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Here's an example of the high quality of playing that goes on in a place like Curtis for those interested future applicants.

WHYY Arts and Culture channel is broadcasting the Curtis student recital concerts on monday, wednesday and friday nights. I justed watched the first one (Stephanie Jeong with Hugh Sung) and it's a blast. Here are a few links to help you find it.

http://www.whyy.org/about/report03/arts.html

http://www.curtis.edu/html/10000.shtml

http://www.curtis.edu/html/21194.shtml

everyone keeps talking about UT Austin as a good school for piano... but who's a good teacher there? someone mentioned Anton Nel, but it doesn't seem like he's there much...

my young sis is applying to music schools for piano performance undergrad right now, but our family is very concerned about cost... unfortunately she would like to leave texas if she can... people mention private schools here and there that have a great teacher, but which schools would you consider the best of the private univ's, i.e. not conservatories or state/public univs) (eg. boepple/santa clara, campbell/illinois wesleyan, ioudenitch/park, bonaventura/boston)...

lastly, does CCM give full scholarships based on music, not academic?

also, people have recommended Viardo and Paul at UNT, but do they take in a lot of undergrads or not? how do they compare to Ungar/TCU and Weems/Houston? and does Abbey Simon at Houston teach undergrads?

i'm also concerned about the safety of campuses. i haven't read too much talk about that here. people have warned me about the crime surrounding Houston, Baltimore/Peabody, and CCM/Cincinnati. is this a valid concern? i'd prefer my sister to go to a campus where she can walk around safely at night.

UNT has a number of exceptional teachers. Joseph Banowetz is supposed to be an amazing teacher. I was just reading an interview with him, and one of his teachers was a pupil of Clara Schumann, and he also studied with Gyorgy Sandor (sp?) who was a pupil of Bartok. His specialty is romantic literature. You bring up a good point re: many of the highly-respected teachers pretty much only teach grad students. Probably not the case everywhere, however. Your sister should start contacting some teachers she's interested in and ask some questions. My son is a violin major at UNT and he is happy with the music program (he went there for his teacher, but also the excellent program overall). The University itself is huge. Denton is a suburb of Dallas, but I believe the crime rate is not particularly high. My son has never felt unsafe, and he used to practice until 2 a.m. and walk to his dorm from the music building. Your sister needs to be cautious about walking around ANY college campus after dark, even in a quiet, safe neighborhood. Unfortunately, campus crimes and assaults can happen anywhere. In fact, some of the safest campuses are in areas that are known to be crime-ridden, because the security and campus police are a huge presence. A quiet, supposedly safe campus can give students a false sense of security.

I just wanted to add another Conservatory to the list. It is in the Midwest though, but I have a friend who goes there and she says the musical atmosphere and the level of professors there are amazing. it is an undergraduate school and all professors are concentrated on teaching the undergrads only, so you won't have to go to an assistant while your professor is busy teaching the masters and doctoral degree people. The name is Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. That school is very expensive, but you can also get a double-degree in music and science, or music and some other humanity discipline. I heard they just had Claude Frank for a recital and masterclasses there, and most of the faculty have very strong connections with their teachers in grad schools around the country. They have three piano professors - an American, a Canadian, and a Russian. Sounds like a good mix to me

Hi. I want to do a post grad, and I want to go to the best place! Where should I go? Should I study somewhere in the US? Or maybe at the RAM in London? Any replies would be much appreciated. Thanks
Russ.

Has anyone heard if the New School in NYC or NYU's music Department is any good? My brother is going to be a guitar major and he is interested in New York. He's majoring in Jazz Guitar BTW but I'm just interested in the music department in general. Perhaps if anyone has been to these schools or knows of anybody that has gone there.

SillySushi, I haven't heard of Wichita State as a prestigious music school, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Park University, near KC, is really great, but unknown. My daughter takes lessons there and they have incredible students, from what I've seen and heard coming from the practice rooms. There are an unusually high amount of Russian-speaking students and I'm not entirely sure how they all ended up there, but I think it is related to Stanislav Ioudenitch, the '01 Van Cliburn winner, teaching there. They have masters classes that are great, yet you never hear anything about them.

My daughter wants to be a veterinarian, but loves the atmosphere in the music department at Park, which doesn't offer vet school. Her plan, last I heard (she's only 10) was to go there, undergrad, so she could continue piano there.

Hi! I'm Sarah, I'm a junior in high school, and I figured it was about time to start thinking about where I should go to college. I absolutely love piano and am pretty sure it's what I want to do with my life. Are any of you familiar with a Christian or Lutheran school that has a good piano program? Thanks!

Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma, WA has a fairly decent music department. St. Olaf is probably one of the better known schools for music, especially choral music. I believe it is a Lutheran university as well.

Troy:

I am both a pilot and a pianist, and therefore feel especially qualified to answer your question. Ask yourself why you want to become a pianist and why you want to be a pilot. Think about it carefully, take your time. Then write it down on paper. The written word is very powerful, Troy.

Both of these aspirations will take tremendous dedication but for different reasons.

You can become a pilot and a concert pianist both. It is not impossible, I can guarantee you that. I know people other than just myself who have done it. The question is are you willing to do what it takes to achieve this?

Flying itself is easy, I don't care what anyone says. But it takes a lot of work, a lot of studying and a lot of dedication. You can be a doctor with a practice in the same time it will take you to get hired into a major airline. Add at least another decade to that to become a Captain (again, I'm talking about the majors).

Being an airline pilot it certainly isn't what it used to be. If it's glamor you're after, then fly in another country, because as far as the passengers go, you're just another bus driver here in the States. The attitude towards pilots and the fringe benefits are going down the garbage shoot. Meanwhile, the FAA (Folks Against Aviation) and the TSA (Thousands Standing Around), make regulations that continually diminish the pilot's quality of life while increasing his responsibilities and liabilities.

And you have to get accepted with a Major Airline to enjoy all this first!

Depressing?

Do you want me to get started on what it is like to try and make a living as a musician? A concert pianist? The insane competition out there?

Am I trying to discourage you? NO! After you have read this post, look at what you wrote on your piece of paper and ask yourself if it is worth it. If your answer is "I don't care what the obstacles are, I want to be a pilot and a pianist both", then read on.

First of all, you are right, you need a degree and they don't theoretically care what the degree is in. They want to see that you can commit yourself to something, giving your time and money and attention for four years. Many airlines will also consider your greats for every single course you take. An aviation related degree is better, and it doesn't have to be from Embry-Riddle. Since you are talking about a college, and the piano, I'm assuming you are thinking of going the civilian route. You still could be considering ROTC with the Air Force, but not if you are in any way serious about the piano.

I have a schedule which allows me to be home three to four days a week. That's a major advantage to being a pilot. I don't do the 9-5 thing. (I did for a few years before I became a pilot to pay for my piano studies, but I hated it.) During my says off, I practice the piano up to six hours a day. Had I joined the Air Force, I would have had to stop the piano cold and for a few years at least. You cannot afford to stop playing for more than a few days at a time or your technique will suffer to say the least.

So the civilian route is your only option. ASU is an excellent university and I happen to know the folks at the music department. I've attended all the ASU International Piano competitions since they first started in 2006. I strongly recommend you get in touch with the ASU music school now. If you are talented, a professor there will take you on as a student right now. I have flown with a pilot whose child was very gifted and was taken under the wing on one of the ASU piano professors. She was exactly your age, too.

There isn't much you can do right now on the flying side (unless you take up gliding), but now is the time to really work on your repertoire and make major strides at the piano.

You can be a music major and still get a job as a pilot. Better still, you could be a double major and get both a degree in piano performance and in aviation management or something aviation related. (I say this because you might be able to get a student loan for that every expensive flight training). Also, Mesa Airlines has some program for taking in ab initio pilots. Southwest Airlines requires 1500 hours of turbine PIC. That means turbo-props too, so if you get into the Mesa Airlines program, you could eventually find your way into Southwest.

Airlines will be hiring and then they'll slow down and stop and even start furloughing. You'll see a lot of that as you start along your long path to getting your degree and the minimum tickets (Commercial and ATP) and hours (1500) required before you'll even be considered by an commuter.

Remember, even if they say they are laying off pilots, one day that will change and they'll hire again. Don't let anything stop you. There's no technical challenge at the piano you cannot over come. And you can eventually become a pilot for a major airline no matter what the economy is doing, because unless they develop teleportation, or completely automated airplanes, or the world runs out of kerosene to fuel airplanes, there will still be a demand for pilots.

It just takes time and perseverance.

I wish you the best from the bottom of my heart. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a personal message anytime.

Shenandoah University and Conservatory of Music
Winchester, Virginia.
Out of that whole list, I am surprised nobody mentioned Shenandoah. It is an outstanding Conservatory with an outstanding reputation and Faculty.
I received my BMC and MM degrees from there.
Roger R Sethmann

Troy, kudos to you for thinking ahead and planning!

But, I must tell you - whoever told you that ASU Herberger College's School of Music is not a great school is a complete dolt and an idiot, I dare say! And, that's putting it mildly! I really take offense at such uninformed, arbitrary statement of that "someone."

The school is fantastic, and so is the piano faculty! For Christ's sake, people come from all over the world to study with several of the piano teachers there! You should make a point of meeting professors there, research their bios on the website, listen to their recordings and you will know how GOOD it is. I would point to three people: Dr. Baruch Meir (my prof and he is exceptionally GOOD), Robert Hamilton and Caio Pagano. That's for starters, many other good ones there.

Now, I can say this with FULL authority as I studied in some of the best music schools in the world and with legends of piano pedagogy. Still, I am doing my doctorate at ASU, I chose to do so, although I could've gone literally anywhere in the world again!

If money is not a problem, you can go to Oberlin, Manhattan School of Music, North Western (not Juilliard for undergrad, but yes for grad studies!), or any other super expensive private schools. However, you have a treasure of a School of Music right in your own back yard!

Plus, being an in state student and considering how many students get full rides and partial scholarships based on their auditions ... why would you even think of going anywhere else???

That's my 2 cents worth ... keep the change. :p :p

Ultimately, what you get out of your music education, reg. of what your emphasis is, rather it's piano performance, music tech. etc. is what you put into it. Yes, it's great to be able to get into Jailyard but ultimately, it's what you do _after_ you get out. I studied with a former concert pianist who went to St. Louis Conservatory back in the 1950s. I've also coached with a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and am currently studying the Taubman method with a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory. Each school has it's merits. I got my degrees in music from public universities and had a piano scholarship from one of them.
Looking back, each school was the right enviroment for me at that time, and at that stage of my life. At both places, I had great teachers who are not very well known. Dr. Timothy Woolsey at Texas State University and Joan Allison at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

You need to look at where you are now, where you hope to be in 4 or 6 years, what your financial situation is, and what your needs are. Good luck!

Thanks for you reply Jelena. Was wandering if it would be possible to go to ASU after completing a 4 year degree at another college in something completely unrelated to music, then go to another college and study music?

I have found a great school (University of North Dakota"UND") that has a great Commercial Aviation program. I am thinking of going there. Afterwards I would like to spend a year or 2 studying music. Whether it be there at UND, or ASU, or UofH or any college for that matter, would it be posisble for me to enroll as a music student for just 2 years with one of these colleges? I would already have my 4 year degree, but I dont want to pursue my Masters, I think that would be to hard seeing how I have not previously studied music, only as a minor.


I hope I made some sense. I am not pursuing a career in music, but I don't want to just forget about music either. I have 2 years to figure it out though...

Thanks.

Being an airline pilot it certainly isn't what it used to be. If it's glamor you're after, then fly in another country, because as far as the passengers go, you're just another bus driver here in the States. The attitude towards pilots and the fringe benefits are going down the garbage shoot. Meanwhile, the FAA (Folks Against Aviation) and the TSA (Thousands Standing Around), make regulations that continually diminish the pilot's quality of life while increasing his responsibilities and liabilities.

For what it's worth, I have never thought of pilots in this way, as bus drivers. I always love to gaze in the **** pit and thank the pilots for not making me sick and for the nice flight... It's a tough job from what I can see!

It is not nice to say pilot is a bus driver, but in reality, it is what most people think of pilots. The reason is that these days flying is so common, there is no more excitement of flying for most people, it is just like riding a bus.

Hi everyone,
I am new here but I have been reading the posts for a while and this is a really cool site. Do any of you have any opinions on University of Texas at Tyler, University of Texas at Arlingtion, or Dallas Baptist Univerisity? I am a sophmore at Richland Community College and I am already teaching piano. I would like to get a degree in piano pedagogy. I am considering these schools because they are close enough to Dallas that I could continue to teach during the weekends. I did not list SMU because one of my music professors said that the music program is not as good as it used to be. Is that true? Thank you for any thoughts you might have!

I don't know anything about the schools you mentioned, although of the three, Arlington probably has the better music dept.

Have you looked into Univ. of North Texas or Texas Christian? Both of those have excellent piano faculties and music departments in general. I understand that there is free commuter bus service between downtown Dallas and UNT daily (free for UNT students!)

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the comments! I really appreciate it!