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Hi, I've been a member of this forum for a couple of years now and I've seen great advice for the students preparing for auditions and the like. My situation is the same but different, my professor is leaving Concordia Nebraska to finish his DMA at Rutgers in New Jersey, so I'm professorless I've been accepted to SIUC (Professor Tucker) and I'm waiting to hear from W Mich, and U of Louisville (JJ). Here's the thing I want a smaller university with a great music program. I realize colleges like ASU, Mich,UNT, are awesome but I want a school where I can study with the professors not GTAs (no offense GTAs). So what are a few schools I can look into? THanks Luke

The Univ. of Central Arkansas has a great music program (the best in the state...no offense to Ben). Dr. Young is a great professor and the university is an average size (11,000 students). Dr. Young is kinda busy but most of his students drop buy to just talk and sometimes that can last for 1-2 hours. The music building is outdated but there are plans on constructing a new one by the end of the decade. There is an up and coming orchestra program under the direction of Israel (Izzy) Getzov who is bringing a new energy to the orchestra. There are no tuba grad students and the lessons are extremely productive.

Be careful not to accept any music scholarships unless you have a release from your existing school (assuming they are NASM accredited). I get more than a few people wanting to transfer during the summer but can't give any financial aid without a release.

Again, making the assumption that you either have no need for music scholarships or have a release, There are some really great small schools. Oberlin, Lawrence Conservatory, Puget Sound (Washington), etc. Even here in Kansas, most of the State schools have a full time tuba professor.

When I was in college, my major professor (not my tuba teacher), left to finish his DMA (which didn't work out for him), and I was the only student who stayed at the university upon his that event. He didn't actually leave the university... He went on sabbatical... He had an excellent replacement... The school I attended was so small that in my first year there (and for those of you who know me, this was the school that I attended after my Army discharge), there were only five music majors and ten music minors. When that professor left, I was the only music student. The university kept all its classes for me but it jeopardized the NASM status of the school.. and that professor still teaches there today. Because of that event, the university dropped most of the music programs I needed after I left. It was a terrible thing for all those people to desert the university like that. It actually cost some people their jobs. This is one reason why I am known as the LoyalTubist!

Arkietuba wrote:The Univ. of Central Arkansas has a great music program (the best in the state...no offense to Ben).

OK, off topic, but I have lost count of how many UCA music students have made the same statement. Strikes me as interesting, because I generally have not heard students from the other excellent music programs in Arkansas making the same claim.

No doubt UCA has a good program. (Ricky Brooks was my HS Band Director, and I've had positive impressions of everyone else I've met from there.) It just makes me wonder if UCA has some mandatory freshman seminar where everyone sits in lotus position in a room full of candles, chanting "UCA has the best music program in the state . . . UCA has the best music program in the state . . . UCA has the best music program in the state . . ."

Thanks for the many great suggestions, Cental Arkansas may be a good choice. THanks again and keep em coming.

Ha!! thanks Professor Dorn It's a definate possibility Besides my brother and his wife are moving to Louisville and Fred and Reese are there too!!

Follow your teacher to Rutgers Go Scott M

Uncle Buck wrote:

Arkietuba wrote:The Univ. of Central Arkansas has a great music program (the best in the state...no offense to Ben).

OK, off topic, but I have lost count of how many UCA music students have made the same statement. Strikes me as interesting, because I generally have not heard students from the other excellent music programs in Arkansas making the same claim.

No doubt UCA has a good program. (Ricky Brooks was my HS Band Director, and I've had positive impressions of everyone else I've met from there.) It just makes me wonder if UCA has some mandatory freshman seminar where everyone sits in lotus position in a room full of candles, chanting "UCA has the best music program in the state . . . UCA has the best music program in the state . . . UCA has the best music program in the state . . ."

UCA does in fact have the best music program overall in the state. We have faculty members who have studied at the most prestigious conservatories and universities. Our Euph/Trombone instructor (D. Winter) went to the NE Conservatory and played with the Coast Guard Band. Jackie Lamar (saxophone) is known as the 2nd best saxophone instructor in the world. Min Ho Yeh (now leaving to go to Taiwan) was the principle clarinet in the Taiwan Nat'l Orchestra. Our music theory teachers have studied at Oberlin and various other conservatories. If you want to teach, UCA has the best education dept. in the South and maybe one of the top 10 in the country. As good a player as Ben is, Dr. Young simply cannot be beat when it comes to teaching his students in his studio and as assistant band director. As far as I know there are only 2 tuba students from UCA on here and I post a lot more that the other one. AR Tech is good, but they just don't draw the best musicians and the Univ. of AR is basically more style over substance. For tuba/euph...UCA is the best choice in AR plus (since AR is a fairly poor state) tuition is very reasonable (we have lots of out of state students). We even have musicians from Eastern Europe come here (mainly for piano and orchestra).

I don't have any affiliations with Ithaca, BUT... I've been there for a regional MTNA competition earlier this year, and the campus and building is absolutely GREAT!! I've also heard many great things about the professor up there.

When I was in high school, I studied with Mark Mordue. He is now Dr. Mordue @ Ball St. in Muncie, Indiana. Great teacher, great player and all-around great guy. 20 years after the fact, he influences every note I play.

Arkietuba wrote: UCA does in fact have the best music program overall in the state. We have faculty members who have studied at the most prestigious conservatories and universities. Our Euph/Trombone instructor (D. Winter) went to the NE Conservatory and played with the Coast Guard Band. Jackie Lamar (saxophone) is known as the 2nd best saxophone instructor in the world. Min Ho Yeh (now leaving to go to Taiwan) was the principle clarinet in the Taiwan Nat'l Orchestra. Our music theory teachers have studied at Oberlin and various other conservatories. If you want to teach, UCA has the best education dept. in the South and maybe one of the top 10 in the country. As good a player as Ben is, Dr. Young simply cannot be beat when it comes to teaching his students in his studio and as assistant band director. As far as I know there are only 2 tuba students from UCA on here and I post a lot more that the other one. AR Tech is good, but they just don't draw the best musicians and the Univ. of AR is basically more style over substance. For tuba/euph...UCA is the best choice in AR plus (since AR is a fairly poor state) tuition is very reasonable (we have lots of out of state students). We even have musicians from Eastern Europe come here (mainly for piano and orchestra).

Well, I realize that a discussion about the "best music school in Arkansas" has . . . limited . . . value, but I couldn't resist one more response.

What you said in the paragraph above would justify a statement that UCA has an "excellent" music program.

To justify your "best" statement, you would need more specific comparative data. I would suggest that if you wanted to gather data to support your statement, the most relevant data(actually, in my opinion, the only relevant data) would be comparisons between the schools of the success rates of graduates (percent of graduates employees in specified areas, salaries, etc.).

Okay, point taken, when you think of Arkansas, music isn't probably the first thing you think of (unless it's folk or blues). And yes, more data would back my point up, but seeing as how I'm a lazy college student I don't feel like doing any research. But, some more info on our program...some of our saxophonists go to the Bordeux Conservatory in Paris (the best saxophone school in the world) after they tap Jackie Lamar's knowledge and some of are students are employed by the cruise ship industry for the summer and fall. Some of our students are already gaining fame for composing and one of my friends has already written and recorded a movie score. Just b/c you don't hear other music students from the Univ. of AR or AR Tech praising our program doesn't mean that we are not the best...just ask their instructors. If you want to teach anything (especially music), UCA has the most reputable education program in the south (no jokes please).

Arkietuba wrote:Okay, point taken, when you think of Arkansas, music isn't probably the first thing you think of (unless it's folk or blues). And yes, more data would back my point up, but seeing as how I'm a lazy college student I don't feel like doing any research. But, some more info on our program...some of our saxophonists go to the Bordeux Conservatory in Paris (the best saxophone school in the world) after they tap Jackie Lamar's knowledge and some of are students are employed by the cruise ship industry for the summer and fall. Some of our students are already gaining fame for composing and one of my friends has already written and recorded a movie score. Just b/c you don't hear other music students from the Univ. of AR or AR Tech praising our program doesn't mean that we are not the best...just ask their instructors. If you want to teach anything (especially music), UCA has the most reputable education program in the south (no jokes please).

Dude, we get it. You love your school. More power to you. Question: do they give you extra scholarship money for sounding like an infomercial?

Ralph

I have never known of the top student in a studio to study with the GTA.

I studied Euph. w/ Jeff Jarvis @ East Carolina University, Greenville NC. Smaller program, Lots of playing if you want it. Fabulous teacher. Nice campus, too.

Oberlin College & Conservatory of Music in Oberlin Ohio.

Very beautiful and quiet little campus.

Tuba teacher: Ron Bishop - enough said

harold wrote:Look at Michigan State. Phil Sinder is a great player as well as an exceptional teacher.

Indeed he is! That description, mind you, also fits Deanna Swoboda at Western Michigan -- hope you hear back from them soon.

TexTuba wrote:

Arkietuba wrote:Okay, point taken, when you think of Arkansas, music isn't probably the first thing you think of (unless it's folk or blues). And yes, more data would back my point up, but seeing as how I'm a lazy college student I don't feel like doing any research. But, some more info on our program...some of our saxophonists go to the Bordeux Conservatory in Paris (the best saxophone school in the world) after they tap Jackie Lamar's knowledge and some of are students are employed by the cruise ship industry for the summer and fall. Some of our students are already gaining fame for composing and one of my friends has already written and recorded a movie score. Just b/c you don't hear other music students from the Univ. of AR or AR Tech praising our program doesn't mean that we are not the best...just ask their instructors. If you want to teach anything (especially music), UCA has the most reputable education program in the south (no jokes please).

Dude, we get it. You love your school. More power to you. Question: do they give you extra scholarship money for sounding like an infomercial?

Ralph

Yeah, yeah, I went overboard on this discussion. And as for the scholarship, I'm currently petitioning to get it back after failing a music class in which the instructor made it abundantly clear that they didn't like the tuba/tuba players. And yes, funny that Dennis K. mentioned Jeffery Jarvis...he's now the head of the music dept. here at UCA.

I didn't realize he had left ECU. The semester I spent with him greatly helped me get into NEC.