Posted by Alan Herold on February 18, 2003 at 20:14:14:
In Reply to: 30ish tuba grad posted by Paul on February 18, 2003 at 18:31:31:
UT - Austin is very good.
Tuba - Steve Bryant is a great teacher. You need to be a self starter though... he's not Bobby Knight, rather he leads the horse to water.
Conducting - Jerry Junkin. Tops.
Faculty - I've found that every faculty member I've been in contact with has the students as their first priority. I've never had a need for individual time that wasn't fulfilled until complete. I always leave an office satisfied. I spoke of this to Mr. Bryant and he said that when they search for a new faculty member, they approach the vacancy as if the whole school of music would live or die dependant on who they chose.
Drawback - Writing. This school teaches you to write. Personally, I'm finding this to be a good thing... but it is still a pain in the arse sometimes. Academics are done here. If you want strictly practice and conducting time, then you'll need to look somewhere else.
Overall, you'll get a top notch education with top people in the fields you are looking into. Be sure to ask for the good and bad when talking to students at a school - and keep looking until you find someone who has something bad to say. They may be a dirtbag, but then again they may have a point. It is best to be informed with such a big decision.
Good luck.