| College: depneds alot on you, your personality and what you expect.
A conservatory (Curtis, Mannes, Manhattan, Boston, Julliard, Oberlin, etc.) can give you very specialized training and high level experiences that you might not get in a college setting (notice MIGHT...I'm a product of the state university system, so I'm not dumping on it).
A university will provide you with a more rounded educational experience.
In the long run, from what I've seen people write here, it really doesn't matter so much where you go to school as it does how you play. Of course you want to pick the right school for your goals...one that will offer players for you to compete with (not enter in as a first sem. freshman and be at the top of the studio alreay), one that has faculty that you feel you can work with and learn from that will help you grow in the direction you wish to grow in.
And don't forget...once you get to college, if you find out the school you picked is not working out, you can always transfer.
Your best bet is to go visit some campuses. You can learn ALOT more than what you see in the posed and composed photos in the brochures by visiting. Check the condition of the facilities. Listen in on the rehearsals and through practice room doors. Get a sense of the general mood of the student populace. Look at concert programs. Listen to recordings of student ensembles if the let you have access to them in the library. Check the course offerings. You are laying out some serious cash by the time you get that paper in your hand, so be certain you are getting your money's worth. Is the faculty available after you graduate for consultation? Or do they cut you off when you get the diploma? What's the location like? Does it suit you? You are going to be living there for 4 years of your life.
__________________
-Glenn
"Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting |