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For almost 100 years, Vandercook College Music (VCM), a private, non-university affiliated school with about 200 students has been graduating music educators. VCM is located on Chicago's near south side, adjacent to the IIT campus.

While in high school during the mid 60s (19 not 18), I considered a music career and my band director suggested Vandercook. VanderWHAT??? At the time, music school in Chicago (other than NU and UofC for those with $$$) meant DePaul, Roosevelt/CMC (now CCPA), CCC (now deceased), ACM (deceased but with a story), Northeastern Illinois (music ed) and Sherwood (still alive but no longer degree granting). For most Chicago folk, Vandercook was a mystery.

Over the years, I have come to learn that VCM was very respected outside of Chicago for the quality of its music ed grads. The school has gone through some rough times during the 70s and 80s but has held on and, today, seems to experiencing resurgence.

Have any of you attended or know of colleagues attending VCM. Would you recommend this school to a college student today?

VanderCook is proud of its reputation as the only college that grants degrees in Music Education exclusively.

Undergrad and grad courses are offered.

Although there are some ensembles (concert band being the strongest), this is not the institution for someone who wants to study performance.

Vandercook seems to be two schools, during the year there are the traditional four year students then there are working teachers working on graduate degrees and continuing ed primarily during the summer and for weekend sessions.

Coincidently, I was there last week doing a Jacobs show for Roger Rocco's class. I've been looking for a school to do the Jacobs show for continuing credit. Vandercook does a lot of that and, in 1986 gave Mr Jacobs an honorary doctorate - this seems to be a match!

For the past 15-20 years Roger Rocco has been doing a Jacobs like session but it was scrubbed this year. We are combining forces and doing a joint session, I will present the theory of Mr. Jacobs' teachings using the Jacobs videos. Roger will bring this into practicality for teachers to use. What we are doing is teaching the teachers. The first session is planned for October 14-15 then we will go from there. If you need some easy credit, come to this - it should be interesting.

I was at IIT in the 60's--during the DNC and when MLK got shot. Life was ah, interesting around south 35th and State St. back then. We had a Vandy horn student on our floor (at least back then, Vandercook students stayed in the IIT dorms, as did ICO students). He buzzed his mouthpiece a lot, but I never heard him play.

OTOH, there was some idiot who was forever pounding out "Rhapsody in Blue" on the piano in the lobby.

Chuck:

The area down there has changed a lot due to gentrification but it still gets "interesting" at times. VCM and IIT have some agreement whereby IIT students can take music classes there and VCM students can take general ed courses. VMC students also use IIT for housing, recreation, athletics, and other services. The arrangement seems to work out for both schools. A similar deal continues with ICO.

The fact that a school like VCM can survive and continue speaks for itself.

Alex,

I can well imagine that times have changed! I suppose no one shoots at people in Gunsaulus Hall any more, and you can't tell that it's Spring by the smell of the stockyards thawing. In the 60's, it was an island in the middle of a war zone in the middle of slums. Good that it survived--and that Vandercook did also.