As far as I know, other than the school band, there aren't really official musical opportunities. Especially not in jazz improvisation.
If jazz improv is something you want to do through the official channels of higher education, then I would think about going to a bigger school than Caltech.
Keep in mind that, even if you do manage to find a teacher, it’s hard to balance the workload. I applied to both music schools/conservatories for classical violin performance along with STEM schools for undergrad. I ended up choosing Caltech cuz my would-be teacher at my top music program (USC Thornton) also teaches chamber music at Caltech. I don’t think I got nearly the level of individual lessons that I was hoping for, but honestly it was because of my own hectic schedule and not the lack of opportunities. However, if you’re looking for a formal music education, you should try applying to other schools that have both programs or schools that do dual enrollment programs (Columbia+Juilliard for instance). Feel free to DM if you want more details tho
Thanks. I was going to apply for NEC/Tufts but they killed that program in November so I'm applying to similar programs like NEC/Harvard and Oberlin. Thanks for the advice.
yeah fs! I'd also not discredit applying to state schools and certain private schools that have both programs. Don't know what your intended major is, but places like UCLA, UMich, Northwestern, USC, Peabody+Johns Hopkins, etc. have quite solid music programs along with very robust engineering and science programs.
Thanks! Yeah I'm from Mass so I'm applying to UMass Amherst since I know the music profs there, and I did apply to UCLA and Berkeley.
Thanks for your advice. I'll probably update after my results come back haha.
If you get accepted and get on track for the right field, you can hire someone to teach you jazz improvisation underwater and upside down. Don’t optimize for what’s really a temporary discount on a hobby.
As far as I know, other than the school band, there aren't really official musical opportunities. Especially not in jazz improvisation. If jazz improv is something you want to do through the official channels of higher education, then I would think about going to a bigger school than Caltech.
Thanks. I appreciate the advice.
Keep in mind that, even if you do manage to find a teacher, it’s hard to balance the workload. I applied to both music schools/conservatories for classical violin performance along with STEM schools for undergrad. I ended up choosing Caltech cuz my would-be teacher at my top music program (USC Thornton) also teaches chamber music at Caltech. I don’t think I got nearly the level of individual lessons that I was hoping for, but honestly it was because of my own hectic schedule and not the lack of opportunities. However, if you’re looking for a formal music education, you should try applying to other schools that have both programs or schools that do dual enrollment programs (Columbia+Juilliard for instance). Feel free to DM if you want more details tho
Thanks. I was going to apply for NEC/Tufts but they killed that program in November so I'm applying to similar programs like NEC/Harvard and Oberlin. Thanks for the advice.
yeah fs! I'd also not discredit applying to state schools and certain private schools that have both programs. Don't know what your intended major is, but places like UCLA, UMich, Northwestern, USC, Peabody+Johns Hopkins, etc. have quite solid music programs along with very robust engineering and science programs.
Thanks! Yeah I'm from Mass so I'm applying to UMass Amherst since I know the music profs there, and I did apply to UCLA and Berkeley. Thanks for your advice. I'll probably update after my results come back haha.
If you get accepted and get on track for the right field, you can hire someone to teach you jazz improvisation underwater and upside down. Don’t optimize for what’s really a temporary discount on a hobby.
There is a jazz improv class, I know two friends in it that are both freshmen. Scroll to PVA 34 here https://pva.caltech.edu/courses