Any future band directors?

[dop3_mell0w]

Title pretty much says it all guys!

 

who's going where?

 

[WestCoastCorpsFan]

Pending music school auditions:

Arizona State

Texas Tech

Sam Houston State

[HashBrownJM]

Already at Texas State University in San Marcos. Great music program from what I've heard, even better from what I'm experiencing.

[WestCoastCorpsFan]

  HashBrownJM said:

Already at Texas State University in San Marcos. Great music program from what I've heard, even better from what I'm experiencing.

 

Really? How do you like Rodriguez?

I actually, didnt make initial admission, so I have to wait for the panel review.

I heard they teach some old school music ed stuff thouh.

[E3euph]

pending for me too

UH and thats bout it if not Sam Houston

Going for Music Comp. and Music Ed. I was told I didnt have to take Music Ed. to become a band director if I was going to do Music Comp. because I have to learn every instrument in Comp. anyways, but there may be some teaching techniques I may not learn in Music Comp.

[dop3_mell0w]

  E3euph said:

pending for me too

UH and thats bout it if not Sam Houston

Going for Music Comp. and Music Ed. I was told I didnt have to take Music Ed. to become a band director if I was going to do Music Comp. because I have to learn every instrument in Comp. anyways, but there may be some teaching techniques I may not learn in Music Comp.

 

who told you that? Cuz from what i cant tell/ have experienced, music comp isnt gonna get you a band director job, although it can really help. music ed, and comp classes are extremely similar, if not identical the first two/ three years. then afterwards you start getting into psychology, and 'how to be a band director' classes in MUED, while you start getting into orchestration, and analysis.

 

AND getting the MUED degree gives you a teaching certificate while music comp doesnt.

 

I'm currently mued, and am thinking about starting a double in comp.

 

and make sure, you get your info from the advisors! students, sometimes can be very wrong, even if they mean well.

http://www.music.uh.edu/academics/undergraduate.html

 

hope this helps

[borchnork]

I'll probably be going to UNT or University of Michigan for my music ed degree. I know that It will be a few years before I try to get that one though. I want my music comp phd before I start teaching.

[HashBrownJM]

  WestCoastCorpsFan said:

Really? How do you like Rodriguez?

I actually, didnt make initial admission, so I have to wait for the panel review.

I heard they teach some old school music ed stuff thouh.

 

Professor Rodriguez is just amazing. He's really cool and laid back, but he also knows his stuff and doesn't hesitate to push you in order to make you keep advancing as a player. I can't speak to the 'old' or 'new'-school-ness of their teachings, but two of my directors in high school came out of there and they're great. Come to think of it, didn't Spicer from CPHS come out of there, too? What about Pape? And Estes?

[treblemaker]

What would y'all recommend as some top music education schools?

[E3euph]

  dop3_mell0w said:

who told you that? Cuz from what i cant tell/ have experienced, music comp isnt gonna get you a band director job, although it can really help. music ed, and comp classes are extremely similar, if not identical the first two/ three years. then afterwards you start getting into psychology, and 'how to be a band director' classes in MUED, while you start getting into orchestration, and analysis.

 

AND getting the MUED degree gives you a teaching certificate while music comp doesnt.

 

I'm currently mued, and am thinking about starting a double in comp.

 

and make sure, you get your info from the advisors! students, sometimes can be very wrong, even if they mean well.

http://www.music.uh.edu/academics/undergraduate.html

 

hope this helps

i didnt think that could be true, and thanks for the website too,

[MaverickBand15]

i am thinking UNT....their education program might not be the best, but their music and epically their PERCUSSION program is awesome. And i really wanna be part of that percussion section. I wanna double major in Music Ed. and Composition

[E3euph]

  E3euph said:

i didnt think what they told was true, thats what i get for getting my hopes up and thanks for the info and the link too.

[WestCoastCorpsFan]

  borchnork said:

I'll probably be going to UNT or University of Michigan for my music ed degree. I know that It will be a few years before I try to get that one though. I want my music comp phd before I start teaching.

 

good luck luck getting into the Michigan music school! Thats really hard. Or did you already get in? that would be impressive.

[WestCoastCorpsFan]

  HashBrownJM said:

Professor Rodriguez is just amazing. He's really cool and laid back, but he also knows his stuff and doesn't hesitate to push you in order to make you keep advancing as a player. I can't speak to the 'old' or 'new'-school-ness of their teachings, but two of my directors in high school came out of there and they're great. Come to think of it, didn't Spicer from CPHS come out of there, too? What about Pape? And Estes?

 

I actually talked to Mr.Spicer. He said its not worth it.

But it's ok, I think Id rather study with Palifian or Wass. : )

[WestCoastCorpsFan]

  lhsfluter said:

What would y'all recommend as some top music education schools?

 

Music Ed. In texas?

SHSU, Tx Tech, UH, UNT, WTAMU.

All very good schools.

[E3euph]

hah i quoted myself

[borchnork]

  WestCoastCorpsFan said:

good luck luck getting into the Michigan music school! Thats really hard. Or did you already get in? that would be impressive.

 

I know. I"m nervous cus they only take about 3-6 flute players a year... AH! But I have connections to some of the professors. the director of bands there was my band directors college director. Also, one of the lesson teachers at my school used to teach trombone at UofM and FINALLY my mentor for my music comp. class is really good friends with Michael Daugherty, so I have a big list of people who are supporting me there.

 

My audition is in February. I"m really nervous about it.

[dop3_mell0w]

  lhsfluter said:

What would y'all recommend as some top music education schools?

 

 

University of Houston!

[Nancy08]

Wow I'm really surprised at how many music comp. majors there are. I thought I was one of the only ones who wanted to do that. I'm looking at getting my phd in music comp, but I also wanna double major in something else. I can't decide if it should be music ed or maybe engineering or quantum physics or mathematics or something.

 

My pending auditions are at UNT, SMU, KU and MU. I think...

Edited January 14, 2008 by Nancy08

[borchnork]

  Nancy08 said:

Wow I'm really surprised at how many music comp. majors there are. I thought I was one of the only ones who wanted to do that. I'm looking at getting my phd in music comp, but I also wanna double major in something else. I can't decide if it should be music ed or maybe engineering or quantum physics or mathematics or something.

 

My pending auditions are at UNT, SMU, KU and MU. I think...

 

by the way, how did you get your music posted on the internet? I'm wanting to do that too!

[borchnork]

nvm... ignore that last post cus you just answered it in another part of the forum.

[WestCoastCorpsFan]

There are so many music comp majors.

Like, I didnt think there were usually that many.

On top of that... everyone here is like doubling.

Its making me feel worried, Im only majoring in MuEd.

I hope that doesnt hurt me when getting a job.

[takigan]

First of all I'm a junior in College who's been to 3 TMEA conventions (going to my fourth), and 3 Texas Bandmasters conventions, I'm a graduate of Blinn Junior College and am working towards my Bachelors in Music Ed at SHSU.

 

For Music Education there are 2 schools that really stand out among the rest, and those are University of Houston and Sam Houston State. SHSU has a nationally ranked School of Education program (which is something most of the Texas Universities can't boast) and have one of the highest success rates in the nation in placing teachers in starting school districts. I'm not entirely sure what gives UH their advantage though, I've just always heard numerous people say it's the best for Music Education (I know their academic music programs are very high level and the school as a whole is rather selective), not to mention they're in a geographically strategic location (Top 10 U.S. Metroplex) which gives their student teaching program an incredible advantage due to the school's access to a massive number of public school districts to place their aspiring teachers.

 

A Music Education degree is really nothing more than a B.M (Bachelor's of Music) with Teacher Certification....so you have to spend 3-5 years getting your music degree, then another year to get your teacher certification. So when considering a school, you have to look at both components. And remember where you get your degree from in Texas isn't all that important.....as long as you graduate in Music Ed from a big-name Texas school (and I'll name them: UNT, UT, Tech, UH, Sam, West Texas, Baylor, TCU, A&M Kingsville, Lamar, Texas State, Abilene Christian, UT Arlington, UTD, there's probably a couple more) you're practically guaranteed a job at any decent HS in Texas. But from there your marketability for the higher level (and higher paying!) districts depends on your resume', who you know, what you've done while in school, what have you done since you've left school. Only UNT and UH really stand out on that list, so your degree really says the same no matter where you came from. It's different if you go to school out of state though. I mean the moment the Fine Arts Administrator at 'RichDistrict' ISD looks at your resume' and goes "Oh Sh*t you graduated from Juilliard?!" you can rest assured you got the job (that's a bit of an extreme example since I don't even think Juilliard has a Music Ed program.....but just the name UNT or University of Michigan or University of Indiana carries the air of a "brand name" and WILL give you an edge even if their Music Ed programs aren't as developed as their 'Music Performance' programs).

 

So the degree isn't as important, it's who you know and how impressive your resume' is. To get your Music Ed degree you have to student teach....Over half of graduating music ed majors end up with a full-time position at the school they student-taught at while in their last year of college. You typically get to pick where you student teach so if you know someone in a higher level district who can hook you up with your student teaching you already have a leg up in getting a good job regardless of where you graduated from. If you personally know a band director in Flower Mound or Hurst/Euless/Bedford or Cypress Fairbanks ISD and they can hook you up with your student teaching, then even if they don't have room to hire you upon graduation, you can still apply when they do and the connections you made while student teaching there will give you a HUGE edge in getting a job in 3 of the greatest school districts for band (and in general really) in the nation.

 

However if you have no preference for ST and you allow the university to place you at a school, then regional location of your university becomes important to determining what kind of school you end up teaching at after graduating. The higher you get your first leg up on the ladder, the quicker your trip to the top will be.

 

Opportunities are important too. If you're a good player your playing opportunities you pursue while in college are resume' builders as well, even if you're not a performance major. Houston has a Civic Symphony, multiple community bands, soloist competitions, the Houston Texans Pep Band, The Texas Summer Music Festival Summer Orchestra. If you got to San Antonio there's the San Antonio Symphony, The San Antonio Wind Symphony, The Crossmen Headquarters (Drum Corps experience looks great on a band director job resume', you've received high-level training in the marching arts and are thus, more versatile for their program) among others.

 

The degree isn't that important. Even your GPA isn't that important (unless you graduate with honors, that looks good). Go to a school that has an environment you can take advantage of to further your career. I have a friend who went to Houston Baptist University....not your typical brand name school, the degree he gets from there isn't going to impress anybody. But he was a big fish in a small tank, and while he was there he took advantage of the thriving arts community in Houston, he got to know some bigshots, he played with the Houston Symphonic Band (which is made up of mostly band directors) which got him a good student teaching gig in the Cypress-Fairbanks District, he became his private teacher's principle student at the university which got him gigs at Lakewood Baptist Church (which employs musicians on salary and tenure).....his resume' began to pile up and this netted him a Graduate Teaching Assistantship at SHSU (which means his tuition is completely covered plus they'll pay him to go to grad school!). This assistantship will give him the resume' he needs to become a Wind Ensemble Conductor at the University level!

 

So yeah....go to a school to where you know you can thrive, not one that just gives a "good degree". The degrees all look the same to employers anyway (for the most part with a few exceptions) and Texas has good music schools so it's not like you won't have a job when you get out.

[E3euph]

wow thanks a lot of useful info in there I'll be sure to remember some of the key info you gave.

[drumajorfernando]

Angelo State for me.