Music Schools in The United States - Independent Conservatories

Independent Conservatories

Conservatories are the most individual and popular type of music school. Conservatories completely focus on music and do not specialize in anything else. Usually emphasis within the school will be focused on either "Classical" or "Contemporary" studies, though in recent years, this divide has begun to meld. Some conservatories also include instruction in drama and dance, most notably the Juilliard School, however this instruction is usually not considered part of the "Conservatory" part of the School. In the Juilliard School, for example, there are three schools each operating quasi-independently; the Juilliard School of Music is the only true "Conservatory" part of the school.

Notable Classical conservatories in the United States are:

• Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY)
• Cleveland Institute of Music (Cleveland, OH)
• Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Oberlin, OH)
• Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia, PA)
• The Juilliard School (New York, NY)
• Longy School of Music (Cambridge, MA)
• Boston Conservatory (Boston, MA)
• New England Conservatory (Boston, MA)
• Manhattan School of Music (New York, NY)
• Mannes College The New School for Music (New York, NY)
• New World Symphony Orchestra, (Miami, FL) (for music school graduates)
• The Colburn School (Los Angeles, CA)
• San Francisco Conservatory of Music (San Francisco, CA)

Notable contemporary music (Jazz and popular styles) conservatories are:

• Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music (Los Angeles, CA)
• The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music (New York, New York)
• New England Conservatory (Boston, MA) (Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation)
• McNally Smith College of Music (St. Paul, Minnesota)
• The Contemporary Music Division at Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Oberlin, OH) (encompasses Composition, Jazz Studies and Technology in Music and Related Arts (TIMARA)).

Often, academic requirements for conservatories are merely supplemental to a music student's education and career. This makes them very popular with students who are aiming at a professional performance career, and who do not wish to do all of the academic requirements that are normally required at music schools that are part of a larger university system.