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Kathryn UK
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Joined: Feb 27 2005
Location: England
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Posts: 924
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| Posted: June 14 2005 at 3:47pm | IP Logged
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MacBeth wrote:
Sorry you asked? Please remember that EVERYTHING in NYC, from milk to gas, is more expensive here than in most parts of the world...
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I suspect prices for equivalent lessons and programmes wouldn't be much cheaper here. While middle-of-the-road instrumental lessons are cheaper, and subsidised schools service programmes are a God-send, top-class tuition and private Suzuki schools would be a whole different matter. London prices, and sadly out of our league 
Fortunately we either own, or have free loan of all our instruments  . At the last count we had violins in 3 sizes, a cello (currently on loan to the friend who is teaching Rachel trumpet), two flutes (including a borrowed beginner's flute with curved mouthpiece), an oboe (a bit tatty, but playable), a trumpet, full size and half size guitars, recorders in four sizes, and a piano  .
__________________
Kathryn
Dh Michael,  Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
The Bookworm
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ALmom
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Joined: May 18 2005
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| Posted: June 14 2005 at 4:59pm | IP Logged
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In Alabama, we do not have any access to ps programs. Of course, Alabama is notorious for spending the general funds on silly things and neglecting the schools so there isn't much at all in the schools. Everyone has to take private lessons. I'm not sure how we could compare to NYC prices because you're getting better quality for the money. The orchestra here will not turn anyone away due to inability to pay and will arrange some sort of work-study for the orchestra, but you still must take private lessons. It does, however, have limited funds as it is private and funded by fees, the local semi-professional orchestra (just went unionized this year with tenure), and by charitable contribultions. Jennifer pays for part of her orchestra fees through accompanying jobs.
We will be paying $40 for a 50 minute weekly lesson in organ, (at least there is not instrument purchase - just travel time to practice), we pay $72 per month for violin lessons once per week (45 minute lessons which does not include any literature and we own the instrument)and this is a Suzuki teacher who works primarily with young strings players and does not do any theory, we pay $72 for cello lessons (30 min) but must also rent the instrument which runs $27/month. Piano runs $72/month for weekly 45 minute lessons and 45 min of theory once/month on Saturday during the school year. The 30 minute piano lessons run $55 per month. In addition, we must purchase literature (which for Jennifer can run $40 for single books) and competition entry fees including chamber groups with the piano. Fortunately her teacher does pay for accompaniests for concerto competitions.
For orchestra, we pay $240 per year for the top level group and $160 per year for the 2nd lowest level(other dd). The top level has 4 concerts per year, is off during the summer, has nothing extra associated with it except for an informal chamber group with coach for a few months. They do pay for any students qualifying for All-State orchestra which is one week long 3+ hours drive. We paid $80 per night for lodging on campus. The concert level orchestra has to concerts/year and meets for 1 hour once per week during the school year. The orchestra fees are going up this year, but we have not been told by how much yet.
Violin lessons will run us considerably more next year depending on which teacher we get in with - could be slightly higher than what we are paying (but this teacher doesn't appear to have an opening) to $30/lesson for a 45 minute lesson. Piano and organ go through the summer. So far violin has not because the teacher's don't teach during the summer. If we get in with either of our 2 top choices we will at least have lessons for most of the summer, although one of the teachers is overbooked and the other teacher is nearing retirement. Also with a more serious teacher, we will be paying for an accompaniest for recitals and competitions.
Music camps for our oldest are about $240 for 1 week. Our dd who is the music lover has paid for 2 of the 3 and did get a partial scholarship at one of these. My dh has commented that college will relieve our finances considerably.
No one else is in music yet in a formal way, but would like to get the 11 yo into something soon. The others are 2, and 6. Suzuki here will not start children in formal lessons until 5/6 much like traditional who want them reading or at least beginning to recognize letters before signing up.
Alabama is definitely not the best place to go for music unless its fiddling and we are lucky in our town because we do, at least, have a youth orchestra, a semi-professional orchestra, an opera orchestra and such. Some of the youth orchestra players travel from 2 hours away to get here and it is not a super serious orchestra, it is just the only one or the best one anywhere around. They do a good job but you still have students missing recitals, last year the first violin section was only 5 violins and sometimes the concert-master wasn't at rehearsals due to the professional symphony rehearsals. Others were out of town on vacation as the schools pulled a real crazy thing and various ps school districts run on a different calendar. All-State was much better.
Janet
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4Real Forums : The Arts in the Everyday
Topic: music studies
