Music Perfomance Major- Work After Graduation?/ School selection advice

Hi, I am a senior violist from southern CA. I applied as a BM in performance. My top choices that I have been accepted to are USC (Brian Chen), Rice (Ivo Van der Werff), UCLA (CarlaMaria Rodrigues), and CIM (Robert Vernon).

I just returned from the accepted student days at Rice, and I am more confused than ever. I found out that they will not allow me to double major or even minor there. I heard that USC is very accommodating to double majors. I did not apply to Case Western in addition to CIM, so it would be only viola performance.

I thought that if I attended an esteemed music school like Rice, which has a very strong orchestra program, that I would have a good chance of winning a position in an orchestra after my BM, and a very strong chance if I went on to get a MM. After speaking with reliable sources at Rice, I have found out that it is actually very unlikely to get an orchestra job with a BM, and even with a MM it is not a great chance. One professor told me their child received both a BM and an MM in performance, and is doing local gigs and is in debt! I am really starting to think that I should play it safe and get a double major. I am now thinking of going to USC and double majoring, even though it is not my first choice. I am not familiar with Robert Vernon or CIM at all, so it is scary to consider something that I know little about. Has anyone attended any of these colleges or heard what music performance majors do when they graduate?

I am wondering how many people can successfully support themselves after getting a BM. How doable is it to get a double degree from USC (I am strong academically)? Could I still be a strong enough musician to do professional work if I double majored?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I am very confused and only have 2 weeks to make a decision!

Okay, if you want to do music exclusively (and forget about that “backup”, it is not a good reason to do a double degree as many will tell you: a BM is a fine degree on its own for work, grad and prof. school purposes), it sounds like Rice is your place. Don’t do a double degree there, yes, but enjoy immersing yourself in a top conservatory and enjoy whatever liberal arts courses you do take.

If you have other interests that are academic, are interested in new music or film scoring, and might want to do a double degree, then I think that USC would be the best choice.

Of course, CIM is a wonderful school too but I don’t know that much about it.

It sounds to me as if you want to go to Rice but think that the lack of a “backup” will hurt you. It won’t. Do what you love for 4 years and then do what comes next, which will be clear. You can take prerequ’s and go to med school or go work for a bank- or try for orchestra, ensembles, freelance, do gigs, teach. Your decision now does not write your future in stone.

If you do think there is a chance you genuinely would want a double degree, then USC, but do that for the right reasons.

Have you read David Lane’s essay that is posted above, entitled “The Double Degree Dilemma”? I think it would be helpful to you.

CIM has an extremely strong orchestra program and you won’t find a more influential viola instructor anywhere than Bob Vernon. The school is small so there’s a lot of individual attention, the orchestras get to play in Severance Hall and I’ve seen talented student violists sub in with the Cleveland Orchestra (Vernon’s students). Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

I don’t know the classical world that well. My own son attended undergrad conservatory for Jazz, although currently is studying classical bass in his MM program. But here is something to think about. If EVERYONE avoided doing something they feel passionate about and love for fear that they might fail or not end up in the career position they want (professor, studio artist, actor, musician) than there we would loose a large amount of talent and possibly the future leader in many fields. Almost everyone would be majoring in (ACK) business and working in sales. One can not go into any field that requires expertise and study and commitment thinking you are going to “fail” because if you do you are already creating an “out” for yourself as soon as you hit a point of frustration or challenge, which you inevitably will. So if your goal is to eventually be part of an orchestra than my recommendation would be GO FOR IT. The only thing you have to loose is time and when you are young that is the one thing you have plenty of. If you have gotten this far you are smart. Learning is not something that stops as soon as you graduate or leave school. Learning is a life long endeavor. And these days with careers lasting many decades there is no reason right now you can not focus on what you love and later explore something else.

Also it is VERY Dangerous to hear stories of other failures…such as the professor who said their child is in depth and just doing local gigs. You have no idea who that person is. What was their work ethic? Were they willing to leave the area and look for opportunities in another part of the country? How skilled were they socially? There are so many dimensions to why one person succeeds and another person fails.

There have been many great comments on this already. Just a few other points.

1.) The pay for performance careers can be challenging right after college…so avoid debt as best you can. The comment from the professor could be “exasperated” by debt. If you have a heavy debt load, your ability to be flexible and build a career in music may be extremely difficult.

2.) Are you flexible? Can you work a survival job while gigging? Are you OK being “poor” for awhile? Or do you need the security of a pay check and a single job? Is it important for you to have a well-paying job with an organization? There are no right or wrong answers here. You need to be honest with yourself. If all your high school peers get out of college and after a year have steady jobs with benefits, and you don’t, how will you feel? Will you care or not? Note that if you have a bachelor’s degree (BM) at any point in your 20s you can go get one of those steady jobs! My D has a few friends with BAs (liberal arts degrees - history, women’s studies etc) who are now working corporate jobs. You only need a bachelor’s degree for many corporate entry level jobs. So for my D, I told her to go for a performance degree. And at some point, if it’s not working for her, interview for entry level jobs. She graduates with an MM this year and has worked lined up through next May. For her work after that, she will have to audition and continue to hustle. Does that sound good or bad to you? I think it’s hard but she’s fine with it now.

You have many excellent comments about how to approach this. Just be sure to think carefully about who you are. What you want. Talk with your parents and even some of the teachers at the schools about your concerns and your path forward. You may find a teacher who is more positive. Honestly the teacher who mentioned the kid in debt…may not be the best match for you. You may need a more positive light in your life. Really you are so young and will have plenty of opportunities after a bachelor’s degree. Just be sure you understand that a BM or MM is never a guarantee of a particular job, it is only a guarantee that you’ll find some job at some point if you are ambitious. If you need to be on a straight line to a guaranteed job you may need to look into…accounting?

What ultimately do you want to do careerwise?

“One professor told me their child received both a BM and an MM in performance, and is doing local gigs and is in debt!”

Your professional career in performance may be different from that of this professor’s child. It is also possible that your professional career in performance could be the same as this professor’s child. One sampled observation does not tell whole a lot about the population.

But one thing seems quite clear. This professor tried to give you a realistic check; this check has some credibility as well because this professor is with the school trying to gain your commitment.

Do not assume that a performance degree, regardless of BM, MM, or DMA, will automatically lead to a high profile position in performance. There are many performance majors each year, whereas not too many high-profile positions in performance are on the market looking for people.

I have a few relatives and friends who have DMAs and have their main income from teaching local kids. They are overall very happy people.