I’m a junior at a large public university studying political science and history. As I’ve continued through my college life and I begin filling out applications for law school and internships, I realize I don’t want to be an attorney or work for the government. I used to have this huge passion for it, but I’m starting to realize how much I love playing music.
I’ve been a violinist since I was 11, and I haven’t stopped playing since. I’ve been in orchestras, often two or three at once, and practice at a minimum of 4 hours a week, however, I haven’t had a private lesson since I was in high school. I know this doesn’t sound like much, but I’ve had an everlasting dream of playing for movie scores.
I don’t know how wise it would be to switch majors now, considering I’m almost finished with my bachelors, already have some plans for post-undergraduate studies, and it’s not cheap to just prolong a bachelors degree, but I know music is something I want to study more and care about.
I’m not really sure what I should do. Would a masters degree in performance be attainable and or helpful in playing movie score? What should I do in order to get where I want to go?
It is not uncommon for graduates with academic degrees to enroll in MM programs–I know quite a few who have done that. But to be competitive you’d need to be studying privately and practicing a lot more. It could make sense to start in slowly (beware injuries) with a private teacher and a bit more practice as your academic schedule allows, then take a gap year after graduation to hone your audition. I agree, it makes sense to follow your passion. You can always go to law school later if you decide to.
I agree: finish your bachelor’s while making use of whatever resources are there for you, including getting a teacher for lessons. practicing and performing. You can apply to MM programs, and if you don’t get in this time, spend a year getting ready to apply again. At the end of the master’s program, you will have many options, considering your bachelor in history and polsici, and potential master in music. They may even intersect in some interesting ways.
One word of caution: maybe be less specific in your goal. Playing for movies may result from being part of an orchestra or ensemble rather than a an individual, of course. But that is also a rather narrowly specific career goal at this point and it might be helpful to be open to many possibilities.