Hello. D25 is now writing music school-specific essays. We are stuck on the ones that ask to elaborate on future career goals. She is applying for Vocal performance, not Education, or Music Industry. We did a lot of research on the Internet, and everyone agrees that it is almost impossible to earn a living by being a classical singer only (unless you are very, very, very talented). But I doubt if the colleges want to hear that she wants to be a private studio teacher out of her garage on the weekends and have a different day job (even if it is in music-related administration or something like that) makes sense. A couple of highly selective music schools have this career question. What is a good way to write this essay? Does anyone have any pointers? Ideas you used? Also curious what are some real ways of making money for classical vocalists? Are there professional choirs where you can be recruited? Singing companies? Voice-over jobs (singing)? Thank you so much!!
My D didn’t run into this question until grad school. It was actually really helpful for her. I remember it bc she said quite clearly…I just want to perform vocally on stage with other musicians. I don’t care if it’s opera, operetta or classical MT on big stages, middle or small. I just want to be on stage with others making art. She then laid into the “creative process” or “story telling” through musical performance and the impact on community. She knows many other students who leaned more heavily into opera and its importance…or the academics of music and its impact…so there are differences. Some people do want to do choir or concert work and may have spoken about that, I’m guessing. So it depends on your D.
What you don’t need to worry about in this essay, in my opinion, is the nuts and bolts of making a living.
When you see career…you may think “job with benefits”. Sometimes I wish my D’s brain worked that way. But no…she thinks of creative endeavors and community impact (why this show at this time, why do I want to do it, what type of artists am I….besides sometimes needing the money and doing a job for that reason - it’s not uncommon for performers to discuss work that is done to fill the bank and others to fill the heart).
So, I would have your D think about what her future goals are as a vocalist. What excites her? What type of singing does she like best. And remember teaching in a private studio is not a bad thing to mention. Everyone reading it is a teacher! But if that is not her driving force…but could be used to make the rent payment…I’m not sure that it is necessary to discuss that she will do that to make 50% of her income to pay her rent. I think that they are looking for “what type of vocalist will she be in the community”.
Hopefully a few others will chime in. I’m only one opinion. Others may have done nuts and bolts so may have other ways to approach this question.
Good luck!
And feel free to read this thread: How do musicians make money? - #64 by bridgenail
@bridgenail’s answer is great. What is your D’s motivation to sing? My son never got this question on an application, but as he was thinking things through during the application process and even before, he came to the conclusion that he wanted to teach—not to pay the bills but because that’s what he is passionate about. Now that he’s been through college he would add ensemble music making to that. He doesn’t care to be the soloist, although he can be, he cares about doing this music thing together as a group with others. It is also what he does as a teacher, but as an individual apart from teaching, ensemble music making is his passion.
I also agree that the question is not really about money or making a living.
She is applying for Vocal performance, not Education, or Music Industry.
@SG1071 can you clarify this sentence? From the way it is written I cannot tell if she is interested in music industry or not. I assume not but wanted to make sure.
I would say a career goal could be to perform as much as possible and do whatever it takes on the side to make that possible! Is she interested in grad school and teaching at a college or conservatory? Giving private lessons? Working with a secondary school, conservatory prep, choir or chorus? Running a festival or music organization? What other skills might she pick up along the way?
She is NOT applying to Music Industry nor Education.
Thank you both. To clarify, I saw this question twice now in two forms. For the University of Illinois, UC, there is a supplementary question (which is not the music supplement but the common app supplement) - it asks what your “personal/career goals are.” Another one is University of California Los Angeles’s music supplement question in which they ask to elaborate on " “Your professional/career objectives.”
IIRC my kid talked a lot in these about learning about different aspects of the music world (technology, different genres and kinds of ensembles, etc) and exploring different music-related career paths…the idea he was trying to get across was that he definitely wanted a career in music in some capacity, but wasn’t someone who would only be happy as a full-time orchestral musician (instrumentalist-specific, but insert pipe-dream equivalent for vocal performance)
I cannot answer your question. I can give one perspective.
My older daughter was a very talented musician in youth through high school. She had a sign on the wall of her bedroom that said “music = life”. She played piano and guitar, sang (including taking voice lessons), and wrote songs. She had a bit of a fan base, which definitely included me.
At some point a relative who is a professor of music introduced us to a friend of his who had been a singer and dancer on Broadway – yes she was that good. She had discovered that New York is an expensive place to live and being a singer on Broadway does not pay very well, and you get tired of playing the same music every day. She had gone back to university, gotten her PhD in vocal music, and become a professor in the same program as my relative. After this conversation my daughter went on a musical tour of Europe. She loved the music. She was not as fond of the travel and the rigid schedules, and eventually she also got tired of the songs they were playing.
Since that point my daughter has been neglecting her music to focus on academics. I actually said to one father at my daughter’s high school graduation party that I might be the only father in the world who found this frustrating. He said “oh no, I feel the exact same way”. It turned out (I did not know this until later) that he was the father of someone who was in my daughter’s high school a cappella group. Regardless my daughter has been neglecting her music since that point, now for about a decade. She is on track to graduate next May as a veterinary doctor (DVM), which she also loves and is drawn to. She still plays guitar and sings, but her electric keyboard right now is sitting about ten feet from me and about 2,000 miles from where she lives and studies. I have promised to get it or an equivalent keyboard to her when she gets her first full time job after graduation in May. She intends to get back to music after she has completed her studies and has a bit more time and energy.
I work in high tech. There is a significant overlap between music, mathematics, and high tech skills. I have multiple times seen someone I know from high tech get up on stage and play music, and usually play very well. I have also gotten up on stage a few times myself, and apparently did not embarrass myself.
So I guess that one option is to find something else for a career, and do the music because you love it. Two people who I mentioned above instead have found a career as professors of music.
The relative who is a professor of music tries to have the “what do you intend to do for a career” talk at least once with each of his students. A very wide range of answers emerge. He teaches in an area where there are some farms, and where university is affordable for the children of farmers (this is neither a private university nor in the USA). A few students have said “I am here for four years whether I graduate or not, then I help my father on his farm, then he retires and it becomes my farm”. One student was not very good at either performance nor the more academic side of music. My relative asked “what do you like to do”. The response “I help my friends fix their musical instruments”. This one former student is now making a living repairing musical instruments. Some students do something not related to music for a career, and do music because they love it. A few become professors of music. A very small number become performers.
I wonder whether the question that you are asking about is just trying to get students to think about this issue.
Just throwing this out here. Feel free to private message me on here if you have any other VP specific questions. I have had 2 daughters go through this process, and one applied to UIUC just last year. Happy to help if I can:).
I would like to know the reason for this question: to gauge the seriousness of interest in music?
Honestly a degree in music is a bachelor’s like any other and a student can go on to careers in or out of music, and have access to grad and professional schools (law, med, business, nursing etc.).
I don’t think it’s fair to ask a 17-18 year old about their career goals, in music or any other subject. If a student loves music, they can do undergrad and go from there. Presumably the school would like to hear plans for grad school or music career but if those aren’t honest, shouldn’t it be okay to say that the student loves music and VP and wants immersion in undergrad for the love of it, and that career goals are uncertain?
Catching this late. I also think it’s a bit ridiculous to ask a high school senior. Kids can leap a lot of places from an undergrad in music performance.
That said my daughter did have to do a couple of these for undergrad. She chose to start with talking about a semi professional production she was involved with in high school that was historic in nature and told an important story. She wrote about how that altered her view of bringing the arts out to educate and inform and not just entertain and extrapolated on that.
I think if a kid gives an answer that shows they’ve thought about it and why performance is meaningful to them, that is good enough! No one will hold them to it if they decide to go to med school or grad school in composition or something.
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