BobSB

My daughter is applying as a VP major. Does anyone know of any resources that give some idea of how many VP graduates find careers in VP? I entered a graduate program with specific career goals and, after graduating, found that the type of job I was looking for had recently become so flooded with applicants that employment was nearly impossible. I'd like to save my daughter the same result.

ImperialZeppelin

VP - Voice Performance or Violin Performance or Viola Performance or something I've missed?

BassDad

While I think most people use VP to mean voice performance, I believe the answer to BobSB is the same whether it is voice, violin or viola. The job market for any position in the music business that pays a living wage is already flooded and things do not look like they will be getting better anytime soon. There are an awful lot of recent (and not-so-recent) grads out there scrambling for music jobs while working at something else to make ends meet. Female vocalists, particularly sopranos, are a glut on the market. If your daughter would be happy doing anything else for a career, then she should strongly consider that direction unless she is at the very deepest part of the talent pool or is a very rare voice type.

That said, many who become performance majors simply cannnot picture themselves doing anything else with their lives. They know the numbers going into the process and hope to defy the odds. There are a handful of good jobs out there (the Metropolitan Opera chorus for example) that somebody is going to get.

violadad

Taking BassDad's comment: <That said, many who become performance majors simply cannnot picture themselves doing anything else with their lives. They know the numbers going into the process and hope to defy the odds. There are a handful of good jobs out there (the Metropolitan Opera chorus for example) that somebody is going to get.> I have to agree.

Expanding the thought, part of this is knowing (or better yet, your d knowing) just where music fits into her life, or perhaps her very being. As individuals, we all have to come to grips with ourselves, and make choices we can (try to) live with.

From a parent's and student's perspective I'd suggest the excellent Peabody article here Peabody Institute - Conservatory Admissions: Double Degree. There's also an excellent series from Rice here Navigating Music Careers illustrating/exploring music career opportunities beyond performance.

Performance is an extremely competitive field, with a wealth of underutilized (and underpaid) talent all vying for a small number of select spots. If you realize this going in, have the talent, potential, drive, temperment and luck to try and make a go of it, and can live with plan B consequences, go for it.

My background involves no professional training or musical expertise. My comments are based on having a highly talented Muse driven son with a newly minted performance BM, a regional orchestra chair and grad school plans for performance.

He was aware of that "what ifs", as were we. He has to live with the outcome, or adjust accordingly. As parents, we felt confident enough to let him explore his dream. Whether he achieves it is out of our hands, but we saw no reasons for him not to try.

rcmama

Here's an interesting article from 2004 called "The Juilliard Effect: Ten Years Later" http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/ar...n=&oref=slogin

The article addresses orchestral instrumentalists, and it is quite sobering. It would be interesting to find out how vocal performance students fare after 10 years.

violadad

Per Zep: <...or Viola Performance or something I've missed?>

Who in their right mind would ever steer a person to pursue THAT? Must have a sadistic streak as wide as the Grand Canyon .

MomofWildChild

A number of the vocalists that graduated last year with my daughter (Rice) went to graduate school. More than a few went to law school! The year before a couple wound up working at Dillard's. My daughter is an Aspirant to the Episcopal priesthood. It is tough to "make it" as a performer, but some do.

MSUDad

Out of the 100 or so VP majors I knew at U Mich, I know of one person who made his living singing (in Europe), one who had a couple of opera roles, and perhaps two professors, if you would count that.

Of the 20 or so other people I know who studied VP at other schools, I only know of one who makes a very moderate living singing regionally, and she has a freak of nature low alto.

Opera is a tough nut to crack, and it's really a calling, not an economic choice.

Most VP majors I know have gone back to get a secondary teaching certificate.

Having said that, I'm certain that most of these people are happy with their choice (as I am, and I only sing in amatuer groups) of having pursued their dreams.

singermom2

This is a really interesting question, given the passion of most music students. But...how many people in general make their living at their college major? My daughter is planning to be a music major, but whether she will be a professional singer or not is not really the point. Music students at least have 4 years to delve into a subject that excites them in a way most people don't ever have the opportunity, whether they make a living at it later or not. Most undergrad programs are not trade school programs but a decidedly impractical advanced education. There is still value in that.

lorelei2702

Right again, singermom2....undergraduate education is about more than the major...it is an opportunity to leave home, find oneself and assume responsibility for it, learn about people from other cultures, places and lifestyles, and become a better educated person. This is why the LAC and comprehensive university environments are so much better for the undergraduate. Conservatories are trade schools, not institutions of higher learning.

There are more US senators than there are people making a living in this country as professional singers. (Many more have "day jobs".) Figure those odds.

MomofWildChild

I have posted this before, but it bears repeating.
My daughter thought her education was excellent and that she learned many skills besides "how to sing better". She interviewed well for corporate jobs last year and is working at a decent paying job (temporarily until she starts seminary) in environmental claims for a huge insurance company (which she hates). She feels she is unusually well-equipped for the demands of the priesthood (besides her calling) because she knows how to perform in front of people and has learned to hear and accept criticism. She got to take enough courses outside her major to feel well-rounded.

-Allmusic-

I could argue that engineering schools are trade schools too. In fact, as more students aspire for high pay jobs, as opposed to advancement of intellect or learning, more college students are simply picking majors that will yield a big job (or so they hope), upon graduation.

For most students these days, college is a "trade school" of sorts. Very few that I know are there to read great books, have great discussions, and take a smattering of liberal arts courses. In fact, contrary to music, most of the kids that we know really have money making as their top priority, and are designing their majors and coursework with that in mind (Econ seems to be a biggie).

I say hurrah for the music major!

FiddleMom

Well, unfortunately, it takes money- and a LOT more of it than before- to pay the rent or mortgage, put food on the table, and have decent health care options- especially if you live on either of the coasts. Most parents aren't eager to continue supporting their children while they flounder around after graduation building enough hands on skills in occupations that will actually pay a decent salary to support themselves and pay off the school debt besides.

Our whole educational system has gone very much to a training for job skills based philosophy- way different from what it was long ago. It's just that many jobs now require more knowledge and training to become proficient than your typical job in manufacturing, necessitating longer periods of education to develop that proficiency.

The catch-22 is that without the "Great Ideas" kind of discussion inherent in the traditional liberal arts education, young adults are left without a sense of the ongoing conversation about the moral and ethical issues involved in choosing how one does life and work.

-Allmusic-

Interestingly though, FM, fewer young adults even seem interested in those ongoing discussions about moral and ethical issues. I don't think they come into play when they are choosing Economics to study, so as to enter the field of i-banking.

We don't plan on supporting our music son after graduation. He's got a great skill set beyond music, and if he can't make it in performance, he'll have to get a job doing something else. I don't look at it any differently than I would if I had a child who wanted to be an English major (that was me, hoping to write The Great American novel, as yet unpenned, although I went onto an entirely different career anyway). If you can't find a job in your chosen area of interest, you find something else.

Better than studying something you hate, just because you might be able to make a living doing it. That sounds dreadful to me, but hey, maybe I live in a fantasy world.

lorelei2702

But, Allmusic, was it clear to your son going in that he was on his own, regardless of his situation post BM? Most kids do not think that far ahead, nor are they all that aware of the consequences and the realities, even if they are warned. I am a big believer in options for the performer, partly because of the insecurity of the outcome, but also because I think taking the pressure off makes for better performance, i.e. audition, outcomes. A kid who goes to conservatory is truly starting from scratch if he needs a new path, and that is rough. Lorelei