Career Advice

[nightwindsonata]

Hi all,

Over the last few months, I have been applying to Master of Music programs around the country. Currently, I have (fairly) open doors at University of North Texas, University of Colorado, and University of Denver. They all offer different things, and would get me to different places as a musician. My end goal lies more in the musicology/teaching/collaborative side of piano, rather than performing, but nevertheless I want to get as much stage experience as I can during the next few years, taking my performing as far as it can go. The challenge arises when I consider the advantages of a small school vs. a big school. I'm confident that I can at least survive in a big, competitive school like UNT, but is cutthroat competition really the best way to sharpen oneself as an artist?

Compare that to University of Denver, where I have been told I would be free to do basically whatever I want within the school, including performing with the orchestra, organizing parts of the piano department, and getting many performance opportunities in the Denver area in connection to the university. What is the better road here? I will be considering question this more and more in the coming months, so don't think that this is the only place I am asking for advice (far from it!). My final auditions for each school have yet to be played, and I have yet to get an official offer from any of the colleges, so nothing is set in stone, but all the same it affects the amount of time and effort I pour into making connections and relationships at each school. Any thoughts from the professional pianists on the forum?

Thank you for any advice you have!

[thorn]

A big part of the problem is academic pigeon holes (musicology, performing, teaching etc.) when in real life these things overlap. Based on what you have said you want, an institution that will let you get involved with everything going sounds the better fit for you. That being said I would personally email every department you mentioned here about your interests and asking what they could offer you in line with this (remember you're interviewing them too!)

[nightwindsonata]

A big part of the problem is academic pigeon holes (musicology, performing, teaching etc.) when in real life these things overlap. Based on what you have said you want, an institution that will let you get involved with everything going sounds the better fit for you. That being said I would personally email every department you mentioned here about your interests and asking what they could offer you in line with this (remember you're interviewing them too!)

Yea and people always ask me where I see myself in two years--I spew out all the things I want to do and think are realistic, but to be honest I have no clue. It all depends on which doors open up, where I find the most success (and money), and ultimately which I enjoy the best. The problem is that the picture for each school only seems to be half-filled in, and it will probably stay that way until I finish the second round of auditions. *sigh* this whole process is so tedious.

[thorn]

It's very tedious. But remember that any teacher worth studying with will understand that you discover all of these things through experience, and that whatever you write on the application will probably change as you go along (my undergrad piano teacher was convinced I'd end up doing a PhD on Debussy or Ravel, and I actually ended up in ethnomusicology).

I think this is why it's important to find somewhere that lets you get involved in a variety of things without pushing you to specialise too early on...