North Texas Music School Ranking?

Greenrex · May 15, 2023

I searched to no avail for a ranking service referencing our music program only to find paywalls or dubious providers. Can anyone give me a solid ranking reference? I've been bragging about North Texas for many years and now I'm trying to advise a youngster looking for a highly ranked music school. Thanks!

Mean Green 93-98 · May 15, 2023

What direction is he/she looking on going in music? Jazz, classical, marching band? Performance, composition, music ed, other? What instrument?

Here's the Wikipedia entry on the College of Music: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_North_Texas_College_of_Music

You can probably find something to brag on in there regardless of what direction your young friend is looking.

Greenrex · May 16, 2023

Thanks, MG 93-98. She's just generally looking for music. Piano, performance, voice, ed. My wife found a couple rankings that embarrassed me because I have been drinking green kool-aid for decades telling folks we're ranked in the top top but, that is just not true! My green music bubble has popped!

Mean Green 93-98 · May 16, 2023

19 minutes ago, Greenrex said:

Thanks, MG 93-98. She's just generally looking for music. Piano, performance, voice, ed. My wife found a couple rankings that embarrassed me because I have been drinking green kool-aid for decades telling folks we're ranked in the top top but, that is just not true! My green music bubble has popped!

Nah, UNT is genuinely a great music school, and is considered among the very elite in certain areas--jazz and percussion, to name a couple. But for classical performance, it's generally considered a notch or two below places like Julliard or Curtis.

UNTLifer · May 16, 2023

#1, period.

El Paso Eagle · May 16, 2023

12 hours ago, Greenrex said:

Thanks, MG 93-98. She's just generally looking for music. Piano, performance, voice, ed. My wife found a couple rankings that embarrassed me because I have been drinking green kool-aid for decades telling folks we're ranked in the top top but, that is just not true! My green music bubble has popped!

The overall problem with rankings nowadays is that too many are skewed based on what associations or services you participate in. The best suggestion, let her visit the departments she is interested in and cut through the outside bias.

KingDL1 · May 18, 2023

Jazz is the only one I ever found ranked

letsgiveacheer · May 18, 2023

Rest assured, North Texas is among the very best music schools in the country. Who is "best" needs to be answered by the question, what do you want to study?

For example, Juilliard puts more people in orchestras than any other school. Rice does very well with this, also.

In jazz and popular music, North Texas and Berkeley in Boston lead the way. I would venture we have won as many Grammys as anyone.

The great strength of North Texas is that we are strong across the board; classical, jazz, keyboard, composition, whatever. There is not a weak program here. With the exception of Indiana University, I do not know of another school like ours. Our students win prestigious international competitions on a regular basis and come from all over the world to study here. There are CoM YouTube videos with over 1M views.

The other great advantage of North Texas is its cost. Here, no one can come close. I know of many, many youngsters in NYC that are graduates of Juilliard, New England Conservatory, and the like that have over 100,000 in student debt. They are hard-pressed to make 20,000 a year.

As for the rankings themselves, here they are: https://www.unt.edu/rankings/college-music.html

Personally, I wish they would go away. There is no objective data used in these and most are nonsense. If anyone thinks UT at Austin is the top music school in Texas, as rated by "Best Music Colleges.com", then I have a bag of turnips I would like to sell you.

Edited May 19, 2023 by letsgiveacheer

KingDL1 · May 19, 2023

That shows we average around 50th in the country. That does not seem like something to brag about.

rojomojo · May 20, 2023

The music school is the only program at UNT that actually attracts national talent instead of DFW juco transfers that make up the majority of UNT students... The geographic diversity of the music program is the only thing that makes UNT kind of feel like a real university.

El Paso Eagle · May 20, 2023

15 hours ago, rojomojo said:

The music school is the only program at UNT that actually attracts national talent instead of DFW juco transfers that make up the majority of UNT students... The geographic diversity of the music program is the only thing that makes UNT kind of feel like a real university.

You make some pretty clueless posts, but even for you, this is idiotic.

greenminer · May 20, 2023

18 hours ago, rojomojo said:

The music school is the only program at UNT that actually attracts national talent instead of DFW juco transfers that make up the majority of UNT students... The geographic diversity of the music program is the only thing that makes UNT kind of feel like a real university.

Whole lotta "woe is UNT" and "Mean Green sucks" vibe in all of your posts. If I dig deep enough, there's some truth, but man! Read the room. Have a beer and don't bring the tailgate down.

eulessismore · May 20, 2023

All I can say is that some of you who are bagging on the North Texas Music School don't seem to know what you're talking about. If you do a google search on "University of North Texas Alumni" and look through the listings for various schools and programs, some of them make up one page, maybe a couple make up two, and only one "Music" goes on for 3 pages.

That's all the more remarkable because some of those listings are for bands instead of individuals, some of which are composed of multiple UNT alumni, and some people are not listed despite having stellar music careers. Among those not listed are Ray Hermann, woodwinds player for Chicago; Sarah Jaffe, well regarded folk singer-songwriter; Bruce Fowler, formerly trombonist with Frank Zappa (although fellow Zappa alumni Arthur Barrow is listed); Jim Ed Norman, former bandmate and longtime arranger for Don Henley and the Eagles and many others; and Midlake, a pretty fair folk rock band.

Maybe instead of downplaying the achievements of these musicians and program, y'all should just give a listen to some of the folks who have been through the UNT music program, or figure out how to turn some of your own favorite schools, departments or programs into international successes. Of course noone is a prophet in their own country, and I guess some like Roy Orbison had to leave for England to find recognition.

And I have just one question: would the student fee increase for athletics (needed to build Apogee) ever have been approved if it weren't for the votes of those in the School of Music, who may have realized that with no new stadium, there would eventually be no football, and no meaningful marching band?

https://northtexan.unt.edu/notable-alumni?field_alumni_category_tid=36

Coffee and TV · May 21, 2023

On 5/19/2023 at 8:51 PM, rojomojo said:

The music school is the only program at UNT that actually attracts national talent instead of DFW juco transfers that make up the majority of UNT students... The geographic diversity of the music program is the only thing that makes UNT kind of feel like a real university.

What are you doing here then? Like honestly.

El Paso Eagle · May 22, 2023

9 hours ago, Coffee and TV said:

What are you doing here then? Like honestly.

I 100% agree. If he actually attends, this guy seems to dislike everything about UNT and Texas. It must suck to be this miserable all of the time.

UNTLifer · May 22, 2023

1 hour ago, El Paso Eagle said:

I 100% agree. If he actually attends, this guy seems to dislike everything about UNT and Texas. It must suck to be this miserable all of the time.

He complains about too much asphalt. I think he’s tired of how much is between his ears.

MeanGreenTeeth · May 26, 2023

I'm not that close to it anymore, but I can tell you high school jazz programs all around the country are very familiar with UNT. I'd say it's still considered tops in Jazz, tops in affordability, and (along with Indiana) tops for public schools and non-East Coast/LA music schools. I don't know that you're going to find a lot of good school rankings out there. Many of them probably considered SAT scores and such for the entire college, which of course is going to give you some strange results.

Edited May 26, 2023 by MeanGreenTeeth