Just curious, as my freshman (clarinet performance major) is planning his first summer as a college student. He was just accepted to a one week program in mid June, then he’ll be traveling with us for a lot of the summer, and then there a couple more programs in late summer that he hasn’t heard back from yet, but he’d like to do one of those. I told him we could help out with the one program, but he’d either need to find funding (his school offers some funding for summer programs, but I don’t know how much or how easy it is to get) or pay for it himself if he wants to do two. So now I’m wondering what a “typical” summer looks like for music majors. This summer’s trip is one he’s looked forward to for a long time (Newfoundland! We’re all very excited), and it won’t leave time for a job, but I’m thinking in the future he’ll probably need to do a combo of working and shorter programs to be able to afford them? or focus more on auditioning for funded programs? He has a job right now, but it’s just a few hours a week and is more for making money to go out with friends and stuff than for actually being able to save. And money aside, how much time spent doing summer programs is “enough”? Assuming he’s looking at grad school in music in a few years.
My kid graduated a while ago. He spent most summers at some music festival. Started at New England Music Camp as a middle school student. BUTI for two years after that. Eastern Music Festival for two years after that. Aspen for one year.
One summer he didn’t do a festival but he did do an intensive on his instrument at Northwestern, and then played for a musical theater group on Cape Cod…I think he did two of their shows.
He also had a summer job as a restaurant worker…which was a good life skill for a musician…he was a dishwasher, busboy, salad prep person, and waiter. Lots of great experience, and he had a terrific and flexible boss who worked with his schedule.
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