<p>Can some of the experienced folk here please help me get a sense of the different possible career paths that a student can pursue after being an undergrad voice major? </p>
<p>Many thanks.</p>
<p>well....the obvious choice that most people hope for is to be able to perform...either in opera or musical theatre. otherwise, you could teach privately or with a university, or go back and get a teaching degree or certification to teach in high schools....</p>
<p>You can go to law school. :)
Seriously- it's a tough career path. D (senior at Rice-vocal performance) is starting the discernment process for seminary. Her music background will serve her well.</p>
<p>What better preparation for any job which puts you in front of the public, on your feet, keeping your nerves and wits collected, than being a singer! Obviously performance is the not so secret goal, but truthfully the odds of success are very slim. I heard the statistic once that there are more people making their living as US Senator in this country than as classical singers. D tells of an artist in town doing a recital where she was in graduate school who gave a talk to the graduate voice students, 50+. He told them to look around and realize only 2 of them would make it as singers, meaning make a living. She was really mad at the time, but now she says it is true, only she and one other person did make it in that way. Of course others are employed because of their singing back ground, as opera directors, voice teachers, etc., but they had the credential of a graduate degree from a very prestigious university. </p>
<p>From my days of university teaching, some of my brightest, very talented singers have become lawyers, doctors, public administrators, college professors, high school teachers, church musicians, ministers, priests, and business people. They are valued members of their communities. </p>
<p>The undergraduate educational experience is meant to be a time of enrichment and exploration. Unfortunately the music curriculum is very narrow, and there is not much time for such things. For singers particularly, a broad cultural education and knowledge of drama and languages is essential. That in and of itself is enriching. </p>
<p>Good luck to you and your singer!</p>
<p>The way I look at my son's musical training: learn to do something very well and then build on that foundation. It could have been tennis, chess, whatever. I do appreciate a Vivaldi oboe concerto now, though.</p>
<p>Realistically? High school choir teacher.</p>
<p>I would have to say that from my experience being a high school choir teacher takes a whole different set of skills and kind of talent than that of a singer/performer. A good singer might also be able to develop them, but it is not a given. The best choral directors I have experienced and known do not have good voices at all, though they do sing with a pleasant enough, in tune sound. More have good keyboard skills.</p>