My daughter is interested in opera. Is there a a rating system for college voice departments?

Question

My daughter has one of the best voices for our state but she will not be one of the best for the nation though she might in the next 10 years. She is dead serious with her studies and practice. We were told to not pick out of the top 5 through 10 schools. There she will be a star, get parts and attention. She needs a scholarship. We spent our money getting to where she is now. She has nearly a 4.0 in a rigorous school system taking mostly honers and AP classes. She is also taking Italian at our community college and is going to Opera camp the summer at American University. Her voice teacher wants her to go to her school, one of the top 3 but she went there at at the graduate level. She did undergrad at a community college where she would have been the star.

Is there an index for college voice programs?

Answer 1

There is a series of posts at the college confidential web site that you might find helpful. See the link below.



If she is interested in opera, IMHO, it is important for her to go to a school that regularly performs operas. See the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University site below for an example of a school that does so. I have also posted a link to rankings for master's degrees in music and a link from the NASM (National Association of Schools of Music) on how to find the right music school.

Answer 2

I think your daughter is going at this the wrong way, looking for someplace that will make her a star.



Start off by having her find colleges she likes, teachers she loves. Going to a certain school won't "make" her a star. She has to work hard like everybody else! And if you can't afford expensive school, there is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with a state school!



I'll be attending a state school next year on a full ride- either from academics or from a fellowship with a local symphony- and I love the teacher there. From there, where I won't be stressed so much with academics and can hopefully practice 4-6 hours a day, I'll be able to get into a much better grad school and be able to AFFORD it!



There's no real "ranking" system, but you might look at the employment statistics- my university has a 100% placement for music ed.



Also don't put down the merits of an education degree. Very few musicians can make it by solely on performance. There's no denying that performers in the CSO are some of the best in the nation, but they still teach- the concertmaster teaches at Roosevelt.



And please don't get an overinflated view of what a star performer your daughter is. There will be other students that you have never even heard of that will come out of nowhere! Don't let her get into a diva mindset- remind her that how well she does in her career hinges on herself and how she practices, not whether or not she gets into Juilliard.

Answer 3

Her voice teacher didn't do her whole undergrad at a community college - it can't be done that way. It especially can't be done in performance. Community colleges are only 2-years.



The best rating system for schools of music is "who went there that has now succeeded?" That's all that matters. "Who was the star at XYZ State College in '96" doesn't impress anyone if the "stars" at XYZ State aren't even as good as the chorus-line at Juilliard. If she just wants to be "the star" anywhere she can move to Podunk USA and sing with the local repertory.



If she wants to one day become "a star" then she needs to be somewhere that makes those. There are only a few of those in the US and Juilliard probably ranks among the best. There's more to this equation though than where she goes to college. In the music business, nobody cares where you went to college when it's time to audition - they only care that you knock their socks off on the stage.



Further consider - if she can't be "the star" at one of those top 5, doesn't that mean there are at least five competitors out there that beat her out in those auditions? How will she ever get as good as they are if she isn't competing directly with the best? And, if they're each producing one of those every graduation year - doesn't that mean that in your 10-year plan that they've made 50 people better than her? Wouldn't she have a better shot if she was one of those 50 instead of one of the 1000's of small-ponders?



When she hits the real world after graduation, she won't reach that "best for the nation" goal (if that's actually her goal) if she's only playing in the small pond. When it comes to performing opera, the whole world is your competitive pond - the small fish don't get fed and many get eaten.