Success may not look like it looks for your teachers, for your colleagues, or for anyone else- it’s unique to you!
Success and Expectations
Picture it, Marietta, GA 2002. A young violinist starts taking lessons with a really wonderful teacher in Atlanta. The teacher only takes a handful of students and helps them prepare for college auditions. The young violinist feels very fortunate to be in the studio and works hard to get better and not disappoint herself or her teacher. However, the student’s head starts to get filled with unrealistic expectations.
See, the teacher won a job in a major orchestra right out of undergrad. That’s awesome, and it does still happen, but it left the young violinist with expectations and ideas that the path was linear.
What I Thought the Path to Success Was:
- Do well in high school
- Get into a good music school
- Go to grad school maybe?
- Win job
- Live happily ever after
Fast Forward
Fast forward to undergrad. The violinist is now studying with another fabulous violinist at Florida State University. This time, the teacher didn’t just win a job directly out of undergrad, the teacher ONLY took concertmaster auditions and won them…right out of school. OK- this reinforces the idea to student violinist the path to success was still linear…
- Do well in music school
- Go to grad school
- Win job
- Live happily ever after
Next Step!
Next! Student gets into Manhattan School of Music for a MM in Violin Performance. Wahoo! Steps 1-3 completed! Teacher at MSM has been in a professional string quartet and touring since she was 17 years old. She was a teenager when her career started. So, obviously, the student knows that the time travel option to win a job before 18 is out of the question. That ship sailed and she is now 22 years old.
Oopsies! Student leaves MSM in 2008 and wow guess what? Boom, recession. She’s taking auditions, she’s getting coached for orchestral jobs…and it isn’t happening. No audition won.
What the heck? She’s confused, but not completely discouraged. Something has to happen right?
You Guessed It
So, if you haven’t guessed already, the student is me. Almost all of my professors/teachers for both violin and viola won jobs directly out of school. They are all (or were) fantastic musicians and teachers. They did, however, enter the job market at a completely different time than I entered. I didn’t quite understand or realize the complexity of the music school/higher education system combined with the shifting landscape of economic turns and job availability in the early aughts.
Redefine Expectations- Redefine Success
Let’s backtrack to 2008-2009 for a moment. After leaving New York I moved back to my hometown. I started teaching private lessons, doing sectionals in schools, and playing in regional orchestras.
Feeling like I needed something a little more diverse, I took a job as an orchestra teacher at a private school. I did not have my teachers certification at the time, just a provisional license, so it was a good fit. It was part time and allowed me to keep teaching private lessons and perform. This is actually when I added viola.
The Road to Viola
Teaching middle and high school orchestra provided the opportunity to play and demonstrate in class on viola and I loved it! So, I decided to complete my graduate degrees in viola instead of violin. But enough about my personal story.
Here’s The Point
As a student, I had misguided expectations on what success would look like for me because I saw what my teachers did at young ages and wanted that. I however, am a different person, entering the job market at a different time under very different circumstances.
There are a lot of music grads out there and there are a number of music jobs, however, there is not a guarantee of getting said jobs.
I’ve Seen
- Orchestral positions gone unfilled
- University jobs go unfilled, or be accepted then turned down
- Really great musicians not win playing or teaching jobs
But I’ve Also Seen
- Lots of creativity and people creating their own paths
- Chamber ensembles form and be successful
- Nonprofits and businesses form and flourish
- Teaching Studios/private teaching careers take off
- People win music jobs in the 20s, 30s, and 40s
You Get to Define what Success Means to You
It’s a jungle out there, but there are lots of opportunities to make a career in music!
With a little creativity, perseverance, and flexibility, you can create your own version of success.
Currently, I work with a really great youth orchestra, teach private lessons from my home (nbk studios), and freelance as a chamber and orchestral musician. I’ve also held positions with non-profits, universities, colleges, and private schools.
Define It and Do It
There is no one shoe that fits all, not in our field. Being willing to redefine success and do what you can, need, and want to can lead to a meaningful career in the arts. If you’re interested in a 1:1 consultation send me a message! I’m here to help.
This Post Has 2 Comments
So worthwhile for you to share this experience, Nina! I wish more teachers would show their students that there are no absolute rules to success. I have never regretted following a non-traditional career path in music — from high school violist who didn’t get accepted to a major music school, to high school organist who did; from pursuing an academic career as an organist for 12 years after grad school and Fulbright, only to turn away from organ and become a vocal coach; from coaching opera and voice for ten years, to become an instrumental collaborator; and all the while pursuing a symphonic career as a jack-of-all-trades keyboardist. Along the way I got to work with some fabulous musicians like you, too. What’s not to love?
Thank you! The non-linear path is a good one to be on. Thank you for sharing your path too!