<p>I would guess it would difficult to find numbers for how many Oberlin grads ended up performing were double majors and how many just at the Conservatory. My guess is a very small percentage were double majors. You would also have to further qualify if you are talking about those that end up teaching or performing in regional or volunteer orchestras or just those playing in main income earning situations. Numbers probably create too small a sample to come to any easy solution. </p>
<p>Also the number of non performance degreed, non music school grads who go on to a grad program at a conservatory has to be lower than winning the lottery or being struck by lightning. So "many" may be one or two. It would be interesting if any grad students currently at a significant conservatory were not performance majors at a significant program for their undergraduate.</p>
<p>You don't have to win the lottery or, God forbid, be struck by lightening...thus, for example I know that of a graduating class of about 35 at UC Berkeley, in the Music department, a couple of years ago, 3 students (2 violins and 1 cello) went to Manhattan School of Music, another (a percussionist) is getting a DMA at Stoneybrook, another studied cello in Europe on a performance fellowship from Berkeley (the Hertz) and is now in a German orchestra; 1 is at Peabody on piano; 2 are in conducting programs, 3 are in PhD programs in musicology (one at Harvard, another at Columbia, a third at UCLA). Others went to law school at top schools. That is not to recommend that route for everyone or even most committed musicians. Just to say it isn't hopeless, even for those who are not YoYo Ma or Melvin Chen (who famously went to Harvard/Yale and then on to music performance careers).</p>
<p>Mamenyu, you have a point, but many of these kids have had extensive musical training from early childhood, as have the international students at Bard-- whose US recruiting seems to have been limited to Interlochen and the like. Motivation alone won't count for much if you simply have insufficient time to practice and weren't granted the privelege of first-rate, intense training before college (like the several grads of Shanghai Conservatory at Bard).
Sorry to sound pessimistic...</p>
<p>and also, of course, if you aren't accepted at Bard, etc. and given the opportunity to try to "make up for" your normal, tried and true, all 'round American education.
From this discussion and the parallel discussion on the current Oberlin thread, it seems there are no simple formulas for kids who are committed both to music and academics for how to "go for it" but also keep their options open. But there is much room for optimism: you can't really go wrong doing either or both if it enriches your life -- and who knows what a creative, well-educated musician will think of -- that seems to be Leon Botstein's hope...</p>
<p>While I can't quote the statistics that FluteMomLiz was looking for regarding double degree vs. con-only performers, I can point out that nearly all of the winners of last year's concerto competition at Oberlin were double degree students.</p>
<p>Another interesting, but totally unrelated fun fact is that the current Deans of the conservatories at Oberlin, Juilliard, Peabody and the University of North Texas are all Oberlin grads.</p>