Re: Re: looking for insight


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Posted by David on March 21, 2002 at 10:33:03:

In Reply to: Re: looking for insight posted by Roger Lewis on March 20, 2002 at 11:16:18:

I attended both, albeit a long time ago, with Michigan as my choice for a masters degree and Indiana for continued studies beyond the masters - mostly to study with Harvey. Choose the school that you like the best after visiting and talking with current students and taking lessons with both teachers.

Mr. Lewis suggests that playing opportunities are not as wide spread in the Ann Arbor area. As a grad student, my wife (clarinetist) and I played in 4 or 5 paying community orchestras, some in the Detroit suburbs (45-50 miles away), and others in different parts of the state. Warren Deck played in Grand Rapids, when it was mostly a community orchestra, for 4 years and he became an okay player :-).

He is correct that the size of the school is not as big, therefore not as many ensembles. Does this matter? Look at schools back east that have just enough students for 1 orchestra and maybe only 1 brass quintet. This has not hampered many people.

The worst part for anyone is getting lost. If you are one of the "top" ones in the studio, that won't happen. What of the others?

This next advice has nothing to do with your dream of becoming the next guru of the tuba. Take courses outside music to prepare yourself for life. Business classes (accounting, marketing, business law), education classes, will help with your music business as well as in your personal life. In other words, music is a business whether you find yourself in a classroom or in an orchestra. Ask yourself or others on this board, how many of them teach lessons on the side, or play in non-traditional ensembles? Those require some business acumen.

Do yourself the favor of getting the education while someone else is paying for it. Don't, like so many before you, think that you won't need all that "other" stuff to survive or that you can learn it "if" you need it. I don't know you and will probably never meet you, so my words may go on deaf ears. Sitting in a practice room is great, I used to spend 3-5 hours every day there, but spend just as much time on your "other" education. The "other" education will support you in time of need over and over and over...... Learning by the seat of your pants is a great way to get an education - it just costs more. Learn from others and let their experience (translate that to cost) teach you. It's like re-inventing the wheel. It's been done, someone else took the time, energy, and money to perfect it. Now you can use one everytime you "drive" anywhere.

Sorry for the long lecture. I have a son who is attending a small conservatory back east. He is a violinist. He had a great all around education in high school and got a good business education from mom and dad, who own and operate a band instrument company. He is also operating a web based business and learns from it. He got to see mom and dad learn from the seat of their pants (see, re-inventing the wheel?). You see, we didn't listen to others about the business classes or the fact that we might not be full-time performers. The son is playing a bunch this year as a junior - 4 community orchestras, several small ensembles, along with the school performing groups (they only have enough students for a chamber orchestra and several string quartets), a few church jobs, and the occasional string quartet gig outside school.

Either school will give you a good opportunity. Both are great schools or are both lousy schools. The only person that can make it happen is you. Good luck, wherever you go.


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