"Students should know that if they want to get their undergraduate degree in music, they should know about the music department they have chosen. Harvard doesn't have to metamorphosize itself to fit your needs," Salvage says.

Salvage says he has benefited from the music department because of its strength and focus in the areas of musicology, music theory and composition.

Despite the fact that Harvard is not a conservatory, Salvage says that there are many places a musician can turn.

"There's so much more music on the Harvard campus than a place like Princeton," he says. "We are very fortunate on this campus. The question is whether you can balance your instruments with your academics."

Sarah C. Darling '01, who took a year off from Harvard to study violin performance at Julliard, says that performance opportunities at Harvard are even more numerous than at the famous New York performing arts college.

"Performance opportunities on campus are great, but you don't have the same chance to practice and focus," Darling says. "Here it is totally normal for me to play two to three concerts a week, but at Julliard everyone practice for at least five hours a day."

And though she benefited from her time away, she says she missed the diversity of Harvard's campus and the opportunity to socialize with non-performance specialists.