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The question always comes up about what are the best schools for horn study. I have taken a stab at answering this question a number of times in varying formats:
- What [Type of] School is Best for Horn Study? (2004)
- Thoughts on Choosing a School for Advanced Horn Study (2008)
- Choosing the Right School (2010)
- The Best Music Schools (2011)
- Seven Factors on Choosing a Teacher for Advanced Study (2011)
- Where can you Study Music Education and Not Take Marching Band? (2012)
And I would be remiss if I did not mention this closely related article by Bruce Hembd, with his very practical viewpoint:
I would point to two major factors as to why some schools are considered better than others:
- The ability of a school or teacher (or both) to attract good students and
- The ability of the teacher to work effectively with students toward their individual goals
No artist/teacher is perfect. I have my opinions and tip my hand a bit in the articles above. Somewhere in those articles a point is made along the lines of some of the famous teachers and programs are overrated. But that being said, how a specific teacher and school works out for you is ultimately very individual.
One thing you will realize over time is there are at an extreme two types of good teachers, those that focus on being inspirational and those that are very nuts and bolts oriented. Many are in the middle somewhere. To get a personal perspective on this topic in the end you will need to talk to a trusted mentor or two and get straight answers from them.
To close and for full disclosure, I teach at the college level full time and certainly welcome prospective students to check out Arizona State as they consider their options. And yes, we have some solid scholarship dollars and with two horn TA positions we almost always have a horn TA opening on the graduate side.
