Finding the Best Music School

I was scanning the October, 2009 issue of In Tune Monthly and noticed that they include a guide to the best music schools for 2010. They go through a number of factors to consider in the article but I found this quote especially relevant to us as horn players.

“The quality of the faculty is the bottom line,” says Charles Snead, professor of horn and director of the School of Music at the University of Alabama. “Investigate that issue over all other. Go with whom you feel comfortable—they can frequently be found in institutions costing less than the major conservatories.”

There is more in the article but in the article there is no actual list of the best music schools, just a lot of things to consider when choosing one. Seeing that they have a website I checked that out for any further resources. Which they do have, including an article that highlights the schools “included in In Tune’s Best Music Schools for 2009.”

Click on the link to see their list. It is a quirky list, honestly, there are a number of schools on the list that I frankly have never even heard of before and it is a head scratcher why they are on the list and at the same time Arizona State with over 800 music majors is not listed. As another example of how quirky this online list is, there is only one school recommended in Texas, the University of North Texas. Which has a fine music school but there are certainly other fine music schools in Texas. They don’t indicate in the online article if this is the full list for 2009 or just a portion and by what mechanism they assembled this online list. No indication is found to say it is a paid advertisement.

Returning to the thought put forward by Professor Snead, you above all need to check out the horn professor if that is your desired program of study and he is absolutely correct, expensive schools don’t necessarily translate into quality instruction.