[azninvasion493]

does anyone here major in music performance? i'm a junior in hs and i play the viola and am thinking about going to college as a music major, but i don't know much about it. so i was just wondering if anyone here has any info/advice. if you do, what school do you go to, and what instrument do you play? thanks

[n A n U]

im not into a music maj. although i played the violin & play the guitar now.

san francisco state has a good music program. look into it.

[xosandy]

im planning on becoming a music major (or minor). i play the piano & violin. if you're looking for a top notch music college, julliard and USC are among the best. i think the majority of the colleges w/really good music programs are on the mid-west or east coast.

[`faded]

hmm I'm going to La Sierra University because I plan to be a music major *voice* but..ya Julliard and USC is good..Julliard is really hard to get into..if you do get in..sometimes they don't give you the top notch teacher..so ya =/ ..I'm not sure what else..there were some I heard that was pretty good..OR you could always go to Europe haha..

[supa'Wanki]

I think a little friend of mine is going to Julliard when she gets older.. even though shes like... 13? lol If your a pianist in the OC area you should know her, lol.

[H1PP0]

I'm planning on majoring in music performance (piano). The schools I'm applying are Juilliard, Peabody, Mannes, Indiana Univeristy (maybe), University of Colorado at Boulder (where my teacher is at).

im super duper scared.

[`faded]

hmm and one more thing about majoring in music..haha..cause my mom majored in music so she told me what I would get into @_@..lol..lets see..You have to audition in order to get in..if you do really well you get the best teachers..if not you won't get the best ones..You must practice like 24/7 practically hahaa exagerration I know but..it's lots of practice..umm..alot of your grades come from performances..aaand there are going to be master classes which you want to aim for..and those are for the best students ..so hope that helps

[SwtMsT]

I'm going for classical voice
I heard SUNY Purchase has an intese music program...
I'm also applying to Carnegie Mellon, which is better known for science, but has a great music/voice program too.

[jeanu]

If you are sure you want music performance as your major, then I would recommend applying to the music conservatories. Julliard, Peabody, Oberlin, and the New England Conservatory are all top-notch music schools.

I'm going to double major in music performance for the violin and international business, so applying to a conservatory wouldn't be very ideal for me. Carnegie Mellon and Columbia both have very respectable music programs as well as business programs. If you wanted to pursue a medical field while pursuing music, then you could apply to Johns Hopkins because they have a joint program with Peabody.

In the meantime, you should probably go to a few music camps and organizations over the summer just to see how you like the atmosphere and to see if a music career is ideal for you. I attended a few myself. There are some very famous music programs sponsored in the summer, such as Interlochen, which is a camp for aspiring musicians. Attending those kind of events would be very advantageous in helping you to decide your future.

[asianpanthers]

well, as far as overall ratings, i'd say berklee (in boston) Musical institute (in LA) or juliard. personally..i'd go with juliard...i mean...psy went there after all...PSY!

but...umm...john mayer, nora jones, steve vai, and billy joel...'s daughter all went to berklee...except for billy joel's daughter who is currently attending.

i've heard good things about all of them though.

[litoxshortaii]

berklee college of music and new england conservatory of music are good if ur considering massachusetts (boston) schools

[saera]

From what I know Berklee is not really a conservatory, it's not really to train you classically. But correct me if I'm wrong.

Music Conservatories (the better known ones)
Julliard
Eastman School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
Curtis Institute of Music (better than Julliard back in the day)
New England Conservatory of Music (you can do a five year thing if you attend harvard, that's what YoYo Ma did)

Schools with good music programs
Northwestern
Indiana University @ Bloomington (not south bend)
Johns Hopkins -- Peabody
USC - Thornton
Oberlin College
Carnegie Mellon
Rice University
University of Oklahoma << pretty much only for pedagogy not really the music school

I'm probably missing a few.

Your best bet of knowing how well you play compared to your peers, enroll in a pre-college program. Most of the major conservatories (probably all actually) have a pre-college program, which is usually about the same difficulty level of getting accepted as the conservatory itself. Although there are plenty of kids at Julliard Pre-college that don't get into Julliard.

Go to as many camps as possible. You want to start applying NOW. Usually tapes are sent in, then live auditions usually in the beginning of the year. Also do tons of competitions, it will give you a heads up for what's ahead.

H1PP0 - GOOD LUCK!! I'm sure you'll do fine. A couple years ago there was a blizzard in NYC when my mom's student auditioned at Julliard, so half the people couldn't make it to their audition, but they did it at a later time.

[asianpanthers]

looks like you know your stuff. no, berklee is not a conservatory. i suppose you could have guessed considering the people that came out of them...steve vai? john mayer? nora jones? ...and neither is musical institute. both are mainly relatively modern music.

[pprMNTE]

I've heard Belmont is music intensive; but I'm not quite sure where they rank with Julliard.