Posted by Christian Carichner on April 06, 2002 at 17:20:42:
In Reply to: Ithaca or Cincinnati? posted by Frustrated Senior on April 06, 2002 at 08:55:09:
It really depends on what you're going for. There is a trumpet player here at ithaca that went to CCM for 2 years and hated it and transfered to Ithaca. Ithaca is definitely an education based school. There is stress on performance, but the focus is on your education and your ability to educate others. The ed. faculty here are absolutely amazing. The band directors are all very fine people with amazing ears. About Dave Unland--if you're looking for someone to really push you and be a super hard ass on you, then ithaca is honestly not the place. He is very ....easy going... but a great person to work with who has a great ear and wonderful techniques. About the fact that there isn't much going on in ithaca....that's partially true, but not really. The campus is a very social one, plus you're right next door to Cornell and there's lots going on there. lots of clubs, etc. if you're into that stuff. Musically speaking, there is a lot going on....a lot more than some may imagine. The Wind Ensemble just went to the CBDNA conference at Eastman as a featured guest. The W.E. and Symphony Orchestra just celebrated Karel Husa's 80th birthday at Alice Tully Hall in NYC. The choir just toured ireland and the rumor is the chamber orchestra is going next year. They recognize the fact that it isn't a big draw so they bring in the big names. This year alone we've had allen vizzutti, gail williams, larry combs, frank battisti, tim mahr, karel husa almost every week, malcom rowell, brian bollinger and i should be shot for not knowing, but his trombone playing friend in philly is also coming soon, and next year it looks like matt good and steven mead are coming. Those are just to name a few. Now i'm not trying to preach ithaca, cause that's what it seems like, but i just want to give it the credit it deserves. The school is great and the facilities are second to none. The campus is beautiful...but cold in the winter :) I really think you'd like it here, but it's honestly your call. Ithaca is expensive, but i really think it's worth it.
email me with questions
Christian