Picking a Graduate Program in Music: Part 3

June 2, 2011 | Author: Kyle

In Part 1 I went over the basics of selecting a graduate program, in Part 2 I explained how to start putting everything together to present yourself in the best light. There are a few things I didn’t cover before that I would like to cover before I cover Part 3.

First, for most composition programs you will be asked to send a CD of recordings to go with your scores. While most schools will probably accept MIDI, Sibelius, or Finale realizations, it is in your best interest to have your pieces performed by real, live people. If you happen to have your portfolio already recorded, great! If not, you may want to arrange your senior recital or a recording session prior to applying. As an example, I presented a recital on October 6th, had an additional recording session on October 29, and put together a CD sometime during the 30th and 31st.
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Picking a Graduate Program in Music: Part 2

June 1, 2011 | Author: Kyle

I ended Part 1 of this article with narrowing down your prospective graduate school list to about ten schools, so I will start there.

At this point, you should have about ten schools, all thoroughly researched, to which you will apply. Deadlines vary by school, but most deadlines fall between December 1st and January 15th. For good measure, you should apply by mid-November. Assuming that you start thinking about the application process at the beginning of your senior year, you should have plenty of time.
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Picking a Graduate Program in Music: Part 1

May 31, 2011 | Author: Kyle

(Editor’s Notes: This article first appeared at WriteMoreMusic.com where it was part of a series on graduate school. This is the method that I used to figure out where to go to graduate school, it is by no means the only way to go about it. If you have different ideas, let us know!)

When I first started college, I knew I wanted to do something with music, but had the same challenge that many music majors have had over the years: How do you combine an abstract major like music with a “marketable skill” like business, teaching, music therapy, and those fields. So I chose music education, until I realized that my real love was music composition, which made me realize two things; for one, I would probably like to teach at the college level, and two, I would likely need a doctorate to do it. So at the beginning of my sophomore year, I decided I needed to think about graduate school.
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