Posted by a tuba dad on February 22, 2002 at 07:40:33:
In Reply to: Where is the BEST place to study? posted by Tim on February 22, 2002 at 05:51:52:
Here in the US, there are a dozen+ "national" universities and conservatories that are generally acknowledged as tops in tuba, and there are another dozen+ smaller "regional" schools with good tuba programs, too. I will leave the listmaking to others in this thread.
But to just list these schools without discussion is ultimately a disservice to all involved.
I believe the "person" (the tuba prof) is a more important factor than the "place" itself. The prof's personality and teaching style are critical; this is an intensely personal relationship between student and prof, and the student must meet and have lessons with as many profs as possible in the college search process.
As to the "place" issue - there are small colleges and universities, gigantic schools (with correspondingly huge music programs and huge tuba studios), and then there is the university versus conservatory debate - not to mention the wide variation in cost to attend these different kinds of schools. Again, the "place" is somewhat secondary to the "person" issue, but an important factor to consider nonetheless.