Posted by Sean Chisham on February 20, 2001 at 18:21:46:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are good colleges for tuba? posted by Anthony Labelle on February 20, 2001 at 17:48:52:
If your goal is to have a 4 year career playing in a college orchestra, then just about any school will do. I call it the big fish in the little pond syndrome. If you want to get a job after college, then a larger studio with a great teacher might not be so bad a sacrifice. Michigan has a large studio, Northwestern has a large studio, Indiana has a large studio, and so forth. I personally thought it a huge bonus to be studying at a place where I got to hear incredible young and upcoming musicians practicing from day to day. You learn a huge amount from just listening to what those other future professionals are doing and the paths they take to get there. The larger schools also tend to have the better library facilities. Becoming a recording library junkie in a good recording library is an education all unto itself.
If you are doing the right things then you will get the chance to play on the good concerts in the good ensembles. If you can't make it into the better ensembles in your college, then it is going to be a tough road on the professional audition circuit. Trust me, I know. I hacked my way all though college and barely had any bites, due to laziness and complacency. The real low point was having to play 2nd chair in the second band and euphonium in the 3rd band at what was supposed to be a very advanced stage in my studies. At the time I was angry about it and blamed it on my instructor for showing favoritism, but that was not the case at all. I was playing second chair to a sophomore in the second band because I was not doing the right things. I didn't figure this out until a few years later.
sean