more schools

hmmmm. so Ted (who is pretty much my hero) thinks a PhD program right away rather than a masters is a good plan. He says the PhD programs are better academically, more supported financially, and most offer a MA after 2 years anyways, at which point i could theoretically decide to drop out and apply to med school. His suggestions are: Columbia, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Berkeley, U of Chicago, Wesleyan. He has contacts at most of these that I need to follow up on. I also need to visit Wesleyan (in CT) once classes start, and the West Coast schools on the way to Vietnam.

Newton, on the other hand, thinks a MA program with a lot of flexibility would be best. This way I can explore a lot of my interests with freedom to compose, perform, and dabble in ethnomusicology, while figuring out what I really want to do. He is pushing me to apply for a composition MA at Mills. He has also suggested the Dartmouth Electro-Acoustic MA program.

A masters program like Mills would be incredibly fun. The dance and studio art programs there are great, and collaborations would be very doable and supported. It is a very free, open, environment where pretty much anything goes. I can see how creative people really have space to blossom there. But at the same time the lack of structure worries me a bit. I may need something more rigorous first, before I feel like I know (and can trust myself) enough to be creative. (is it possible to be completely free and at the same time be completely in control of one's actions? i think that's what i'm constantly striving for- like in aikido)

Doug is also skeptical of the Mills freedom/stress-free attitude and suggested Berkeley and Wesleyan. He also said to think about Eastman for a little bit, just to remember how crazy rigorous they are, but not to end up going there.

Also, after talking to Doug's friend who is a graduate from CalArts, I'm pretty sure CalArts is not the place for me. The only world music program they have is a performance based one. When I asked him to describe some classes, he looked really confused and then said he couldn't remember taking any classes. What he does remember is playing and performing (percussion) all the time, and doing composition seminars every so often. I don't know if i am disciplined enough to actually get shit done under those conditions. performance is probably my weakest area. plus, he had to take out a lot of loans because CalArts (which is most known for it's studio art rather than music) doesn't have much financial aid for the music dept. (his exact words were: "they'll take anyone who applies because it's so damn expensive") Not the place for me. Ted agrees.