music schools in universities

[ludwig]

I'll be finishing my Bmus hon soon and would very much like to do a DMA (doctor in musical arts), I'm looking at universities in the US, UK and Australia. Does anyone have any experiences or information that could help me decide on which one to pick? Or audition/admission info for any particular universities you attended or applied for or thinking of going for? Thanks in advance

Ludwig

[Tash]

well because i'm biased i'm going to say go to the Sydney Conservatorium!! website is here https://www.music.usyd.edu.au//
it's really good, like i'm not there but i've been there and the building is really cool, and it's apparently one of the best cons in the world! ah dunno if they actually have a DMA- i think music gets put under Docter of Philosophy here, as does like every single other area, but you can do whatever i guess. anyway check it out. if you don't want to go to a conservatorium then in sydney at least there's the uni of NSW, which (now we get into extreme patriotism!) i think is the bomb cos i go there- the lecturers are so nice and i think they're really good in teaching etc. but yeah, dunno about the rest of oz, i think queensland conservatorium isn't bad...

[iumonito]

Tash, an aside:  have you played Australian-made pianos?  Your comments would be most appreciated in the "Instruments" list.

An answer to original.  Curtis and Julliard are the two with big names.  I went to Indiana and recommend it, even though my teachers are now deceased.  I the US at least it is not so much a matter of where but of with whom.  The list of great teachers is too long but suffice to mention Judit Jaimes in Wisconsin and Sequeira Costas in Kansas.

[Tash]

i haven't yet played on an aussie piano- there's only stuart & sons right? we have one at uni (woo out of like the only 4 that exist) so i'm sure i'll eventually play on it. the Australia Ensemble always uses it in their concerts so i've heard it and i quite like its tone. a friend played on it last year and she found it slightly weird cos she was used to steinways and stuff, and the tone sounds different because the vibrations don't change direction in the strings. ummm can't remember what else she said. but there are apparently 2 other threads on them
https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,923.0.html

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,433.0.html

[iumonito]

Sorry, Ludwig, quick response to Tash;  Stuart and Sons are the wierd ones with vertical back aggraffes and extra notes, but the really very best Australian pianos, I think, are Ron Overs'.  I was wondering whether you had an opinion.  I have not played them but I admire their design and they sound incredible in records.

To tie things to the question about where to go, one sad thing about schools in USA is that you rarely see a piano that is not a Yamaha or a Steinway.  I understand in Germany and Italy you get much more variety.

[ludwig]

Thanks Tash for the info on Aussie institutions... I checked out the DMA at Melbourne Uni, they don't offer it at University of New South Wales, I'm not so interested in the conservatorium because don't you have to get a teacher from there if you study there?

I think I saw somewhere that thracozaag has just finished his DMA because I was thinking of doing a PHD but I don't want to write another 2308970 word thesis So the DMA looks good, I'm just interested to know where it is offered, I have close family in California and was looking at UCA for that degree... I am totally clueless about institutions in the US so any info would be appreciated, I can also go to the UK and live with one of my best friends so I can attend a university there for that degree too, so any info would be greatly appreciated

BTW, I have played on one Stuart as well, I think the sound is too crisp and sort of claps before the depth is reached, so I don't really like the tone of it... But it really depends on what you play on it. I think it works well in chamber music...

[Tash]

yeah you do get a teacher from there at the con- they do have good teachers (duh!), i know one of them is gerard willems and he's a champ.
but melbourne uni's a pretty good uni- i only know a girl doing dentistry there, but had a few friends apply there for a scholarship but she didn't get in...mmm useful info...!

[steinwayguy]

Do you mean non-conservatory universities, conservatories or both?

Non-conservatory universities-
Indiana University (I'd look to study with Menahem Pressler)
Yale University (Claude Frank)
University of Missouri, Kansas City (Robert Weirich)

Conservatories-
The Juilliard School (nearly anyone, Lowenthal, Lipkin, Kaplinsky, McDonald, etc.)
The Curtis Institute (Fleisher, Lipkin, Graffman, Frank)
Oberlin Conservatory (Peter Takacs)
Mannes Conservatory (Diane Walsh, Jerome Rose)
Boston Conservatory (Michael Lewin)
Cleveland Institute of Music (Paul Schenly)

[ludwig]

Thanks for the recommendations steinwayguy, I know that I will get a fantastic teacher if I go to a conservatory, but it just doesn't attract me that much, and I was hoping to take some other classes while I complete the degree. I like the Indiana university town and have friends there who can help me out with finding the right teachers, and info on enrolment. Are the auditions pretty much standardised for the universities to do a DMA? I know I have to sumbit a really good proposal for my intentions of study, and each school has their own coursework system, but its the first steps that are the hardest, like finding out about the processes like going for auditions in another country is a bit daunting  I'm not particularly interested in the exchange programs at my uni either (they are not arts based, more enginnering, science and law).... I'll have a look around at uni websites, now that I have some ideas of where music is good. Thanks