a highschool freshman and looking into college music programs that will fit his talents. Do you have any suggestions?
All I’m saying is the University of Houston’s Moore’s School of Music has the number 3 ranked choir IN THE WORLD.
I would very STRONGLY encourage you to attend the next performance of Rice University’s Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra program on Saturday, November 7, 2015, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM at Stude Concert Hall
Program: Ravel Alborada del gracioso; Webern Passacaglia, Op. 1; and Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68. Larry Rachleff, music director.
I would suggest contacting: Holli Clements, Director of Music External Affairs, 2232 Alice Pratt Brown Hall, 713-348-4157. [email protected]
The Rice music school was started on in 1975. I’ve attended two programs per semester here for the last 3 years. The meteoric ascension of superior music performance quality in just 3 years is astounding. One of last year’s programs was the best program I have ever heard, compared even to big-city orchestras (and I’ve been to many around the world). Two weeks ago I attended this program: Strauss Salome’s Dance, Op. 54; Brahms Concerto for Violin & Violoncello in A Minor, Op. 102 (Cho-Liang Lin & Desmond Hoebig, soloists); and Stravinsky Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). The first piece was lively and fun and fresh – the perfect opener. The second piece was a rare double concerto and Brahm’s final work for orchestra. Soloists were professional musicians Cho-Liang Lin, Violin, and Desmond Hoebig, Cello, looked like they were actually rejoicing on stage and they lively and passionately complemented each other’s scintillating performance. The audience gave a full 5-minute standing ovation after this piece – the piece was rare and the performances were gorgeous . Then came the Stravinsky. The performance was dazzling and intense to say the least. I was literally on the edge of my seat and anxious (in a good way) during the entire performance. I was spellbound and couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and I assure you I have a very good ear for music quality. Immediately after the last note was played the audience leapt to their feet, me included. There were howls of “Bravo” and “Whooop” and this lasted for at least 10 minutes. There were multiple curtain calls for the conductor and musicians. The musicality and the overall complete QUALITY of the entire program was indescribable. I felt I had been transported to a completely different place – like riding the world’s best roller coast, or driving around a race track in the fastest Porsche. I realized that I just witnessed the greatest musical evening of my 56-year old life and I will never forget the magical and memorable event. I’m so fortunate to live close to Rice and to be able to attend their (always free) performances. Long story short…..Rice Music School is #8 on your list. I will guarantee you that that are, minimum top 5 with a bullet, and improving every year. Please visit and see/hear for yourself!!
Signed…Houston Traveler/Classical Music Aficionado
IU was and still is no.1– this is a personal ranking obviously. Every school has its pros and cons. The teacher is definitely the most important thing but the general environment-students, other faculties, facilities, programs are equally crucial to the making of a musician’s studies. And yes the tuition cost does matter.
I would definitely recommend Bard college.
Bard has a music department and a conservatory, not a music school. The strongest parts of the conservatory is the UG program where students graduate with a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in an area other than music, the instrumental teachers (most of them also teach also at Juilliard, Curtis, Mannes and/or MSM), its new training orchestra (The Orchestra Now) and its graduate vocal and conducting programs. The worst part is the isolation from cultural centers (not much happens at the Hudson Valley) and arts community, the lenght of the UG program (five years!), the academic part of the conservatory is quite is not very strong (music theory, musicianship etc.), the music library (tiny!), and music practice facilities (even though there’s a music practice building, and one of the dormitories has music practice rooms).
is one of them in indiana
Hi,do you think you could put all the prices on the schools so I will know what it is, how much it costs
Can’t understand how can yiu forget about Cleveland Institute. Thats a major school man.
Please tell about orchestral conducting program. (m.m)
1. non tuition fee
2. chance to conduct opera often
3. good teacher.
4. ?
thanks!
You are asking a lot. For example, the best teachers in America sometimes don’t teach in the best schools, or schools where there isn’t enough provision of lab orchestra tine for students… I have a list of professors I consider to be the best around, and where they teach:
Gustav Meier – Swiss-born professor at Peabody School. No doubt the best conducting professor. The school used to have a lot of podium time, but the bad financial situation of the school is making that change. They have opera performances and the students get to conduct performances. Not a tuition-free School.
Harold Farberman – teaches at Bard College Conservatory. He knows a lot, and his student achieve great things, but he is a difficult person to deal with. Bard offers a professional 14-piece lab orchestra, opportunities with the school and TON orchestras, and during the summer the students work with a full professional orchestra for 4 weeks. Bard is generous with scholarships, but it is not a free school.
Hugh Wolff – teaches at New England Conservatory. He is a fine conductor, and teacher, and really cares about the conducting students at NEC (only 2). The small size of the conducting studio makes the opportunities fantastic. Needless to say the orchestras at NEC are first class. NEC is generous with scholarships, but it is not a tuition-free school.
Murry Sidlin – teaches at Benjamin School of Music (Catholic University of America). Excellent conductor and conducting tutor. He co-founded the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen with David Zinman and taught there in the summers for 30 years and every major conductor that emerged in that period in America has studied with him at some point. The Catholic University is terrible: dreadful facilities, almost no-podium time (although some students get to conducting in performance concerts and opera), below college level orchestra… Not a tuition-free School.
Mark Gibson – teaches at Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Gibson is different; his technique is different, his approach to conducting teaching is different… but he cares, and does it well. He is an opera expert, and students get to do a lot of it with the conservatory’s excellent opera department. On top of that the school is very generous when it comes to scholarships.
I would like to add that to be a conductor you don’t need to join a graduate program. Just go to workshops, to masterclasses etc. And please consider Europe: they invented this business there, they have great schools, classical music is a bigger thing there that it is here, and most schools are tution-fee-free (or at least much cheaper than in the US).
I applaud the effort to help rank schools, obviously not an easy task. It would be awesome if you could eventually expand the list beyond the top 15 to include say the top 30-40. Many great schools like FSU, UGA, Maryland, etc
What are your thoughts on Belmont University in Nashville? Also what do you think of FSU?
“Yoonhwan”, IU rocks and will get you hired if you’re talented; if you’re not, you’d best go get an MM from Colburn (why aren’t they at the top of this list?!), Curtis, or Juilliard. Duh! Also, isn’t the Sibelius Academy known to be the best for orchestral conducting these days…? But if statistically you want the most chances to wave your arms during an opera with a capital O, shouldn’t you find a weaker music school with an opera program and be a big fish?
I think it best to keep an open forum going about Music Schools. I have 4 more years to decide for my boy. I need to stay informed.
You would think UNT would be higher on the list
wtf why isn’t eastman on the list
Hello Sir
I am MANPREET SINGH
From India
I am currently pursuing my graduation with music vocal from Punjab University.
And i have also done my IELTS with 6.5 overall
In speaking 6.5
Listening 7.5
Reading 6.5
Writing 5.5
I wanted to know that can i apply for master in music.
If i am eligible.
Then please kindly let me know about the procedure for admission
I am in a final year of graduation
Result will be out in july
CAN i apply for fall 2016?
Waiting for your reply madam
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I also want to confirm that as i am from India and my graduation in music with Indian classical music.
I want to ask from you am i eligible For master in music nd after that i want to do a P.hd in music so that i can become a professor.
Please sir your information is necessary for me kindly reply me.
So that i could make my future better with your advice.
Thanking you in advance.
Thank you SIR
Eastman is on the list it’s #10.
Hi am Fouzia Awudu from Ghana and my dream is to write and sing for the rest of my life but I have I don’t have the money to attend a music is there any help for someone like me please.
hello guys,I’d like your opinion about Cincinnati Conservatory of Music ,doy you think it is a good election ?
Bill, I read most of the comments and have to say, first of all THANK YOU for stirring this conversation, THANK YOU for your list and THANK YOU for standing up for your ranking politely and kindly.
I have a daughter who is all about music, including piano, cello, choir, composition (has over 18 professionally recorder songs of her own and recently started using composition software to compose more complex pieces of different instruments). It has always been a struggle for me on how to guide her, since neither my husband nor I are musicians. Your list is a very intriguing starting point because throws in names we didn’t know and ranks the universities in a different way than the preconceived notions. To me, this pushes serious people to open their minds and delve deeply into more research that would be specific to their kids (or their own interests). Of course, depending on each person’s long term goals or instruments/talents, they would prefer one university before another. However, this list provides a “third party” perspective, unlike the one we all get at each school’s web sites.
Only three suggestions that might help develop and fine-tune the list:
1/ I know and have read in the comments of at least 3 more schools that seem to deserve attention such as Peabody (I assumed it is the one in Baltimore), and a few others in Florida and Missouri (MIzzou is building a 10 million music-dedicated facility, which will be one of the very few schools that offers a whole department entirely dedicated to composition); your list would be thoughtful to include a few additional schools up to 20;
2/ I really appreciated some of the perspectives in the comments that mentioned “individual teachers” and facilities, or number of rehearsal space; these were factors I was not aware of and it would be interesting to include some information about those in your list the next time you update the info; I also liked the comment about the city in which the university is located; so true that that matters in terms not only from a perspective of the cost of living or quality of life (Eastman could not have been in a most inhospitable climate!!!), but also as opportunities to perform small gigs while in school, thank you to the people who broadened my horizons; some people bashing Philly and Indiana were inappropriate and petty…
3/ I actually don’t mind the ranking, but I am always skeptical about celebrities coming out of these schools. As much as they paint the picture of success, nobody actually knows why they were successful, I bet you that it was not only due to the schools instruction or rehearsal space, but rather the kids’ own drive and determination. Of course, if the school is selective better talents who are most likely more determined will get accepted and become the next big name to list as alumnae. I was shocked that Iggy Pop went to Michigan, wow. This brings me to the point of creating an environment for the kids to thrive among their colleagues. I think Berklee is one of the biggest examples with probably the highest drop-out rate among other music schools, due to the fact that kids go there, the program is geared towards hands-on music business, they make bands, start touring and never finish. However, some of the most significant names of pop/jazz music came from there. It will be very helpful if, as suggested by another commenting professional, the list contain information about top 5 or 6 specialties within the university itself.
Last but not least, it was extremely useful to know that some university offer tuition-free education, wow, another eye opener for me. An aspect that I have recently discovered on my own is that some music schools are affiliated to bigger universities in the same cities and offer dual degrees. In fact, this is how I discovered your list, researching options for dual degrees as part of undergrad education. This is where Northwestern seems to be quite interesting, as is NYU.
Good luck in the future and I hope you will continue updating and improving your list, great job!
There is no mention of Lawrence Uni versity in this discussion yet when I read other forums it is mentioned in the same breath as Oberlin or Cincy.
Perhaps it’s just a Midwest forum that Ive been tuning into.
Any thoughts on Lawrence?
A native Hoosier, I didn’t consider schools other than IU. My audition was rigorous (Wili Apel, for one), and I was fortunate to be placed with concert pianist Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy, a newcomer to IU that year,as my teacher. Realizing I was in over my head, musically, I transferred to the College of Arts and Sciences mid-way through my undergraduate years. But, I’ll never forget the wealth of opportunity–ensembles, performances a-plenty–and the electricity in the very air. Number One? I’ll say. Then and Now.
Where it CIM (Cleveland Institute of Music)? Performers such as Orion Weiss, Daniil Trifonov and others were graduates of that school. I also think that ranking is hard to do in this case, the list of top schools and description of their programs would suffice.
Hi Bill,
Suggest you update the Jacobs School picture. They finished a nice new music school building in late 2014.
http://www.alexkerrviolin.com/professor/jsom/
Hey Doug the URL u given is awesome.
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Shareing ukulelebuzz.com let players help to choose the best ukulele for beginners with beginners guidance.
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What would you say about University of Northern Colorado? It is hard for us people in Colorado to get in.
I’m sorry, but Colorado music programs aren’t even in the same breath as the schools on this list. They aren’t bad for education degrees, but when considering performance degrees with intense study, extremely high musical standards and elite professional teachers, they just aren’t in the same league.
It’s hard to believe that this “ranking” omitted CIM, Mannes, and Peabody. Not to mention that Mannes is also connected to one of the finest undergraduate jazz programs in the US: New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, as well as Parson School of Design. CIM has a fine strings and concertmaster program and Peabody is an absolutely first-rate music conservatory.
I like your top list 15 colleges for music…thanks for sharing with us this list
Hello everyone,
I’m a 30 years old girl from Iran, I have a bachelor degree in Fine Arts, and my goal is studying Music Performance (singing) for another bachelor degree and composition for my master and PhD at one of these schools. However, I can’t afford it.
Would you please give me your opinion that can make any help?
Thank you in advance
Music education is extremely expensive. Sadly. If you are exceptional there are often bursaries and scholarships available, but these are extremely competitive (if 1 in 10 get in, about 1 in 100 get full bursaries, but many get part cover of fees), the tricky part is that these are not guaranteed for all years of your course, and in most cases have to be re-applied for annually. I have had friends who started courses and couldn’t finish, as they ran out of scholarship money and there was no way they could afford the fees. Private sponsorship is also an option (in the UK we have the rotary scheme, which help support people who are talented but cant afford fees). I stopped at MM level for the reason that DMA/Phd was really not likely to improve my career prospects and I couldn’t justify the money. I hope you manage to follow your dream. If it helps Los Angeles is nicknamed Terhangeles, due to the number of Iranians living there.
Was I the only one (and a non-US citizen), to be surprised not to see the Peabody Institute (John Hopkins). This has got to be up there with some of the best in the US. Excellent staff, amazing performance facilities, a long tradition of excellence, and I can attest having had friends graduate there, that the quality of student is very high. Princeton also should be considered, especially with its new link with the RCM in London, and I know people who were at Carnegie Mellon who couldn’t speak highly enough of the place.
Just curious where you would consider/rank
University of Southern Miss. (regulars at Carnegie and New Orleans Saenger)
Stetson in Deland, FL
And University of Miami, Frost School
Hi there. I’m Tomiwa from Nigeria, an aspiring Music Business Mogul. i want to kniw if your institution offers a 1year course in Music Business and what the tuition is for aspiring international students.
Im anticipating your reply.
We have programs for Music Business that may benefit you. We have scholarship programs for rising music moguls like yourself. You will need about 80k for everything (housing, meals, transportation, and tuition)
Hey
I am from India and A Singer
Want to do a music profuction course and a course where i can even polish my vocal skills. Please suggest me a good college which is not expensive
I hope people do not have issues with Indians there
Hehehe
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Sul sito Enciclopedia del sono presenti piu` di 1000 gruppi rock, ma anche di altri generi musicali, come funky, jazz, rap, reggae, musica eletronica ed ecc.
http://enciclopediarock.com/index.php/f/future-sound-of-london
I definitely think Centenary College of Louisiana should be in this this.
What about CCM and Northwestern?!