hi all,

i am 18 in my last year of high school. i want to attend a conservatory like Juilliard, Curtis, Eastman or Cleveland Institute. Anyone have any feedback on these schools? Thanks.

Harry
San Francisco, CA

Depends on what you want to do. Do you want to be an orchestra player or a budding soloist? Juilliard is the one for soloists but so few make it these days. I would put my money on schools associated with a top orchestra like Cleveland Inst of Music and Curtis. If you want a big university experience, check out Indiana Univ, Northwestern, Suny Purchase, or Eastman. They have great music schools. Good luck.

Blair - Tuba

If you plan on focusing 100% of your time to becoming an orchestra player, a conservatory is the right choice although I wouldn't recommend Juilliard. They focus too much on churning out soloists and don't provide the real world experience of working with a local orchestra like the NY Phil. I always wondered why they never affiliated like Cleveland, Curtis or Boston Univ.

If you are thinking about a backup plan and do a double major, you should consider a university with a strong music program. Blair recommended some good school that I would agree with.

MyAuditions has their Music Edu resource to search for these programs so you might want to check that out.

Rob Nesmith

Harry,

Since you are in California, why not check out San Francisco Conservatory. Or, if you want a university atmosphere, I hear USC has a great music program... and your close to the beach.

Carina