Attending an undergraduate program for music performance–whether vocal or instrumental–is an invaluable step in the process of building a career as a professional musician or singer. Choosing which program to attend can be a challenging—yet fun!—decision that hinges on many factors, including location, curriculum, personality of the program, and learning environment. Your personal preferences will help guide you, along with thorough research of what each program has to offer.

Contact us for a free consultation!

While there are several top programs for music performance in the country, this post focuses on a handful of the strongest, including:

Be sure to check out our list of Other Programs of Note below for additional music performance programs that deserve your consideration as well. Now, let’s begin our journey through the various key factors of some of the country’s top undergraduate music performance programs.

Learning Environment: Conservatory vs. University

One of the first decisions you’ll be faced with when applying to undergraduate music programs for performance is whether or not to attend a conservatory or a university. In Post 2 of this series we discuss in depth the differences between these two program types. In sum, conservatories are known for their stringent learning environments and focus on classical training, whereas universities offer instruction in varied musical styles within a liberal arts environment. Some universities–like Berklee and Oberlin, as well as The New School, which houses Mannes–offer conservatory-style education within their undergraduate programs, while still expecting students to complete the full requirements of a bachelor’s degree.

Understanding how these differing types of education might impact you, lies in your career goals. Often, musical performance majors fork into four professional paths post-graduation:

  • Professional classical (as in orchestral or choral)
  • Professional contemporary (as in a gigging musician or singer for hire)
  • Academia as a professor or instructor
  • A balance of engaging in professional music endeavors while pursuing another career outside of music

Conservatories, which focus heavily on classical education, will set you up for a career as a professional classical musician or as an academic. Universities (especially those with built-in conservatories) will allow the more expansive curriculum necessary for careers in contemporary music and careers outside of music, as well. Consider whether or not your goals would benefit from the singular focus of a conservatory or the varied inputs of a university.

Curriculum

Commonalities Amongst Top Programs

All of the programs we’ve featured here offer a wide range of musical and vocal performance studies. Notably, Oberlin offers the most at 42 areas of study. Every program offers the study of Voice, Brass, Piano & Collaborative Piano (piano accompaniment), Percussion, Guitar, Strings, and Woodwinds. Additionally, each program offers other areas of study unique to them. For example, Juilliard offers Harp and Organ, Berklee offers an Electronic Digital Instrument major, Manhattan School of Music offers Electric Bass, Mannes offers Harpsichord, and The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music offers Harmonica. Students will be required to participate in ensembles as well, which we discuss in more detail below.

Students are also expected to complete a foundational liberal arts or general education the breadth of which will vary depending on whether or not the school is a conservatory or a university. Conservatories often lean heavier on music credits and lighter on liberal arts requirements whereas universities often incorporate a foundation of general education courses that typically includes the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Juilliard, for example, only requires 24 credits in liberal arts out of a total of 120 credits (20%), while Carnegie Mellon University requires 63 units out of 180 total units (35%). This ratio of liberal arts and general education curriculum versus focused music study can be a deciding factor for some prospective students.

Unique Offerings of Top Programs

Jazz is a unique area of study that a handful of schools excel at. For the study of jazz performance, Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard rank among the top in the country. The New School, which houses Mannes School of Music, also houses The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, which is known for its unique artist-as-mentor program that allows students to take private lessons with leading and contemporary jazz artists in NYC. Yet, with notable alumni like Quincy Jones and Keith Jarrett, Berklee is another great choice for jazz instrumental and vocal performance.

Just as jazz requires students to think outside of the box, some students might be interested in multiple areas of study. While double majors are unusual at Juilliard, Oberlin welcomes them with more than 180 double-degree students enrolled at their conservatory. Their official Double Degree Program allows students to pursue a Bachelor of Arts alongside a Bachelor of Music for those who have varied interests or desire more options upon graduating. Similarly, Berklee College of Music offers students the opportunity to enrich their study with twelve different institutes that range from the American Roots Music Program to the Berklee Global Jazz Institute and the Berklee Interdisciplinary Arts Institute, which allows students to participate in cross-disciplinary collaboration. Mannes School of Music combines classical conservatory-style education with cross-disciplinary offerings and entrepreneurial training to prepare you for a career in music.

Each program will have its own brand of music education. As you create your list of potential schools, be sure to seek out unique offerings based on your own particular preferences.

Location & Culture

 Location

Location impacts a school’s personality and what it can offer you. An obvious advantage of New York City–where Juilliard, Mannes School of Music, and Manhattan School of Music are located–is the access to professional connections and abundant performance opportunities. And yet the same ambitious, hectic nature of NYC that energizes some, might stifle others. Oberlin, located in small-town Ohio on an idyllic liberal arts campus far from major cities, allows students to learn and grow and shape their identity as musicians in a more removed environment. Berklee College of Music, located in Boston and partnered with the Boston Conservatory, offers the best of both worlds: It’s only a train ride from NYC, and is still located in a bustling metropolis where students are surrounded by arts and culture as well as professional working musicians and singers.

Culture

The musical focus and overall culture of a school are important to consider as well. Julliard, Berklee, and Oberlin all approach music learning with rigor, but each has its own culture. While Julliard and Oberlin are both known for their unparalleled classical music education, Juilliard has a more serious and competitive environment, and Oberlin has a laid back, quirky, and progressive atmosphere. Berklee focuses on contemporary popular music forms like pop, rock, and jazz and is more free-spirited. The best way to identify the culture of a school is to visit, speak with students, and absorb the atmosphere. The location and culture of a school can play an important role in the tone of your educational experience.

Performance and Career

Performance Opportunities

Likewise, the availability of ensembles and other performance opportunities are additional components of your educational experience, with Berklee and Oberlin’s being some of the most varied. Along with traditional classical, jazz, and contemporary music ensembles offered at most of the top music programs, Berklee offers ensembles such as Art Music of Black Composers, Film Scoring Studio Orchestra, and a Rock/Metal Ensemble, while Oberlin offers a gospel choir, a Brazilian ensemble, and a Javanese Gamelan ensemble. At Mannes, you can participate in The Mannes Opera or collaborate with the New York Choral Society. Aside from the famed Juilliard Orchestra, The Juilliard School offers a Wind Orchestra and a New Music Ensemble dedicated to recent music, some even written by contemporary composers especially for the ensemble. Manhattan School of Music offers a LatinX Jazz Orchestra and a Big Band Composers ensemble, among others, while The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music boasts an Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, an Indian Ensemble, a Herbie Hancock Ensemble, and a Live Electronica Orchestra.

As you can see, each of the schools we’ve covered here offers the opportunity to perform in ensembles, but those schools located in NYC offer access to some of the most prominent performance venues in the country, such as opportunities through Juilliard to perform at Lincoln Center or The Blue Note Jazz Club, or through MSM at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine or Carnegie Hall. That said, it’s good to remember that ensembles, not famous venues, are where students hone their skills and learn to play varying styles of music.

Internships, On-Campus Opportunities & Professional Networking

It’s important, as you research potential schools, to dig into each school’s varying web of activities. These opportunities will create a well-rounded campus experience and set you up for a stronger career in musical performance. Obviously, location will play a role in what’s available, as we mentioned above, so students attending schools in NYC will have access to the nightlife of professional musicians as well as faculty that are active in that renowned music scene. This can mean the opportunity to build a solid professional network for after graduation. But each school, no matter where it’s located, has unique offerings in terms of internships, on-campus opportunities and professional networking.

The Center for Career Readiness and Community Impact at MSM, for example, pairs students in musical performance with internships at places like Apollo and Concert Artists Guild to help them establish professional networks while also providing one-on-one career advising. Juilliard’s Creative Enterprise Initiative allows students to connect with the broader music community in NYC through excursions, residencies, workshops, and tours. In the past, Juilliard students have had the opportunity to collaborate, gain experience and perform with famed institutions such as Lincoln Center, The Park Avenue Armory, The Royal Academy of Music, and more. The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music allows its students to select their own private mentor to work closely with each semester, while Berklee offers students fully funded fellowships in the musical field of their choice. Similarly, Oberlin’s Internship+ Program provides third-year students with invaluable career training and the chance to apply for $5,000 in funding to pursue a summer internship in their field.

Also, consider the student clubs and organizations on campus. Oberlin and Berklee stand out for their breadth and variety of student clubs. Berklee’s include the Berklee 100 Club, House of Hip Hop, and Global Musician Community to name only a few, while Oberlin offers a Folk Music Club, The Obertones, and Nothing But Treble. Juilliard’s Green Club promotes climate sustainability within the Juilliard community and MSM’s Womxn is a feminist club dedicated to charity. Each school has its own collection of student-run organizations, so be sure to explore them, as these will likely be where you make lasting friendships and professional relationships that will serve you as you progress in your career.

Dig into each school’s website and search for all their unique offerings. Think about each program’s curriculum, performance opportunities, career preparation, location, personality and culture and consider which combination of these will create the ideal learning environment for you. And remember that the programs we’ve covered here are merely a handful of the top programs in the country for musical performance. Be sure to explore the list below for more options. In our next post, we’ll look at some of the country’s strongest programs for composition.

Other Programs of Note for Performance

Feel free to set up a complimentary consultation to learn about our admissions consulting services. Whatever your question, Collegiate Gateway is happy to help!

   

www.collegiategateway.com