Applying for Fall 2010 Music Megathread

[Timothy Vallier]

I decided to start a new thread to discuss all things about this application season and get a fresh conversation rolling for support and info for PdD/Masters music applicants.

I just finished my PhD composition apps to:

Princeton

Columbia

Duke

NYU Steinhardt

SUNY Stony Brook

CUNY Graduate Center

Temple

I'd be happy to discuss my portfolio or my writing sample, and I am eager to hear others approach and strategies.

Edited January 31, 2010 by Timothy Vallier

[tbone979]

Hey Timothy,

I just applied to a couple of the same schools as you: Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, UCSD, Northwestern, Brandeis, and NYU GSAS. Out of curiosity, why did you prefer Steinhardt? What is your first choice? I'm also curious to hear about your portfolio as well as CUNY. I haven't heard much about that. Is it on the Hunter campus? Do they have funding?

Edited January 23, 2010 by Timothy Vallier
Per user request

[Timothy Vallier]

Hey Timothy,

I just applied to a couple of the same schools as you: Columbia, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, UCSD, Northwestern, Brandeis, and NYU GSAS. Out of curiosity, why did you prefer Steinhardt? What is your first choice? I'm also curious to hear about your portfolio as well as CUNY. I haven't heard much about that. Is it on the Hunter campus? Do they have funding?

DD

Tbone!

I posted this thread quite a while ago, so I was very surprised/terrified when you showed up. I thought for just a moment that I was the only person on the planet applying for a PhD in anything related to music, so I am glad to have you to chat with!

I chose Steinhardt because I was unaware of GSAS. Somehow I visited NYU, spoke with people there, and always had in my mind that Steinhardt was were to apply when aiming for a PhD. I felt very silly when I found old GradCafe posts and not a single composer had applied to Steinhardt but all of them GSAS. Now correct me if I am wrong, I found out after applying that GSAS is the same as Steinhardt, only that it guarantees funding through the McCracken (sp?) Fellowship. If that is the case, then there is a larger chance of getting to study at NYU, but an extremely low chance of funding, without a TA position, which I do hope to get.

My first choice is Princeton. Great education, great location, and they offer full funding. Although, I would be equally happy with any other school on my list that accepted me with fellowship or teaching assistantship.

CUNY is a little diamond that gets overlooked by most, and is actually very competitive. It is low tuition with high education, and offers some fellowships for PhD music students. I also know that people like John Corigliano and others who teach at bigger name NYC schools also teach there.

I am very excited to share with you my portfolio, and I will describe it to you here, but I think we should swap scores and recordings, assuming that you have a way to distribute yours digitally. My portolio includes:

Substance: A piece for 4 male voices, 4 male recorded voices, 2 vocoded voices, and electronics. With a setting of a selection of text from the Tao Te Tching.

Foible: Solo flute.

Two Stylized Dances for Sax Quartet and Percussion

When the Pale Moon Floats: SSAATTBB Choir with a setting of a Sara Teasdale poem.

Now, a few questions for you!

Where are you currently studying, and where did you get you undergraduate degree?

Why Harvard? I have heard some overwhelming and underwhelming feedback about composing there, but I have little insight.

What is your portfolio like?

Have you had any previous communication or visitations to any of your applied programs?

Do you know anyone else applying for a PhD in music composition?

How did you do on the GRE?

I look forward to hearing back!

[tbone979]

Hey Timothy,

I think that'd actually be great if we are the only people on the planet applying for this degree...there aren't too many spots or jobs available afterwards! I digress...

I got my undergrad at NYU and am finishing up a master's this semester at Cal State Northridge.

I wouldn't say GSAS and Steinhardt are the same. They are completely separate colleges with a different set of faculty and I assume the degrees have different requirements though I'm not familiar with the Steinhardt program. In general , Steinhardt is more of a professionally-oriented school with programs that lead to careers like performer, freelance jazz musician, music educator (primary/secondary), audio engineer, etc. It used to be called "The School of Education" when I was at NYU, but I suppose that title didn't quite fit anymore since they have diversified. By contrast, GSAS is the graduate school of the College of Arts and Sciences which houses standard "academic subjects", i.e. Anthropology, Psych, Biology, Math, Art History etc. I'm guessing the GSAS program in composition might have a slightly more academic feel because there are more scholarly resources and scholars within that college, but I don't really know much about the Steinhardt version. It seems like kind of an absurd situation and most people probably don't know the difference between the two degrees outside of those departments at NYU. You are right about the money being guaranteed in GSAS via the McCracken. That is a sweet fellowship. How many applicants does Steinhardt accept? Probably more than GSAS. I think in GSAS it is generally 2 in comp, 3 at most.

I looked into CUNY because of you- sounds great, I just wonder where instruction actually takes place and if you have to travel around to different CUNY campuses depending on what classes you take and which professors are your advisers. That's not necessarily a bad thing though (and I'm just speculating).

I don't know a ton about Harvard, but I know that Chaya Czernowin's music is amazing and I have heard good things about her teaching. I also know that they have a visiting professorship and in the past few years they have brought some amazing composers for yearlong stays (at least it seems they are in residence for the academic year, but I haven't actually visited or asked about this). Recent visiting profs have been Lachenmann, Ferneyhough and Rand Steiger. Very impressive and would have been great for someone with my inclinations. I also know they have money because they are harvard, and job prospects (i.e. professorships) afterwards must be decent...because they are harvard. They are also in Boston and there is a lot of new music there, and I personally would try to mine the talent field of NEC for performers with whom to collaborate- if I was lucky enough to get in, of course, which is probably a longshot.

I visited Princeton and loved it. I would love to go there for a variety of reasons including the awesome faculty, the huge amount of money they have, the job prospects afterwards, the incredible resources for composers etc.. I also visited Columbia and that is neck and neck with Princeton for being a first choice of mine, though honestly, my "first choice" changes by the day, sometimes by the hour. All schools on my list have at one time or another felt like a "first choice". I also visited UCSD, Stanford and Northwestern, each of which are above all the others in some categories, slightly deficient in others- its always a give and take. For me, I'm looking for great faculty who are active as artists and really pushing the envelope musically, great funding, and the best possible job prospects afterwards (relatively speaking because in general its getting harder and harder to find tenure track jobs as you probably know).

Yes, I do know several others applying like us.

In answer to your last question, my GRE score was good. 6.0 writing, 1420 verbal+math. I'm so curious as to how this actually affects or doesn't affect any decision. I think it is more a potential issue of possibly disqualifying oneself with a low score, rather than helping much once the applicant is above a certain threshold. Seems to carry more weight in other disciplines. At NYU (GSAS) I was told that they know there is little to no correlation between GRE score and a composer's artistry, but the Dean of the college doesn't want to bring down their overall average with low music scores... Everything I've heard is portfolio is by far #1 in importance, followed by statement of purpose. I think the other huge factor is where you are coming from, who you know. In that category, I'm trying to make up a lot of ground as all my letters of rec are from my master's profs, who are great people, but don't really have connections at my schools of choice.

Would love to hear more about your journey, thoughts on all this, specific schools, experiences etc.

***also, to anyone in music reading this who has not posted, we'd love to hear from you and plus it feels great to participate! the registration for this site is fast and simple. get in the conversation! we're lonely...

Edited January 9, 2010 by tbone979

[QORC]

I thought I'd join the lonely party . . .

I've applied to:

Columbia

Cornell

CUNY Graduate Center

NYU GSAS

Princeton

Yale

I did my BM at Cincinnati and MM at Illinois. My GRE scores were more or less average. I'm sure the role they fill varies from institution to institution. When I visited Yale Martin Bresnick said they use them more or less as tiebreakers between equally qualified candidates, and I would assume that's often the case.

I tried to send a varied portfolio of recent stuff. Some schools asked for 2 pieces, some 3, and some allowed 4. I sent out a large chamber ensemble piece (18 players), an electric sextet (cl, t sax, perc, e gtr, bass gtr, acc), a marimba solo, and a clarinet and piano piece. I've heard that schools like to see large ensemble pieces, but who knows. As a friend of mine put it, it's probably better to send good pieces than good instrumentations.

The process is certainly daunting, especially with such low acceptance rates! Best of luck to everyone here . . . I'm on pins and needles.

[giladcom]

Hi guys,

I began my PhD in Composition in Princeton this year, and just came to visit this forum and saw your thread.

I'd be happy to answer anything you want to know about Princeton or other programs. I was applying to Princeton, CUNY, NYU GSAS, Columbia, Upenn, Stony Brook and Manhattan School. I was accepted to Princeton, was on waiting list on NYU GSAS, and invited to auditions on MSM but didn't go cause I knew already I was accepted to Princeton and preferred it. I was declined from all others.

A few things about the issues you two have raised, if it helps:

1. Princeton faculty told us in the past the GRE doesn't really matter. Like you said, the university might not like low GRE in its statistics, but the faculty said that a strong candidate would never be turned down because of GRE.

2. Portfolio and letter of statement are definitely the most important factors in the application.

3. I didn't have any connections or people that knew people in Princeton - so I'm not sure it matters. One recommendation letter I had though was from a well-known musicologist.

4. NYU GSAS accepts 2-3 composers each year, 8 students all together in all tracks. "Our" track is actually named "composition and theory", and yes, it's VERY academic, and challenging - a lot of reading, many papers, a lot of "new musicology", philosophy and stuff. They pay a nice stipend, although it might be a bit challenging to be based solely on it in NYC's prices. Princeton and Cornell, I believe, pay the most (25-26k / year). Anyway, NYU GSAS is very different than Steinhardt, just as you described.

5. I'm very happy in Princeton, and I have a friend who's very happy in Cornell DMA Composition.

6. Chances wise, I believe Columbia and Cornell are the hardest to get in. Princeton is average (4 out of 80-90 each year). Stony Brook is supposed to be easier, however they accepted only one (!) comp student last year.

Good luck, and I'm here for any questions.

[Timothy Vallier]

I wouldn't say GSAS and Steinhardt are the same.

Chaya Czernowin's... Lachenmann...Ferneyhough...Rand Steiger

That really bums me out that I did not apply to GSAS.

Also, those names you have mentioned ring no bells for me. They are obviously influential people, are they all worth checking out? How were you introduced to them? Sometimes I feel so sheltered being in Omaha, NE.

What year did you graduate from NYU?

I thought I'd join the lonely party . . .

I tried to send a varied portfolio of recent stuff. Some schools asked for 2 pieces, some 3, and some allowed 4. I sent out a large chamber ensemble piece (18 players), an electric sextet (cl, t sax, perc, e gtr, bass gtr, acc), a marimba solo, and a clarinet and piano piece. I've heard that schools like to see large ensemble pieces, but who knows. As a friend of mine put it, it's probably better to send good pieces than good instrumentations.

You should post some from your portfolio!

Hi guys,

I began my PhD in Composition in Princeton this year, and just came to visit this forum and saw your thread.

I'd be happy to answer anything you want to know about Princeton or other programs.

When did you begin to hear from your schools?

What was in your portfolio?

Did you ever do any interviews via phone or in person for any of those programs.

Edited January 10, 2010 by Timothy Vallier

[Timothy Vallier]

Here is a link to four of the tunes that are in my portfolio:

Please leave feedback, and I would be happy to listen to anyone else's portfolio and leave feedback.

I have very few young composers in my area so I am dying to hear other PhD submissions in this field.

[giladcom]

When did you begin to hear from your schools?

What was in your portfolio?

Did you ever do any interviews via phone or in person for any of those programs.

Hi Timothy,

From MSM I heard very early (Dec or so) - because of their auditions they must inform the applicants much in advance.

Princeton - We started having an email correspondence and one phone call (it wasn't really an interview, more figuring out some details) on February. Official email and letter arrived only at the end of February.

NYU GSAS wrote me an accepting email at the beginning of March plus a phone conversation explaining the details of their offer (including life stipend at all). An official letter never arrived, and one month later a letter arrived saying there was a mistake and I was only on the waiting list... Can you imagine?... Gladly I really preferred Princeton anyway...

My portfolio: Quintet for Bass Guitar and Strings (20 min), piece for a mixed choir and orchestra, and a piano solo piece. For the Princeton application I also added one rock song, which I know they liked. In general I got the impression based on conversations with the faculty that one innovative, standing-out piece is almost enough to do the trick. And for Princeton, any crazy idea you have would probably be welcomed, they're the most flexible, open-minded faculty I've ever seen.

I have one recommendation for portfolio, which is totally my opinion: In the first round, these teachers have a very limited time to go over each portfolio. On the second round (after, let's say, progressing 20 files), they probably give it more time, and also consider the other elements (e.g. statement of purpose). Therefore, I believe it's extremely important for the scores to show things that stand out in a brief overview; A beautiful melody or interesting harmonic progression don't stick out, visually, as much as a creative texture, exceptional concept (for instance, just an idea - a string quartet in which the first 2 pages are only cello solo pizz. and the violist drumming on his instrument - that'd catch someone's eye, wouldn't it?...), weird form, interesting instrumentation and extended techniques. Also, make the scores neat, clear, and that it's obvious you spent some serious time in thinking about every little details (dynamics, slurs, expression comments etc.). But again, that's only my opinion.

G

[Timothy Vallier]

I have one recommendation for portfolio, which is totally my opinion: In the first round, these teachers have a very limited time to go over each portfolio. On the second round (after, let's say, progressing 20 files), they probably give it more time, and also consider the other elements (e.g. statement of purpose). Therefore, I believe it's extremely important for the scores to show things that stand out in a brief overview; A beautiful melody or interesting harmonic progression don't stick out, visually, as much as a creative texture, exceptional concept (for instance, just an idea - a string quartet in which the first 2 pages are only cello solo pizz. and the violist drumming on his instrument - that'd catch someone's eye, wouldn't it?...), weird form, interesting instrumentation and extended techniques. Also, make the scores neat, clear, and that it's obvious you spent some serious time in thinking about every little details (dynamics, slurs, expression comments etc.). But again, that's only my opinion.

G

Gilad,

Your comments have given me great peace. I keep spinning a thousand non musical elements about my application in my head. It is giving me great stress and I have forgotten that these departments just want to hear great, interesting, and exciting new music. Also I checked out your website G and I would like to say that I am a fan of your music. So much style and energy, I admire your choices. I think Princeton is probably a perfect fit for you.

[musico]

Hi Everybody !

Another applicant to Music PhD is here ! (musicology, or music history).

First, good luck to all of us for this year, it's gonna be hard, but we gonna make it (hope so).

Does any of you know about the Musicology program at WashU?

[angesa01]

I might be extremely late to this forum, but I'm another Music PhD applicant! Musicology with an Ethno concentration--depending on the program, that's either Musicology or Ethnomusicology. I think I applied to 8 programs, each with different titles for the degree I want.

About Brown: one of my current professors and advisors is an ethnomusicologist from Brown. He says the program is academic and creative, but he didn't really recommend it very highly. He actually listed many programs he thought were better than Brown. I guess it depends on who you want to work with, and what you want to study.

Has anyone heard from any programs yet? I applied to:

UCLA

WashU

UC Berkeley

CUNY Graduate Center

CUNY Brooklyn

Harvard

Columbia

U Michigan

I'm scouring each site daily for a hint of a decision timeline.

[musico]

I applied to UC Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia as well. Nothing from any, but I guess in anything related to the Humanities, one can expect to wait until mid-February.

I know that CUNY Graduate Center is a good program, and they've had a pretty good placement recently (Columbia, Yale...). I believe the program even carries a fellowship, or some form of financial support in addition to teaching, which is quite good compared to other CUNY programs. From a Professor there, I've been told they "normally" prefer applicants with already a Masters degree, rather than someone straight from undergrad.

At Columbia, in Ethnomusicology, I know that the program is VERY selective (last year they took 2 from a pool of 70, only in Ethno!), very "ethno-focused", and they look for applicants with really strong social sciences background, ideally with external funding at the time of their application (my source is a Professor there). Regarding GRE, I've been told that the Music Department does not care so much by itself, but GSAS is the one that makes "cut" according to GRE scores. Hence, the AdCom makes decisions accordingly.

Regarding Berkeley, I only know about Music History and Literature (part of it because of Dr. Taruskin).

Good luck with everything!

[Soclose]

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd throw in on the composition side. I am no longer able to sleep at night, so this is a nice outlet.

I applied to USC, UCSD, Iowa, Northwestern, U of Chicago, Indiana, Temple, Stony Brook, NYU GSAS, CUNY, Columbia, and Boston U. I was declined by Indiana.

My portfolio generally consisted of (1) brass band + 2 percussion (2) guitar, violin, piano, percussion (3) percussion trio (4) soprano, cello, piano, flute, percussion (5) solo piano. For schools that required orchestral (Indiana) or tonal (Boston) pieces, I included a short fugue I wrote as a film cue for orchestra with guitar.

Gilad, thanks for posting here despite your no longer needing to apply. Your experience with NYU sounds a bit like an issue a friend of mine had with Oregon last year. He was accepted and given waiver, stipend, and teaching responsibilities in March. In late April (after declining 2 offers from other schools) he received an email stating that the economy was responsibile for a shortage of funds and that he would have to pay full out of state tuition with no stipend or work if wanted to study there. (He decided not to go).

Good luck to everyone!

B

[tbone979]

Hey Soclose,

I applied to four of the same schools as you- NYU GSAS, Columbia, Northwestern and UCSD. I'll post if I hear from Northwestern or UCSD as we are the only ones on here that mentioned those two. I would guess that Northwestern should be contacting us somewhat soon since they have testing in late February for grad applicants. Scary. I almost don't want to hear. Right now, any fantasy is still possible. Not for long! I have a friend who has already received rejections from Indiana, Michigan and Eastman...

[Soclose]

Hey Tbone,

I applied to Northwestern out of undergrad. Checking my email for my master's results, they sent their decision on February 9, so it still may be a couple of weeks. I met with Lee Hyla last November, and he said they wouldn't begin to look at anything until after their break.

I hate waiting. A friend of mine has interviews scheduled at Eastman and Cinci already, and I am green.

[tbone979]

Hey Tbone,

I applied to Northwestern out of undergrad. Checking my email for my master's results, they sent their decision on February 9, so it still may be a couple of weeks. I met with Lee Hyla last November, and he said they wouldn't begin to look at anything until after their break.

I hate waiting. A friend of mine has interviews scheduled at Eastman and Cinci already, and I am green.

Waiting is indeed the worst! At least we've got this little commiseration board going though...

I met with Lee Hyla in November also. What a great guy and exciting composer. Of the schools to which I applied, I got the impression that Northwestern would be among the best for getting performances, both student and professional, and that Lee Hyla would be an excellent teacher. I wonder how well-known the program is around the country though, and how teaching prospects are for NW D.M. grads compared to those who get their degrees at one of the elite east coast schools. Any thoughts on that?

[Soclose]

To be honest, I think Northwestern had a long doldrum. Lee Hyla's presence and Jay Alan Yim's multimedia leanings appear to be the rebirth of the program (Idon't know Thomalla's work enough to comment). Not to mention the full funding plus stipend! I know there is an orchestral reading every year with Victor Yampolsky and the interaction between the composition studios with performance studios is really almost unmatched in academia.

As far as competition, 2007 was the first year they revamped their acceptance practices. Across all aspects of music, they accept 17 DMAs per year. So you're competing against everyone applying for a DMA regardless of concentration.

I agree, Lee Hyla seemed like a great person to study with. Where else did you visit?

[tbone979]

Wow, that's odd about the 17 total. Over the past year I've visited several schools: Columbia, Princeton, Stanford, UCSD, NYU GSAS, Brandeis, and Northwestern. And you? What are your top choices? Also, you mentioned you applied to U of Chicago and Temple. I'd love to hear more as I don't know much about those programs.

[Soclose]

I visited NWU, U of Chicago, NYU GSAS, Columbia, CUNY, and Boston U. My top choice is Columbia, followed by U of Chicago. I would be happy with any of the programs, though.

University of Chicago is really a strong academic program. Its current structure was laid out by Ralph Shapey. Howard Sandroff is mostly at Columbia College now (I think) and Ilya Levinson got tenure there last Spring, so U of Chicago now has the distinction of an all female faculty. I don't know what that means, but it's rare to find a department like that. The one issue with the program is that there is no performance program, so only a few of the new music concerts during the year are performed by professional level musicians. But the ensembles they hire are really top rate and academically they are at least on par with CUNY.

I went back and forth on Temple, but what sold me was stories from my friend who went to Brevard last summer with a couple of Temple students. Each semester each student is assigned a residency with a different group: brass band, orchestra, choir, etc. I think spending 3 1/2 months with a specific ensemble and writing for larger ensembles is really attractive.

When did you visit Columbia and NYU? I know when I visited Columbia, there was a guest speaker, 3 faculty, 4 students, and 15-17 prospective students at the seminar.

[tbone979]

Maybe we were at Columbia at the same time. Was the guest composer Edmund Campion? I think I was there on Wednesday, 11/11. It was a bit crazy with all the prospectives- felt like sharks circling.

It's funny. I'm from New York but somehow it seems I'm the only one on this board who doesn't know much about CUNY. Is the music department known for being very strong academically? Do they have performers? Do their grad students teach?

[giladcom]

Gilad,

Your comments have given me great peace. I keep spinning a thousand non musical elements about my application in my head. It is giving me great stress and I have forgotten that these departments just want to hear great, interesting, and exciting new music. Also I checked out your website G and I would like to say that I am a fan of your music. So much style and energy, I admire your choices. I think Princeton is probably a perfect fit for you.

Thanks a lot Timothy! Your nice words really made my day...

Just curious though - how did you find my website?...

Yeah, I really feel at home in Princeton. I'd say that the main Agenda of the school is that all musical genres are legitimate - classical, rock and jazz, and each one of the faculty - and the students - listens to popular music just as much as he/she listens to classical, plus doing crazy stuff in every cross-disciplinary field imagined. That's definitely the place for me...

I know that CUNY Graduate Center is a good program, and they've had a pretty good placement recently (Columbia, Yale...). I believe the program even carries a fellowship, or some form of financial support in addition to teaching, which is quite good compared to other CUNY programs. From a Professor there, I've been told they "normally" prefer applicants with already a Masters degree, rather than someone straight from undergrad.Good

Re CUNY's good placement - another one for the list: Princeton just got a musicologist to the faculty who recently received her PHD from CUNY.

In composition, CUNY offers admission to around 5 students each year, 2-3 of which get full stipend, the rest must pay I believe. I don't know how different it is for musicology.

Re having a Master's - although it's not official, in most schools I've been speaking with there's a strong preference to applicants with a Master's. Columbia told me they try to accept one without a Master's and two with a Master's each year (in Comp). In Princeton, out of 4 entering comp students, three of us have a Master's.

It's funny. I'm from New York but somehow it seems I'm the only one on this board who doesn't know much about CUNY. Is the music department known for being very strong academically? Do they have performers? Do their grad students teach?

From what I know the comp program is CUNY is indeed very academic - including full written dissertation of course. Interestingly, they offer both DMA and PhD for composers - difference being a few classes, and a foreign language requirment of one language (DMA) vs two (PhD).

i visited three classes last year when applying, and was extremely impressed by the level. comprehensive, interesting, well-prepared, faculty with a very wide knowledge.

They do offer performances - usually everyone is offered to write for a specific ensemble which is invited for a semester, and the composers also work with the ensemble on their piece. Pretty good. beyond that, there are performs in the program, which is pretty rare (comparing to most universities).

Princeton offers around 8-10 concerts a year, all with hired professional musicians from NYC and Philly. There's a mix between concerts of free-lance musicians (each composer chooses which instrumentation to write for), and concerts which are based solely on one ensemble, and whoever wishes writes for it. based on this year's concerts I can say that the performance level is very, very impressing.

[Soclose]

Tbone, we were there on the same day! (I wore a tie).

CUNY has a DMA in performance for strings, winds, horn, and voice, with a focus on chamber music. When I visited, all of the students had just written vocal pieces and were working on their pieces for the ensemble that was going to visit. One student was having a sax concerto performed the following day, though I got the feeling he arranged the performance on his own.

[angesa01]

Thanks for your reply! I hate the waiting game so much, but you are right...we do have to wait until February.

I'm nervous about this whole admissions thing, to say the least. I have a strong application, I think, but I think my age is going to work against me. I'm finishing my undergraduate work now, and as a double-major at a small liberal arts school, I don't have the enormous amount of upper level music courses other applicants have. From what I read, most schools prefer students with an MA already. But getting an MA and then going for PhD in music seems like a waste of time and money for me--if you know what you want to do, do it, and so many schools don't transfer masters credits.

I am so happy to have someone who commiserates.

On 1/12/2010 at 9:30 PM, musico said:

I applied to UC Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia as well. Nothing from any, but I guess in anything related to the Humanities, one can expect to wait until mid-February.

I know that CUNY Graduate Center is a good program, and they've had a pretty good placement recently (Columbia, Yale...). I believe the program even carries a fellowship, or some form of financial support in addition to teaching, which is quite good compared to other CUNY programs. From a Professor there, I've been told they "normally" prefer applicants with already a Masters degree, rather than someone straight from undergrad.

At Columbia, in Ethnomusicology, I know that the program is VERY selective (last year they took 2 from a pool of 70, only in Ethno!), very "ethno-focused", and they look for applicants with really strong social sciences background, ideally with external funding at the time of their application (my source is a Professor there). Regarding GRE, I've been told that the Music Department does not care so much by itself, but GSAS is the one that makes "cut" according to GRE scores. Hence, the AdCom makes decisions accordingly.

Regarding Berkeley, I only know about Music History and Literature (part of it because of Dr. Taruskin).

Good luck with everything !

[Timothy Vallier]

No problem Gilad. I simply did a google search of your username and found your name, and then found your page.

Is anyone else going to post any of their music?