Music and Business double major

compmom
Fri, 05 Feb 2016 13:42:09 +0000

You are, as you say, at the beginning of this long process, and people are asking clarifying questions, which may be helpful. And I hope the link to the Peabody essay is helpful too. There is no one path.

I d personally o not think that a degree in business is necessarily the best, and certainly not the only, way to address his skills and interest in leadership and management. Honestly, I would consider putting that aside for now. After undergrad he could decide on an MBA, or arts management or music industry/business studies, but chances are there are other ways to address this interest at the undergrad level as well.

If he wants to work in administration of a music organization, he can intern or volunteer with one during his undergrad years. My daughter did that and gained a lot of skills applicable not only to cultural organizations but non-profits in general. Also, on campus, he can organize a concert series, or seminars, or an ensemble. Finally, he can participate in outreach programs that are often offered by music schools or through a volunteer organization at the school. And conservatories do offer entrepreneurial studies.

So he has a number of options, depending on what ends up being his priority. If performance is his priority, then applying to conservatories or other BM programs makes a lot of sense. This kind of music study is intense and can be very absorbing for these 4 years. Why mix it with business?

He can also attend a college or university for a BA or BS, rather than BM. At a college or university, he can major in music, an academic major with theory, music history, composition, ethnomusicology, technology etc., with or without a performance component. Many schools offer lessons and at those that don’t, private teachers can sometimes be accessed if the school is in a city or near a conservatory. Some talented kids do go to great grad schools following this path.

He could also major in something else entirely, and still do music via lessons, performance in extracurriculars and off campus. If he is academically inclined, he could major in anything that really interests him, and do music privately. Sometimes English majors, just as a random example, are more likely to end up in upper management than an undergrad business major. There is a reason many selective schools don’t offer business.

He could double major or major/minor at either a music school or a college. Meaning, it might be possible at, say Berklee, or other free standing conservatories or university-based music school, to do both performance and music business. Look for consortiums as well: for instance, can NEC students take a music business class at Northeastern?

At most any college or university he could major in economics rather than business but that is geared more to consulting or banking type work, for those kids I know, than arts management. There are excellent grad degrees in arts management. But getting out there and working with organizations during undergrad years can be very clarifying.

Overall, specializing early in something like music business might result in a job short term but my personal opinion is that that particular idea could wait while he does undergrad study.

If he wants to perform as a career, a BM program is best. If he has strong academic interests, then either a college/university BA or a double degree would be best, I would think. Which kid in the Peabody essay does he most resemble?

No matter where he goes, factors like size, location, and also “vibe” are very important- and of course teachers!

Editing to add that thorough perusal of web sites will be important. And people here can suggest programs when things are clear. The kind of suggestion that Spirit Manager offered, about Syracuse, is an example of a specific school offering an option that would be hard to discover on one’s own