<p>My son has made both all county and all state bands. His primary instrument is the bass clarinet, though he also plays tenor sax in the school's jazz band. At first he wanted to go the conservatory route, but now he is rethinking this, since he seems to have talent in baseball as well. Has he flipped his reed, or is this thing possible(majoring in music & playing baseball)? If it's possible, any suggestions for woodwinds? I've seen a lot here for trumpet players, but not as much for the woodwind performers.</p>
<p>I might be way “off base” here (sorry, I couldn’t resist that!), but the chance of injury to fingers/hands is very high in baseball and I would think that the two things, at the college level, might prove to be mutually exclusive. LAC/ university music program or conservatory, all expect a high level of proficiency and a teacher might have a problem taking on a student who is taking a risk such as that with his hands. An injury such as a dislocation, sprain or break could take your S out of commision for months, and then what would happen? There could be time spent in rehab to build up strength and facility of the digit,etc, which could mean months off of his instrument. There are always the academic or music theory/history classes to take, but what happens to the place being held for him in a studio? Again, I am playing Devil’s Advocate here and certainly don’t mean to say that there isn’t a way to make both of his interests merge in a way to make him happy. But, I think he needs to be upfront with the school and with a prospective teacher before committing to play a sport which could be detrimental to his progress as a musician. Perhaps someone else here has actually been through this and can present a rosier portrait- good luck and please, keep us posted- I think this will prove to be interesting and a useful topic for others.</p>
<p>I am sure there will be a link posted to the other discussions of this issue. My son is pitching for Bard’s very low-key club baseball team - and even with that says that he’s extremely busy and doesn’t have time for serious ensembles - between the sports, his academics, and his musical studies. As he’s a freshman composer, that’s tolerable for now, but I think it’s going to become more of an issue as time goes on.</p>
<p>I posted this in reply to your post in the sticky thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063381571-post505.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063381571-post505.html</a></p>