Shawna wrote:
>
> What I meant by my use of the word, which I will stand behind, is that
> frequently colleges structure their music programs almost exclusively to
> favor those who have sometimes years of previous musical experience,
> regardless of whether said person has talent, a joy for the music and
> reasonable goals. That practice is most *definitely* elitist because it
> implies that people who, for reasons of poverty, lack of opportunity or poor
> previous education, were not able to study before college are somehow less
> important, and less worthy of following a musical career path. I worked my
> tail off trying to play catch up in my freshman and sophomore years with my
> sightreading and technique, and I still ran up against problems.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience that led you to your post. But
do you
think it's fair to imply that EVERY academic program is as problematic as the
one you
experienced? That certainly hasn't been my experience. My experience has been
that
people with great natural talent (i.e., good vocal instrument and easily
acquired
technique) were worked with to develop their other musical skills.
I still object to the term "elitist". Most schools focus on music skills, I
think,
because they're effectively and easily taught in an academic environment. And
the
professional singing world is tough out there, and some schools' philosophies
might be to
make things in school mirror the outside world. It's like my undergrad school,
where
there were loads of folks trying to be biology majors, and there was "weeding
out" because
the introductory courses that majors had to take (as opposed to the freshman
biology
course for non-majors) were difficult. Those who felt forced to change their
major
because their grade was too low might complain, but they didn't have my
sympathy. Why
should an academic Department lower its valid standards, which are applied the
same to
all?
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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