Schools in the South

DruMcC1 · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 12:20 pm Post subject:

I am looking for a school anywhere between texas and north carolina that has a good music program. I do a little jazz, but would be more interested in the classical, or really anything. Also, anywhere with a good class selection; I don't want to go somewhere and take music 101 through 400-something, I want to take interesting classes and learn more. Any help is greatly appreciated.

fuzzyjon79 · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 5:38 am Post subject:

As far as North Carolina.... UNC-Greensboro is pretty good from what I hear. I used to live in NC and UNCG was probably the school that got the most "kudos" as far as being a music school. I now live in TX and there are a few schools here that have great teachers, but you said you were interested in jazz... I'm not sure how it is now, but I know North Texas was known for their 1 o'clock jazz band.... Marie Speziale teaches at Rice University and Dr. Ray Sasaki teaches at UT-Austin. Both are great teachers, but I don't know anything about their jazz programs. There are tons of music schools in the southeast, you will have to do some research to figure out where you want to go.
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Annie · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 6:26 am Post subject:

East Carolina University has an awesome Trumpet teacher - about four or five of his students are top in the nation. GAH! I was going to go there but I lacked the funds.
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No BS · Veteran Member Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 141

Top in the nation?? Wow, Phil Smith and Mike Sachs must be worried!

mafields627 · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 12:41 pm Post subject:

Seeing that you're in Mobile, I would say Jacksonville State if you wanna stay in state. They have some great ensembles and some pretty good teachers. If you're interested in Jazz, Tom Wolfe has a great Jazz Studies program at Alabama. I know Southern Miss used be pretty good.
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Annie · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 3:02 pm Post subject:

Well, top in the nation for some college competition or other for undergraduate students.

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[ This Message was edited by: Annie on 2003-07-19 18:02 ]

AverageJoe · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 4:20 pm Post subject:

Since people have mentioned them, I'll offer what I know. I attended UNCG, and I have a few friends from ECU.

UNCG has an incredible new facility, and Dr. Ed Bach is a great teacher of fundamentals. One of his quintets won the international brass 5-tet competition at University of Ga. in 2001, and his trumpet ensemble won second place in the competition up at George Mason University in DC a number of years ago, so the word is getting out about the program there. Dr. Bach can be an intense teacher, but if your fundamentals need work, I recommend him. CAUTION: He will push you HARD! I don't know about their jazz program these days, but when I was there, it barely had a pulse.

ECU has Britton Theurer, and while I don't know his approach to teaching, he has put out some very good players. ECU was also rated in the top 50 schools to study jazz in the country by Downbeat magazine in 2001. Artist in residence is Bob Mintzer (of the Yellow Jackets... terrific tenor sax player, and very good jazz teacher from what I hear).

Here in Georgia, I recommend checking out two places: UGA, where Fred Mills teaches, or if you want to go off the beaten path, check out Ga State in Atlanta. The word about UGA is that you really need to have it together as a player when you get there. Fred is incredible working on the polish and musicianship, and UGA is fairly well known and respected. Ga State has a terrific jazz band, and the jazz coordinator is a great trumpet player named Gordon Vernick. They will have a new trumpet teacher this fall, and his name is Kevin Lyons. Kevin has only been on the audition circuit for a few years now, but was a finalist for the ASO job that Chris Martin won, and I have heard vicariously that he was in the finals of one of the CSO auditions for 4th/utility. Kevin is going places, and I highly recommend checking him out.

Good luck in your search!

Paul Poovey

[ This Message was edited by: AverageJoe on 2003-07-19 19:21 ]

JGulyas · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 7:52 pm Post subject:

Is Mintzer still at ECU? I love listening to that dude play. I think I've got damn near every big band tune he's ever done (CD that is)!

John
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Annie · Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2003 3:06 am Post subject:

He's also pretty cool and you should see the rehearsals! Since I thought I was going there I got to watch a jazz rehearsal. They pretty much play songs straight through the whole time, but the guy is also open to giving tons of advice before and after class. At that time I didn't know that he had some Cd's out, but man, you should see the way he plays the piano! The keys just melt under his fingers. Oh, that was just too awesome.
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PookDog78 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 10:36 am Post subject:

As far as schools in NC, UNCG supposedly has the best music program, but I wouldn't say they have the best trumpet department or teacher in the state. And as for ECU, they do not have any of the top players in the nation. I don't think there are any schools in the South that carry that distinction yet. If you really want a good conservatory-type education, check out Rice. If you want to go to a state school with a good music program, you should check into Florida State, Georgia, Texas at Austin, North Texas or LSU. Those are the top state schools for music in the South. However, they also have some huge trumpet studios!! That means fewer performance opportunities for undergrads. I went to a small school (Western Carolina) where I had a great trumpet teacher, a small studio and the opportunity to play in any ensemble I wanted. Plus, the other music faculty are really nice, the classes were interesting, the tuition is cheap and the scenery can't be beat!!
Having said all that, it's up to you to decide what type of education you want, what kind of teacher you want to study with and how much playing you would like to do. Good luck!!

riffdawg2000 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 10:43 am Post subject:

Uh ... <raising hand> ... UGA is PACKED full of trumpet majors ... uh ... 25+

I would check out Emory University in Atlanta. (I work for Emory) Anyhow, as of August 2003, Chris Martin, Princple for the Atlanta Symphony will be running the trumpet studio. He will be teaching all the turmpet folks ... not just the grad students.

As far as 'trumpet majors' ... I think there are maybe 3 or 4 total!. Ensembles - the Emory Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Combos, etc ... Sorry, no marching band or pep bands ...

Check it out ... http://www.emory.edu/MUSIC/

To be honest, after I complete my MBA next year, I am tempted to do BA and MM in Music too - at Emory. ( since we get 5 semester hrs free

) So you might run into a little competition for auditions ... hehehe ... but don't worry, I am just an old man ... <uh...DON'T believe the hype!>
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Annie · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 11:00 am Post subject:

I was just recently at ECU this spring. There were some trumpeters who had scored fairly high in the nation, email Britton Theurer - He'll tell you what it was for. Also, Britton Theurer is an awesome player as well, and he's a pretty nice guy.
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~Annie

*I may not be great yet, but I'm working hard on it and one day I'm gonna be there.*

fuzzyjon79 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 11:04 am Post subject:

I would second the Rice recommendation. They have a great teacher (Marie Speziale, used to teach at Indiana) and their trumpet ensemble took 1st place in the Southern Ohio Music Company Trumpet Ensemble division at the National Trumpet Competition back in February.
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PookDog78 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 11:24 am Post subject:

I'm sure ECU has a fine trumpet studio and some very good trumpet players. However, I still wouldn't say that they nor really any other school in the South have the best collegiate trumpet players in the nation. The best collegiate trumpet players are the ones who are going to auditions and are making finals for and/or are winning positions with professional orchestras and the premier military bands. As of right now, most of the people doing that are from schools in the Northeast and Midwest. Just an observation.

turnbostl · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 11:38 am Post subject:

"I went to a small school (Western Carolina) where I had a great trumpet teacher, a small studio and the opportunity to play in any ensemble I wanted. Plus, the other music faculty are really nice, the classes were interesting, the tuition is cheap and the scenery can't be beat!! "

I earned a music degree from WCU 25 years ago and the same was true of it back then. Go Catamounts!

DruMcC1 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 12:43 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the info. I am probably most into Emory and Rice as far as those are concerned. Although schools like UNCG an UNT seem wonderful(and i have checked them out) as far as music, they just don't have the academic accredation I am looking for. I was wondering also for you North Carolina people, if you knew anything about the music at Davidson. I'd looked at it for a while and am really interested, but I am not so sure about the music program.

I am planning on atleast minoring in music; although, if it is within reason, I am probably going to try a double-major: Music and whatever else I decide on.

Thanks again for the responses, and any more information is greatly appreciated.

JGulyas · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2003 2:09 pm Post subject:

AverageJoe · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 8:15 am Post subject:

Hey, John -- I guess I'll never get the chance to know about fleet vs. DC, will I? (little inside joke between the two of us).

Yup, last time I checked, Mintzer was still at ECU!

When were you at Western? I finished at UNC-G in '96. One of my good friends was at Western in the early/mid '80's. You must have started there very soon after Ullrich began teaching there. I checked them out to see if they had a doctoral program awhile back, but no such luck. Ullrich was a great guy to talk to.

Take care,

Paul Poovey

fuzzyjon79 · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 9:09 am Post subject:

As far as Davidson goes... they have an outstanding reputation for academics... as far as the music goes I will tell you what I know/have observed... when I was in 11th grade, Davidson requested that my high school band be their "pep" band for the Southern Conference Tournament that was held in Asheville, NC. My guess would be that 1.) they didn't have a pep band or 2.) the pep band didn't want to make the short 2-3 hour trip up to Asheville? The other thing is that when I was at Western Carolina University we had a trumpet player transfer in from Davidson, but he only stayed 1 semester before transferring back to Davidson as far as I know. He said the reason he was going to transfer back to Davidson was because he didn't feel "academically challenged" at WCU. That is just my 37 cents worth, but take what I say with a grain of salt.. they may not have a pep band, but they might have a great wind ensemble or jazz program... I just don't know anything further about them.
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[ This Message was edited by: fuzzyjon79 on 2003-07-23 12:11 ]

PookDog78 · Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 9:39 am Post subject:

I was at WCU from '96 to '00. Ulrich started back in the late '80s...I think around '89. I actually auditioned at UNCG in '96 but I decided that the smaller studio size at Western was better for me.

J. Gulyas....you're right about the premier bands not being the only place for great players. I have heard some great players from the other bands around the country. I had a friend in grad school who played in the Atlantic Fleet Band....wow!! He's an amazing player, and extremely versatile. I think guys that are in the regional bands come from all over, but I have been to several auditions for the premiere bands and most of the people there are from schools like Eastman, Northwestern, Indiana, Michigan, etc. There don't seem to be many people taking those auditions from the South. I wonder why that is?