Top 10 colleges to study musical theatre
main2019 list from College Gazette:
The College Gazette’s ranking of the top 10 places to study Musical Theatre
10 Pace University
9 Penn State University
8 Elon College
7 Oklahoma City University
6 Ithaca College
5 Boston Conservatory at Berklee
4 Cincinnati Conservatory
3 NYU
2 Carnegie Mellon
1 University of Michigan School of Music
Now why is that?
All, mysteriously, in the USA
Not too mysterious. From the original source’s website:
College Gazette, founded in 2019, is the #1 resource for information on higher education in the United States.
Maybe because musical theater as it is currently practiced is mostly an American phenomenon.
In the Netherlands, closely following populist trends in the world and with a keen eye on the USA, you can formally study to be a DJ or ‘electronic artist’, or pop musician:
https://www.conservatoriumvanamsterdam.nl/en/study/aema/
https://www.conservatoriumvanamsterdam.nl/en/study/pop-music/
https://www.codarts.nl/en/pop/
NB: these are not some private commercial evening schools for amateurs, but formal professional educational institutes on conservatory level, supported by the state. Behind such offerings lies the idea, that there is no qualitative or meaningful distinction between classical music, dance events, DJ’s, pop music, whatever. The differences are supposed to be a mere matter of personal taste. While state support for symphony orchestras, opera companies and museums is gradually eroding, ‘alternative cultural practices’ are increasingly state supported. This is supposed to be fair and democratic. Cancelling the arts – the real arts – altogether, is also increasingly seen as a worthy democratic goal, reflecting the ‘will of the people’, because they still carry some residu of authoritarian, hierarchical, antidemocratic thinking which we have to get rid of in these enlightened times.
This is an old problem. As long ago as 1991, in his book ‘L’etat culturel’, Marc Fumaroli asked whether the state should be promoting and subsidising rap music rather than high culture.
How crazy can people get? I don’t think, however, that the proposal got accepted and realised in France. Such ideas are comparable to proposals to add swimming pools or laser beam installations on top of the Notre Dame.
Great. More student loans for these poor kids. Dreaming of Broadway, most must settle with dinner musical shows if they are lucky.
Why so harsh? No one forced them to take up this field of study and I’m sure they all know how tough it is to make it to Broadway.
As Lee Strasberg said to Al Pacino in The Godfather, Part 2: “This is the business we’ve chosen.”
Hyman Roth ran rum out of Cuba to the US during Prohibition. He didn’t have to deal with student loans. Hyman had a product that everyone wanted. Tin pan alley artists didn’t need degrees. I’m all for following one’s dreams but the US higher education system is a scam where students are tricked into believing that they can study anything and make a good living after taking out loans they can’t pay back.
Word. Well said.
Here’s another opinion on the same subject – some duplications, of course.
https://www.onstageblog.com/editorals/2019/11/3/the-top-30-college-musical-theatre-programs-for-2019-2020?fbclid=IwAR2Ocv2XrpvAVOy2cHG5G-3z8QqaFiDUcFBTR87yoxGdPho1W9A5TNqy2-g
Baldwin Wallace in OH is missing from this list.
Baldwin Wallace. It is a superb liberal arts university, and the campus is quite charming.
The colleges are going to study MT? Do you mean offer MT?
The Hartt School Music Theater program already has 477 applications for its program, so future stars of Broadway may be a bit more ‘in the know’ . . . .