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Since this topic has come up several times recently, here are some quick links to some conservatories in the US that have recognized piano departments. Feel free to add any ones that I might have forgotten.

Juilliard - http://www.juilliard.edu
Curtis - http://www.curtis.edu
Manhattan - http://www.msmnyc.edu/
Mannes - http://www.mannes.newschool.edu/index.jsp
Cincinnati - http://www.ccm.uc.edu
Oberlin - http://www.oberlin.edu
CIM - http://www.cim.edu
Eastman - http://www.esm.rochester.edu/
Indiana - http://www.music.indiana.edu/
Rice - http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~musi/
TCU - http://www.music.tcu.edu/
UMKC - http://conservatory.umkc.edu/default.asp
KU - http://www.ku.edu/~sfa/mad/
USC - http://www.usc.edu/music/
UCLA - http://www.music.ucla.edu/
UT Austin - http://www.music.utexas.edu/
UNT - http://www.music.unt.edu/
Stony Brook - http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/CAS/Music.nsf
Colburn - http://www.colburnschool.edu/about.htm
Peabody - http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/home.php
Yale - http://www.yale.edu/yalemus/
Boston Conservatory - http://www.bostonconservatory.edu/
Arizona State University - http://music.asu.edu/
Ann Arbor - http://www.music.umich.edu/

NEC - www.newenglandconservatory.edu

Lynn University (Harid Conservatory) www.lynn.edu/music
University of Maryland www.music.umd.edu
Utah State University www.usu.edu/music (Gary Amano is here)

Shenandoah University- www.su.edu

This forum is entire USA? just curiosity...

No, it's just that we've had a lot of requests regarding US schools. We do have members all over the world, though.

Yeah, we've got people from Sweden, South America, Australia and New Jersey, just to name a few. :p

Meadows School of Music at SMU (Southern Methodist in Dallas). Their top piano professor won a national award for teacher of the year at the collegiate level.

A correction, please. After checking back at their website, Carol Leone was honored as the top teacher in Texas. So I stand corrected -- it was not national. Next time I'll be sure to double check before I post anything!

Maybe we should do a poll and see exactly how many there are.

San Francisco Conservatory of Music - http://www.sfcm.edu/index.aspx

Wow, I can't believe some of you guys are still on here!
I wouldn't count my school as "internationall recognized", but I went to Eastern University.

eastern

What about Berklee?

Berklee School of Music

Musicians Institute

MI

Seems like I often see Northwestern (Evanston IL)on these lists:

http://music.northwestern.edu/indexf.html

Which do you think are the best and how good do you have to be to enter them?

I have heard of Juillard as a very good conservatory, as well as Curtis. And I heard Leon Fleisher teaches at Baltimore.

Of course Curtis is considered the best - and not only is the faculty top-notch, but if you are accepted, then it is a full-ride, tuition free for as long as you are there. All you need to do is figure out your living arrangements, and I think they assist you with that (they have no dorms). Julliard is probably the next in line, right up there. However, I believe the reputation has gone down just slightly since they have lost some of the most famous teachers in recent years. Also, many schools are gaining in reputation and giving Julliard some competition. Eastman and Peabody are also top of the line. As far as gaining entrance...in piano you would be expected to pretty much know most or all Chopin Etudes, numerous Beethoven Sonatas and have studied all Bach P&F's. Then just add on to that many major works by Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Schubert, Schumann, and 20th century composers, not to mention Debussy & Ravel. You get the picture. The competition for these schools is brutal. But that doesn't mean you can't work toward it! I will say that (and this is from a violin professor) that if you haven't been admitted to Curtis by the time you are a teenager - even as early as 14, 15 or 16, you may as well forget it. Oh, and except for Curtis they are very expensive to attend. What is encouraging is there are so many other very good schools in the US with fantastic teachers and very good programs. You can make alot of progress there - and then follow your dream and attend grad school at Julliard, Eastman or another top conservatory.

I see. But are Eastman and Peabody etc. not also of "high quality"? Isn't it hard to enter them? If they require that you should be able to play all Chopin etudes, I can forget it...

Could you compare some US conservatories with some European (preferably Dutch)?

Oh boy. I just had my audition at Peabody and I only know one Chopin etude which I prepared for my auditon that day. I wouldn't think that you would need to know all of them, but maybe more than one? Well I have to admit I felt kind of sick because one of pieces the undergrad candidate after me was playing the Berg Sonata.

Well My teacher talked to his old teacher who was there judging and he said I played good, but of course there are many others I am willing to bet played much better than I did.

Disclaimer: I'm young, unexperienced, and slightly naive.

I don't believe that one could say, for all people, that School X is the best school. It is very personal. Here are some factors that, at least for me, are important (in no particular order):

-- location
-- faculty
-- living arrangements
-- practice facilities
-- size
-- social atmosphere
-- intellectual atmosphere
-- tuition / financial aid


So, what if you can't stand living in the city? What if you can't stand living in a "cut-throat", intensely-competitve community? Then are Juilliard and Curtis really good schools for you?

What if you really don't feel like you could do well practicing on carpy pianos all the time? Then is Eastman really a good school for you?

What if you really like a smaller school, with a more friendly environment? What if you want to be on a very liberal campus? Then maybe is Oberlin a good choice?

What if you want to be on a really big campus that's maybe more conservative?

What if you met one of the professors at, say, Northwestern University, and you really clicked? What if you met one of the professors at, say, Cleveland Institute of Music, and you couldn't stand each other?

What if your family lives on the West Coast, and you know that you really will be miserable and you won't do well far from home? What if your family lives on the East Coast?

What if you will work best far away from your family?

What if you hate the cold weather, and you love hot weather? What if you hate the hot weather, but you love cold weather?


There are so many factors. Again, I'm very young and inexperienced, and probably very naive, but I just don't agree that "This school is the best" and "That school is better than this other school" for everybody.

Who knows? Maybe for certain people Juilliard and Curtis would be the worst schools to go to. Or maybe for certain other people, they really would be the best. It really depends on the student.

And what if ONLY looking at the teaching skills there, so how good the professors are etc.?