Music and Athletics

binx
Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:40:58 +0000

Actually, a lot of musicians attend four-year colleges…Leonard Bernstein and Yo Yo Ma went to Harvard. Bernstein studied composing there. John Williams went to UCLA. There are countless others.



I absolutely agree that there is more than one path! However, I just wish to clarify that all those mentioned here also attended conservatories. Bernstein went on to Curtis. Yo Yo Ma studied at Juilliard (before Harvard, I think, but I’m not sure.) And John Williams also attended Juilliard. I can’t find any evidence that John Williams ever actually earned a degree anywhere. His official bio only says that he “attended” a couple places, and earned 14 “honorary degrees”.

My S’s primary teacher never earned a degree. (Dropped out of college to take a job.) He emphasized that his path was NOT one he would recommend to any of his students. I think the classical world has become much more competitive recently, so when looking at paths, it helps to look at recent events. I think most students getting jobs these days are getting music performance degrees.