University/College and future careers

[ludwig]

 Hi Everyone, I am sorta confused at the moment. Right now I'm deciding on what to do with my piano playing. I've almost finished my bachelor soon and ready to go onto bigger things (or not =( ) the problems with deciding what to do from now on always depends on two things i've gathered, 1) money, 2) time

 I've always wanted to improve on my piano playing and the understanding of music through this. Therefor I've decided to do my performance Masters of Music MMUS. The problem is I need to go overseas to do this, because I feel I can't find the suitable teacher/degree where I live to do this. Does anyone have any info for me on this? Have you studied a MMUS of performance? Do you know where is the best places (universities and acadamys) to do a performance masters? Do they offer scholarships to overseas students? Any info regarding this degree? I was thinking of going either to a good university in the States, or going to London or Paris or Holland for this.

Also, does anyone have any pointers on what I should consider? For example, work for a couple of years to save up and then do my masters overseas? Or work while I'm doing my masters? or just forget about my masters and find a good music education occupation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

[Colette]

Regarding good masters programs in america: manhattan school of music has some very fine teachers and good performing opportunites, a prized theory department, a solid orchestra and it's in ny where u can easily find a job, so you can avoid becoming a starving artist. boston university, surprisingly, has a very fine masters program. anthony di bonaventura (renowned for his scarlatti playing and a grad of curtis) is head and he is a wonderful guy and an amazing pianist with many good, even great students. i worked with him and it was an invaluable experience. mannes school of music, in ny, is decent for masters. i'd say manhattan school of music is a better bet, although i do know some great teachers there. a good thing about mannes is that it's part of "the new school" university so you can also take classes in other subjects if you want to. also, new york university has some good piano teachers. the grad program has a good focus on music history and innovative theory...also, like mannes, but better, nyu is a great institution, so the entire school is open for you to take advantage of. then, there's peabody, (the music conservatory affiliated with john's hopkins) which has an impressive faculty including leon fleisher and lots of performing opportunites. however, it's in baltimore, which in my opinion kinda sucks. i didn't mention juilliard. it's cosmically difficult to get into, but of course, it's home to some fine teachers, and talented grad students. the juilliard orchestra is wonderful for a student ensemble and they perform regularly at lincoln center, the perfoming complex directly facing juilliard. juilliard is also affiliated with columbia university and it would be a shame not to take advantage.
abroad: i now attend the royal college of music in london. here's what i can say about it: it seems to train people to be serious amatures, not serious musicains. the level is not the highest. however, there are some good things. since you're looking for a grad program, the best teachers reserve their time for their grad students. ruth nye has a host of successful students, as does yonty solomon and andrew ball. the royal college is great at finding jobs for its students. all you have to do is be procactive, and you've got it made, for the time being at least. another school in london, the royal academy, seems to have slightly higher standards. they have a different, more rigid way of teaching and the school is, on the whole, more conservative and traditionally "british". london, like new york, is one of the best cultural centers for growing musicians. europeans, by large, are for more receptive to classical musicians and have more respect for their craft. the london symphony orchestra (sometimes conducted by ashkenazy) plays regularly at a cheap fare, and some of the worlds top artists perform often. however, london is quite expenisve, (the dollar is pretty much dead over there) and international students get practically noooo scholarships or financial aid. so, unless you have an endless bank account, i'd look in the united states. i know i'm suffering. if you live in london, you must get a job. however, to do that you must have a working visa and maintain residency in london for at least 2 years and, of course, fit it in to your busy practice schedule.
most of these schools are very hard to get into and provide serious training for near professionals and performers. i'm not sure if you're headed down that path or if you want to go into piano pedagogy. you sound like you haven't made your mind up yet. if you do a masters in music, it is a full time occupation that requires sacrifice, time time time, money, and a hell of a lot of desire.

[ludwig]

  Thanks for the info Colette. It was really helpful. =) I'm seriously considering to do a performance masters and would like to acheive "near" professional standards. I recently had a friend audition for the 2 institutions you've mentioned in London. (royal acadamy/college) He got the position but has decided not to attend because of the outrageous tuition fees. You said that they didn't offer any financial aid to overseas students? I was hoping you wouldn't say that :p because I know that a performance masters need lots of dedication/time, and money, ( i think i may have the dedication, but not the $, which is why I seek financial aid desperately.) Is it possible to apply for scholarships in the US to do my masters? Also, would you say that living in the UK would be much more expensive than in the US? (roughly speaking of course, because no one can afford to live near college/centre of city).

I'm not very interested in music pedagogy, I have been studying education for a while and is quite bored with it. It would be fantastic to find a good teacher who can help me with my musical understanding through performance. I've got a question regarding to assessments within a performance masters too..(hehe, too many questions, sorry,) I know that most performance masters consists of musicology papers, research assessments etc... but is the actual awarding of the degree depended upon performance only? Or is it most likely to be in a ratio of 60%/40% (performance/musicology)? I just wanted to know what are the componenets/subjects like within the degree. (ie musicianship, performance, musicology etc...)

Anyways, you've already helped me heaps, thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge =)

[Colette]

yes it is possible to apply for scholarships in the us to do your masters. some schools (the ones with better funding of course) give more money than others. juilliard however, is very stingy with scholarships, while manhattan is more generous. why? dunno.
another good way of getting money which people don't usually think about is to find a sponsor. many of my friends are going to school near-tuition free because they have been sponsored. check at music schools, ask your colleagues, ask your teacher for viable options. this seems to be a very european method, but it's definitely a smart one.
yes living in the uk is more expensive, roughly double the cost of living in the us because the dollar is so weak right now, and will probably continue to be for a long while with good ol bush in the house. food is terribly expensive as is living. the best bet is to rent out a flat and share with 5 or 6 friends outside of central london. that's really the only way to go.
while courses like musicianship, musicology and all the related papers etc. are a large part of the degree, in the end, the awarding of the degree depends on how well you play the piano. period. your ratio is about right, but your recitals, masterclasses, technical exams, end of term concerts, and the assessment of your piano teacher all matter the most. the best schools don't graduate you if you haven't reached your highest potential by the time you're a senior.
good luck!

[Hmoll]

If you're still interested in the US, there are about 30 really good music schools. Indiana, Cincinnati Conservatory, Boston Cons., New England Cons., Peabody, Cleveland, Boston Univ., Michigan, Oberlin (if you want to pay $35k/yr), numerous schools in Texas, etc.,etc.,etc.), State Univ. of NY at StonyBrook (where Kalish takes about 2 or 3 new students per year), Mannes, and on and on.

Do some research, check admission/audition  requirements, tuition, piano faculty, other course work you might be interested in, scholarship possibilities.

It's not just Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, NEC, Eastman anymore. There are lots of good schools where you can get a great education.

[MzrtMusic]

For several years, I considered studying music in the UK, and I found a grant for students wanting to study music over there. It was for 10,000 pound a year (sorry, I don't know how to make the little sign) and I believe it was called the Frank Huntington Bebee scholarship. It's based in Boston, and if you go to the British Education Council website, and do a scholarship search, you will eventually find it.

Sarah

[ludwig]

Thanks for the advice guys. Hmoll, its good to know that we have more choices in universities/colleges than before.

Sarah, thanks for mentioning this Beebe Fund. I looked at this site :  https://www.beebefund.org/ which was linked from so many other websites, I couldn't find much info on what the financial aid meant. I've got a few questions to ask, do you know if this fund can be used at any university I'm interested in doing my masters? It says on the form that IF and thats a big "IF", if I get to play in the finals, does that mean I'll have to travel to Boston? And do I have to use this scholarship in a uni/college in UK? Or both UK and US? Thanks so much for the info already. I'm just a bit curious about the processes of getting a scholarship overseas, since I haven't had much experience with it previously. I'm currently studying in Australia btw. What about you? Do you still have plans to go to the UK to study music?