Schools that live and breathe choir?

[rzberrymom]

Anyone know which universities really live and breathe choir, like St. Olaf? Lots of traveling and performing, recording, numerous ensembles? Strong in science is important, so not a conservatory (DD wants to major in something like chemistry/neuroscience/bio chem).

 

For a kid that wants to go to good science classes but otherwise be ALL about choir, where should we be looking?

Edited February 27, 2022 by rzberrymom

[MamaSprout]

I don't know about live and breathe... But Valparaiso in Indiana does a lot of music without being a conservatory. They have some scholarships for non-music majors who want to participate in music. They are/ were Lutheran, and the Lutherans like their music. (My kiddo is all piano, so I don't know about choir- we did visit and the music people were very welcoming.) 

Edited February 27, 2022 by MamaSprout

[JanetC]

Lawrence University - conservatory plus liberal arts college so can still major in chem or neurosci. Tons of choirs for majors and non-majors, and the one recital I was in town for was very high quality.

[Dmmetler]

James Madison University, although they’re a stronger band school than choral, they have an amazing music department and. Strong chem/biochem with a focus on undergrad research. Unfortunately, they moved the sciences across the interstate, so the two buildings are no longer on the same parking lot, like they were when I was in high school :). 

[Farrar]

I have secondhand experience with JMU's music department and would not ever recommend anyone attend there for music. But other programs, sure.

My first thought was Lawrence, already mentioned. Other schools I know with strong choirs are conservatories where the music school is sort of separated, so I'm not sure about access, like U Rochester.

[catz]

I was going to say Lawrence and Saint Olaf too.  But you may also want to check out Luther College in Iowa, that has a very Olaf vibe too I hear.  They have 5 choirs and an enrollment of 1800 students.  We know a few people who've attended in recent years and were very happy there.  My junior wants to check out all these schools too, very interested in music/theater/vocal performance.

Edited March 5, 2022 by catz

[Frances]

10 minutes ago, catz said:

I was going to say Lawrence and Saint Olaf too.  But you may also want to check out Luther College in Iowa, that has a very Olaf vibe too I hear.  They have 5 choirs and an enrollment of 1800 students.  We know a few people who've attended in recent years and were very happy there.  My junior wants to check out all these schools too, very interested in music/theater/vocal performance.

Lots of my high school classmates attended. I don’t think any of them were involved in music, but they did get strong academics. Several of them did the nursing program and at least at the time, their nursing and pre-health programs had lots of connections to the hospitals around the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. And Decorah is a very nice little town in a beautiful part of Iowa. I haven’t been on campus in many years, but I recall it being quite picturesque.

And to the OPs major, my college boyfriend attended Luther and majored in biology and chemistry. He turned down medical school to get a PhD in pharmacology and has had a very successful career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Edited March 5, 2022 by Frances

[catz]

Yes, Decorah and Luther are really lovely!  They often lean more affordable than Saint Olaf too.  Olaf (and their merit money) is getting more competitive especially for midwestern students. 

I was just going to mention, my oldest kid in college is doing a double degree program in a music program and a STEM program.  OP, I know your kid just wants to be able to participate in choir and not necessarily major or minor in music.   But my kid applied to a variety of programs including some conservatory programs.   Anyway, it was really clear after visiting some of these schools the conservatories were JUST for music majors and the  music offerings for the other students were actually pretty slim.  Like my oldest was accepted to URochester and Oberlin but it was pretty clear from some interactions there that the music teachers weren't excited abut their music students having a 2nd major other than music.  And if he dropped the music major, he might not have access to much at all.  I suspect if you were auditioning for a harder to fill instrument role, other teachers might be more accomodating. 

So anyway, I'd recommend away from places with very structured conservatory programs dedicated to their music majors.  Lawrence had a pretty different vocal music vibe than Olaf or Luther.  Actually PM me if you want to chat more about that (we visited mulitiple time/my kid auditioned all these places).   And I will say my kid ended up finding his best fit (and price point) at a huge public university with a really relaxed and flexible music teacher and they do have nice music ensemble/lesson options for non majors, more picking up post covid.   So you might be surprised if you check out some of your public universities too.  But LACs can be great with these kinds of multi interested students for sure.  

[catz]

I thought of a couple more LACs to check out - Baldwin Wallace in Berea, Ohio, Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA.  

[Insertcreativenamehere]

Concordia College, Moorhead, MN.

[mom31257]

If you would be interested in a smaller Christian college, Lee University in Cleveland, TN, has a great science department as well as a very strong music department. There are some very elite singing groups that do a lot of traveling. 

[rzberrymom]

On 2/27/2022 at 12:47 PM, JanetC said:

Lawrence University - conservatory plus liberal arts college so can still major in chem or neurosci. Tons of choirs for majors and non-majors, and the one recital I was in town for was very high quality.

Perfect! I’ll check out how much aid they offer.

[rzberrymom]

On 3/5/2022 at 11:38 AM, catz said:

I was going to say Lawrence and Saint Olaf too.  But you may also want to check out Luther College in Iowa, that has a very Olaf vibe too I hear.  They have 5 choirs and an enrollment of 1800 students.  We know a few people who've attended in recent years and were very happy there.  My junior wants to check out all these schools too, very interested in music/theater/vocal performance.

Might be too small for her, but I’ll definitely check it out!

[rzberrymom]

On 3/5/2022 at 12:05 PM, catz said:

Yes, Decorah and Luther are really lovely!  They often lean more affordable than Saint Olaf too.  Olaf (and their merit money) is getting more competitive especially for midwestern students. 

I was just going to mention, my oldest kid in college is doing a double degree program in a music program and a STEM program.  OP, I know your kid just wants to be able to participate in choir and not necessarily major or minor in music.   But my kid applied to a variety of programs including some conservatory programs.   Anyway, it was really clear after visiting some of these schools the conservatories were JUST for music majors and the  music offerings for the other students were actually pretty slim.  Like my oldest was accepted to URochester and Oberlin but it was pretty clear from some interactions there that the music teachers weren't excited abut their music students having a 2nd major other than music.  And if he dropped the music major, he might not have access to much at all.  I suspect if you were auditioning for a harder to fill instrument role, other teachers might be more accomodating. 

So anyway, I'd recommend away from places with very structured conservatory programs dedicated to their music majors.  Lawrence had a pretty different vocal music vibe than Olaf or Luther.  Actually PM me if you want to chat more about that (we visited mulitiple time/my kid auditioned all these places).   And I will say my kid ended up finding his best fit (and price point) at a huge public university with a really relaxed and flexible music teacher and they do have nice music ensemble/lesson options for non majors, more picking up post covid.   So you might be surprised if you check out some of your public universities too.  But LACs can be great with these kinds of multi interested students for sure.  

This is super helpful, since she has thought about Oberlin.

 

She’s definitely looking at big public schools too. I’m a little worried about her being overwhelmed in such a big place, which is why I’m hoping to get her to branch out a bit. But, the public schools may be the way to go for us just because of cost.

 

I’ll PM you about Olaf and Lawrence. Thanks!

Edited March 6, 2022 by rzberrymom

[JanetC]

1 hour ago, rzberrymom said:

She’s definitely looking at big public schools too. I’m a little worried about her being overwhelmed in such a big place, which is why I’m hoping to get her to branch out a bit. But, the public schools may be the way to go for us just because of cost.

Look at your entire state system, not just the biggest couple of campuses. Depending on your state, there could be a hidden gem in there somewhere at a smaller or medium-sized campus.

[rzberrymom]

21 minutes ago, JanetC said:

Look at your entire state system, not just the biggest couple of campuses. Depending on your state, there could be a hidden gem in there somewhere at a smaller or medium-sized campus.

We’re in California, so they’re all huge. 😞