Hello everyone. I’m a senior in high school, and I really love music. I really love it in that I want to have a career in orchestral music (I play the clarinet). However, my parents want me to become a doctor or any of those “safe” jobs (I’m asian). I really don’t know what to do…It’s time to start applying and if I want to major in music, I need to audition and etc. Is it possible to get a career in orchestral music without a history of studying music in college or maybe just minoring in music?
It’s pretty near impossible, IF you want to play in a top orchestra and actually make a living wage. Even the biggest orchestras have only 3 chairs for clarinet and one of those doesn’t play most nights unless a bass clarinet is needed. Look at the number of students majoring in that instrument in the good conservatories and then see how few auditions open each year and the odds are stacked against you to begin with.
Majoring in music with your clarinet will not only give you the education you need (theory, music history, orchestral repertoire, etc) to get into a good graduate school but will also give you the invaluable contacts through your teacher and the opportunities to perform outside of the studio.
Talk to your high school counselor and see if he/she will help you talk to your parents.
I’ve told my own kid that if you want to go into music, you need to be flexible at least to start out. You won’t just be performing. You may be accompanying, doing collaborative music, maybe teaching private lessons, music direction is an option, working in non-profits, composing, willing to embrace many styles of music, etc. You’ll probably need at least a masters. So I think it’s good to have that type of mind set going in. Maybe there are a small number coming out of top conservatories walking paths lined with gold, but I think that’s pretty rare.
That said if you do not want to be a doctor, you absolutely should not be a doctor. A good way to go might be to look a strong LAC’s with strong music programs that will give you some academic rigor, but may be able to set you up well for music too.