Musical resume

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I'm not planning on becoming a music major, but I might as well ask here where everyone knows...</p>

<p>I'm doing a music supplement to my most difficult schools... I currently only play violin, but I played piano very actively until 10th grade and played in different recitals and competitions... Can I mention those in my resume, even though my resume is primarily for violin? </p>

<p>Also, I did won some piano competitions and recitals before 9th grade, would it be worth it to include those? </p>

<p>Do I have to mention at the top that it is a piano and violin resume? (even though I only play violin today)</p>

2

<p>So, here is what you put on a resume regarding music (this is for instrumentalists) in whatever order you this is reasonable:</p>

<p>-Education (high school, music school, wherever you've studied)
-Principal teachers (names, cities, dates)
-Past orchestral experience (orchestras, dates, places, positions held)
-Current musical activities (orchestras, dates, places, positions held)
-Masterclasses (names, dates, places)
-Awards (names, dates, places)
-Solo performances (places, dates)</p>

<p>It might be a good idea to do separate resumes for piano and violin. Put on it whatever you think is important, but don't go overboard!</p>

3

<p>My D, also a violinist, sent a 1 page "music resume", with things listed in the following order:</p>

<p>Name - centered, larger type (Can put address below name. She has her address in a footer at the bottom)</p>

<p>Education (high schools attended, with dates, most recent first)</p>

<p>Private teachers (most recent listed first, with dates. She included their affiliation, such as "Atlanta Symphony".)</p>

<p>Solo Recitals and Performances (most recent listed first, dated)
[Ex: 2005 Recital, The Czech Republic - Beriot: Concerto in A minor, mvt 1]</p>

<p>Recent Orchestral Experience (most recent listed first, dated)
[Ex: 2007 Georgia All State Orchestra]</p>

<p>Other Musical Activities - Here she listed piano lessons, Tri-M Musical Honor Society, choirs and chorus, etc.</p>

4

<p>My daughter (not a music major) had a similar resume to Binx's daughter. Her goal was to show her extensive commitment to her instrument and ensembles, which she wanted to continue in college. She also sent this to the department chairs and orchestra directors at the schools, and to the private instructors (she had private lessons with them and actually handed them this resume). It was an nice supplement to her application and gave the music folks a "head's up" about an incoming VERY interested freshman.</p>

5

<p>EDUCATION
private teachers
music school
masterclasses
school,
ORCHESTRAS
ENSEMBLES
ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
MUSIC SCHOLARSHIPS AND HONORS
SUMMER MUSIC INSTITUTES
OTHER MUSIC ACTIVITIES</p>

<p>Orchestral Repertoire
Ensemble and Chamber Repertoire
Solo Repertoire</p>

6

<p>oops, I accidently posted the preceeding outline before I finished.</p>

<p>This was how my kids have outlined their resumes. Orchestras & Ensembles are split because there were too many. Additional Performances includes solo performances, and orchestras that are not ongoing, such as an opera, Nutcracker, school musical orchestra, etc.</p>

<p>Repertoire is only included when asked for. </p>

<p>It works out very nice and compact, exactly one page -except for the repertoire lists. We don't inlcude any info about what position played (as Cosmos does) or where it was performed.</p>

<p>If anyone has any ideas about how to cut back the repertoire lists, I would like to hear it. I cut it down from 3 pages to 2 when I eliminated anything played before the last 2 years, but I'd like to cut it back further. The problem is my S plays in so many different groups- I think there are 15 orchestras and ensembles listed for the last 2 years, (not including summer music) that the repertoire becomes quite large. And we still have jr & sr year to add. I'm not sure what could (or should) be eliminated.</p>

7

<p>My kids never listed rep for orchestra, only recent solo work that was publicly performed, and occasional ensemble work. And they put that right on the resume. Most of the time, it didn't take up any more room - fit on the same line. Only included their placement in orchestra when they were principal.</p>

<p>As I recall, Curtis asked for a copy of a program from an orchestra performance. That was the only time any orchestra rep was presented to any school.</p>

<p>D had to list solo rep for a school or two - she just listed a few (I think they gave her 6 or 8 lines) and called it recent rep or sample rep or something like that. </p>

<p>Both kids only listed rep for their primary instrument - the one they were applying/auditioning on.</p>

<p>Our rule of thumb for resumes is to decide if the activity presents you favorably, in an objective way. If it doesn't, leave it off. Listing lots and lots of rep doesn't tell whether or not you played any of it well! </p>

<p>Noting that you won the concerto competition for youth symphony, playing such and such, does indicate a level of mastery. So does listing other competitions where you won or placed. When they listed those things, S2 and D did list the specific piece that was performed.</p>

<p>On the other hand, listing specific rep for each "festival" is probably not a good idea. Just say something like, "1995-2003 - various GMTA/GMEA festivals, Superior rating." The fact that you participated, and performed well, tells them all they wanted to know.</p>

8

<p>Wondering about your thoughts on proper usage of accent marks on printed resume. Son's resume has no accent marks at present. Should the resume itself have accent marks on the word resume?! And what about accent marks on Faure, Durufle, and German names, such as Schonberg--spell Schoenberg instead of the pre-US way, Schonberg with an umlaut?</p>

<p>Not a big deal? Just wondering.</p>

9

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<p>The word "resume" did not appear on my son's resume at all. And he didn't use accent marks on names of composers. To be honest, there weren't too many names of composers on his resume either (they were on a separate repertoire sheet). On the resume he listed the venue, date, and his role (principal trumpet)...not all the pieces that were played.</p>

10

<p>Hmm. Guessing that the word "resume" isn't really needed--Good thought!</p>

<p>His data sheet (two sided rather than two sheets stapled) includes groups sung with/what/when/where and solo repertoire/when/where. Decided to add those accents on the French guys and stuck with Schoenberg rather than the umlaut. Of course, it's an ever-evolving document. Also stuck a small b&w photo on it, at my suggestion/nag. Just for recollection purposes! Although his name is unusual, which could be helpful.</p>

11

<p>Daughter and I are big fans of the Character Map utility (found in XP under Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools) and even use some of the more common Alt key codes to enter those kinds of characters directly. For example, lower case e with an acute accent (</p>

12

<p>That's handy to know--I will send tip to son and keep it on file for me. (I must admit an aversion to Word so I didn't know this. While I hate it, I must submit to using it; I use InDesign when writing--such a nice, customizable glyph palette for things like accents--then copy and paste to Word, but once sharing docs occurs, I have to stick with Word. Grr.)</p>

13

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<p>DS's music resume does NOT include repertoire at all. That is on a separate repertoire sheet that he updates with each new addition (keeps it on his computer). To be honest, it's only been needed a few times, but it's been handy to have when needed. </p>

<p>From reading here, it seems that some folks include repertoire on their resumes and others don't.</p>

<p>DS just took a careers course at school. They clearly say that the resume should be one page long and should only include the most recent things one has done. DS, for example dropped ALL "stuff" from high school. However, he maintains the repertoire from HS on his repertoire sheet.</p>

14

<p>hi guys, need some help here! </p>

<p>im currently applying to college and writing my music resume.</p>

<p>should i only include experiences/awards from 2006 onwards, so should i go as far back as i can? </p>

<p>thanks!</p>

15

<p>The consensus when providing info on activities to colleges has always been to keep it to what has occurred within the high school time frame.</p>

<p>I would urge the same for a music resume. The exception would be to include the years of study/instruction that began prior to that point.</p>

<p>If it was a significant award, honor, competition win that impacted you and your music pursuits, it might be worth addressing in one of the required or supplemental essays.</p>