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FOWJS

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  • Location
    Carrboro, NC
  • Application Season
    Not Applicable
  • Program
    interdisciplinary music (+art)

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  1. I'm also looking for interdisciplinary programs, specifically for music+visual art. With an undergrad degree in music performance, I now write my own music, which could loosely be called "avant-garde pop music" (in heavy quotation marks). I score all the music, the instrumentation is non-traditional, and I have a second album coming out in November that is closer in vein to contemporary 'new music' than other things I've done. In addition to this unusual composing, I'm also self-taught in the visual arts, and I've had two solo art exhibits in galleries, did a time capsule project where people brought items to include in a time capsule to be unearthed in 2059, and other audience-participatory art projects. Now I feel I've exhausted how far I can push myself, and want to expand my aesthetic and technical skills through a graduate program. Finding a program where I can both pursue music but also incorporate visual art, is proving very difficult. I was initially thinking to find a music program that would let me pursue interdisciplinarity through the visual arts, but maybe I'd be better off the other way around: finding an MFA art program that would let me write music. ?? Does anyone know of any MFA programs that would fit my criteria? Thank you!
  2. First off, I am considering graduate school myself, so I am not writing from the position of being in grad school myself. I'm much older than you, and you sound a lot like myself in my early 20s. I was paralyzed by the thought of what to do next. You do sound a bit all over the place, but three factors jumped out at me: 1) you're in debt from undergrad; 2) you feel slightly less qualified for great programs because of your gpa; and 3) you don't feel like you have the references necessary. Here is what I would advise you, from a point of being a decade older. In some ways, this is what I wish someone had told me. Go abroad. It may not be in your life plan, but it would solve some of these problems. It's also so much easier to do this now, while you're young and confused, than it is when you're older. You can get a TEFL degree in six weeks for a bit of money and then use it to teach English - some teaching gigs will even pay for your plane ticket there. You can continue working with children, which is where your interest lies, you can do good in the world, and if you pick the right country, you can live very cheaply and start to pay off debt and/or save money. Though not an academic reference, if you do a good job, your employer will have lots to say about you that's interesting. Plus, it gives you this unique perspective - one you can use to your advantage when it comes time to writing a personal statement. I read undergrad applications for a fancypants university's admissions office one year, and the ones with the slightly-less-stellar academic credentials who beat the odds and made it in, had truly unique experiences or perspectives that made them attractive in the applicant pool. I imagine that's the case for graduate admissions too. If you're in debt and you're very young, I wouldn't go to graduate school just because you're panicking about life's Next Big Step. The cruel secret is that there is no Next Big Step. Your entire life has been set up for you until this point: go to preschool, get ready for kindergarten, here comes elementary, middle, high school, then college, then....?? It's normal to freak out at this point, because this is the first point in your life where the next stage is up to you, and you can go in many different directions, grad school being just one of these. But I think nothing is lost by taking 2-3 years off to live as an adult before you apply to grad school, esp. if you feel like you need to make yourself more attractive as a candidate.
  3. Thanks for the replies, esp. the SAIC recommendation. While I understand the possibility of taking private lessons from a variety of folk, and gaining skills that way, I feel like that's not too far off from how I operate now. I've been working and doing my projects 'on the side' for over a decade and now I'm really hoping to focus and immerse myself in them. It feels kind of like now or never. I'm looking for a community of like-minded musicians/artists doing something similar to what I am, in addition to faculty, and I'm just coming to the realization that not many people are doing similar things. It kind of gets me nowhere, or at least severely limits my choices. I guess I'll just have to keep searching!
  4. Hi everyone, I feel like I've gone around in circles in researching grad programs and not getting very far, so I thought I would try this forum. I have a music background (my undergrad degree is a Bachelor of Music in oboe performance), but after graduating, to the surprise of my professors, I rejected classical music and began playing in rock bands and experimental groups. From those experiences with touring and recording, I began to write my own music, which could loosely be called "avant-garde pop music" (in heavy quotation marks). I score all the music, the instrumentation is non-traditional, and I have a second album coming out in November that is closer in vein to contemporary 'new music' than other things I've done. In addition to this unusual composing, I'm also self-taught in the visual arts, and have done some large-scale community-based art projects. For example, I've had two solo art exhibits in galleries, did a time capsule project where people brought items to include in a time capsule to be unearthed in 2059, and on and on. In other words, a real hodge-podge of what I consider 'interdisciplinary' projects in the truest sense of the word: whatever the subject matter calls for, that is the medium I choose, be it music or visual art. I'm also older, and have received some grants and done some residencies for music, so I'm not straight out of school. Now I feel I've exhausted how far I can push myself, and want to expand my aesthetic and technical skills through a graduate program. Finding a program where I can both pursue projects that incorporate both music and visual art, is proving very difficult. So far I've found: Simon Fraser University (in BC, Canada) - MFA in interdisciplinary arts (music concentration) Bard - low-res MFA in music/sound (super-expensive) University of Kent (in Kent, UK) - MA in sound and image U. of Northern Illinois - MM in individualized specialization U Michigan - MFA in Art/Design+ (the + means you take courses outside your area, as far as I can tell). I was initially thinking to find a music program that would let me pursue interdisciplinarity through the visual arts, but maybe I'd be better off the other way around: finding an MFA art program that would let me write music. ?? So, with all that said, does anyone know of any programs that would fit my criteria? It can be a music master's degree or an art MFA. Whenever I search with the term 'interdisciplinary,' up pops up a lot of video-based, electro-acoustic performance stuff that isn't really what I do. Any help or advice would be much appreciated, even if it's negative "don't go to grad school" type advice. Thank you! p.s. I posted this in the music forum too, but I wanted to pick artists' brains as well!
  5. Hi everyone, I feel like I've gone around in circles in researching grad programs and not getting very far, so I thought I would try this forum. Background first: My undergrad degree is a Bachelor of Music in oboe performance, but after graduating, to the surprise of my professors, I rejected classical music and began playing in rock bands and experimental groups. From those experiences with touring and recording, I began to write my own music, which could loosely be called "avant-garde pop music" (in heavy quotation marks). I score all the music, the instrumentation is non-traditional, and I have a second album coming out in November that is closer in vein to contemporary 'new music' than other things I've done. In addition to this unusual composing, I'm also self-taught in the visual arts, and have done some large-scale community-based art projects. For example, I've had two solo art exhibits in galleries, did a time capsule project where people brought items to include in a time capsule to be unearthed in 2059, organized a music festival of underserved music for underserved audiences, and on and on. In other words, a real hodge-podge of what I consider 'interdisciplinary' projects in the truest sense of the word: whatever the subject matter calls for, that is the medium I choose, be it music or visual art. I'm also older, and have received some grants and done some residencies for music, so I'm not straight out of school. Now I feel I've exhausted how far I can push myself, and want to expand my aesthetic and technical skills through a graduate program. Finding a program where I can both pursue music (as the driving force) but also incorporate visual art, is proving very difficult. So far I've found: Simon Fraser University (in BC, Canada) - MFA in interdisciplinary arts (music concentration) Bard - low-res MFA in music/sound (super-expensive) University of Kent (in Kent, UK) - MA in sound and image U. of Northern Illinois - MM in individualized specialization U Michigan - MFA in Art/Design+ (the + means you take courses outside your area). I was initially thinking to find a music program that would let me pursue interdisciplinarity through the visual arts, but maybe I'd be better off the other way around: finding an MFA art program that would let me write music. ?? So, with all that said, does anyone know of any programs that would fit my criteria? It can be a music master's degree or an art MFA. Whenever I search with the term 'interdisciplinary,' up pops up a lot of video-based, electro-acoustic performance stuff that isn't really what I do. Any help or advice would be much appreciated, even if it's negative "don't go to grad school" type advice. Thank you!
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