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Hello Anne,
Thank you for starting this discussion. I have two vantage points which may be of interest. Firstly, I teach at Mt. San Jacinto College, a community college. For the first time we this semester we are able to offer applied music. Of course we are thrilled, and since it is a community college the lessons cost next to nothing ($46 for 8 hours of instruction). The lessons are open to anyone on an audition basis with the goal of welcoming members of the community and preparing serious musicians for transfer and professional careers.
My second viewpoint concerns one of my private students, an accomplished harpist who has won scholarships for her performances and has been very active in local symphonies throughout high school. She is now heading to college, is not majoring in music but remains serious about it and has had a very difficult time receiving any information/communication regarding harp instruction or even finding a place to keep her harp on campus.
As a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Arizona I taught all of the non-major applied harp lessons. That’s probably a good way to go about the issue you’ve raised, but only if the harp department is big enough to warrant it. I think ideally all students who are skilled enough to study at the college level should be able to, as long as they are held to the same standards as majors. However, if a university is strict about the non-major policy, a local community college might be a good solution.
Interested to hear what you think.
Vanessa R. Sheldon
http://www.gold2ivory.com
