Thank you for both of your responses!
Compmom, I just read the Peabody essay, which was pretty helpful. I think the situation that describes me the best would be Jennifer’s.
I’m actually not very interested in the idea of double degrees, as I’ve heard that it can be very stressful coordinating schedules between two schools. And, as I’ve mentioned earlier, while I think I’m pretty good at the piano, I don’t think I can compete with all those kids who are coming out of the pre-college divisions of conservatories like Juilliard and Colburn.
By the way, does anyone have any suggestions on schools that have good piano faculty that are also supportive of double majors?
At this point, I’m deciding between double major (or major/minor) and doing piano as a music major. When you were mentioning the last option, a major in piano for a BM or music for a BA, you said “if you do have another area of interest, that is another story”.
The issue is, while I can succeed in the most difficult classes at my school and get A’s, I don’t have a particular passion for any of those subjects. I’ve talked with another adult who was a music major and she said that she really regretted just doing a music major. She suggested to do something else and do music on the side, which would provide a much more comfortable living. I’m pretty sure I could go into something else and have a more stable future financially, but piano is my main interest. But on the other hand, I’m just nervous about the uncertainty and competition in the music world.