Chicago Tribune: "College music programs booming ..."

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College music programs booming despite economic bust

Economy's not keeping students from their dreams

By Howard Reich | Tribune critic
March 8, 2009

With the economy in free- fall and unemployment taking off, it's no wonder college students these days are clamoring to study ... music?

Yes, music. As in symphony, opera and jazz.

Applications are soaring at music schools across the country, often mirroring the overall rise in college enrollment but in many cases surpassing the interest in other disciplines. Never mind that the chances of landing a paying job in a decent-size symphony orchestra have diminished, with many ensembles going out of business in recent years. Never mind that jazz clubs are becoming an endangered species.

More students want to stake their futures on the seemingly rarefied art of music. And parents are not only letting them—they're paying for it.

"I hear parents all the time saying, 'I don't know if my son or daughter can make a living at this, but I want to support their dream,' " said Joan Warren, associate dean at the Juilliard School in New York. "Whereas 20 years ago, you had to study what was practical."

Some students and parents—encouraged by the Internet-savvy marketing departments of the music schools themselves—do see a practical side to music education. They point to scores of new careers involving music that didn't exist a decade or two ago. At the very least, its proponents say, the study of music prepares a student well for other careers.

But ardor for playing music will not spare students the tough times they are likely to face upon graduating.

"There are just so many orchestras and so many jobs," said Francis Akos, who played in the violin section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1955 to 2003. "And now, there are many more people who are looking for jobs."

"It's an extraordinarily challenging field for young musicians to enter," said Charlie Grode, vice president for the Institute for Learning, Access and Training at the CSO, which helps young musicians make the transition from student to professional status.

The number of young men and women looking to make that transition has jumped.

At Columbia College Chicago, music applications and enrollments more than doubled in the past five years. For the 2009-10 school year alone, Columbia applications are up 37 percent, compared with an 8 percent increase for the school as a whole. Similarly, at Northwestern, undergraduate music school applications rose 19 percent, compared with a 1.5 percent rise for the entire university.

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio is seeing an all-time high for applications. And although DePaul University is holding steady this year, its music applications rocketed from 450 in 1997 to 1,150 a decade later. Indiana University in Bloomington, meanwhile, saw music applications swell 50 percent from 2000 to 2008.

The bad economy has yet to make a dent in those figures, music schools say, nor do officials expect application rates to drop significantly any time soon.

If there were any economic career doubts on the minds of students practicing recently at DePaul's School of Music, you couldn't hear them in the music of Mozart and Gershwin, Brahms and Basie emanating from rehearsal rooms.

"Let's hit it harder," jazz-band director Bob Lark encouraged his ensemble, which sounded so plush and polished you would swear it was professional.

"We've got to go over that passage," said a member of a chamber group trying to finesse a tricky suite by Samuel Barber. Over and over they rehearsed the section—slow, fast, faster.

Other rooms filled with the sounds of fiddles tuning up, singers bellowing vowels and pianists thundering at the keyboard.

Added Olivia Price, a 19-year-old French horn student at DePaul, "My parents knew I wouldn't be happy without music."

As for what to do with that love of music, students today are less limited than previous generations, who basically were preparing for either performing onstage or teaching in a studio.

Fields of study such as ethnomusicology, jazz improvisation and music administration have mushroomed in recent years. The professional music world has exploded in the era of video games, digital technology, YouTube, a massive cable-TV universe and other media.

Thus in one DePaul practice room, a student sits at an upright piano, laptop on his knees, headphones on his ears, working computer programs unimaginable a generation ago.

Even at Juilliard, perhaps the country's most celebrated institution for producing performance virtuosos, young musicians can study how to start a non-profit organization or create a digital score. At Oberlin, "we teach entrepreneurship, how to start an LLC, tax law," said dean David Stull.

"The students are hip about the professional realities," said Michael Manderen, director of conservatory admission at Oberlin. "They know that someone who comes to a conservatory and just learns the trade of playing the oboe is somewhat limited."

Their parents, too, see the possibilities.

"I talk to very pragmatic fathers who think their child is making a very pragmatic choice by going into video-game design or music management," said Murphy Monroe, executive director of admissions for Columbia.

Moreover, many of today's undergrads view studying music as an effective steppingstone to other careers.

Music deans say their students' success in getting accepted into business, law and medical schools, among others, owes specifically to the skills the students develop in music school.

"They know what it means to chase excellence," said Oberlin dean Stull. "Musicians have the discipline to work in focus for hours, they can collaborate, they can attain high performance levels in the 10 minutes that count.

"If you ask a CEO what are the great life skills you need to succeed, it's a lot of those."

Added Indiana University music admissions director Townsend Plant: "Music students—we've seen for a long time—exhibit a remarkable set of transferable skills which can be applied to many careers. … They are good at collaborating and building consensus, they're great at public speaking, they have drive and focus that comes from a real desire to master something. And that's a remarkable collection of traits that make you successful in many fields."

At the same time, music schools have not been sitting back waiting for the students to flood through their gates. They've been aggressively using the Internet, social networking pages and other 21st Century means to reach students where they live: on the computer.

And not just there.

"You have to look for new markets," said Manderen, of Oberlin. "For the last 16 years, I've been traveling to Asia every fall, where I hear between 150 and 250 auditions, mostly pianists and string players."

All this growing activity has triggered a building boom among music schools, with both Northwestern and DePaul committing millions of dollars for new facilities, now on the drawing boards.

The students filling those programs say they are fully aware of the economic challenges they face, yet they're undaunted, their belief in the enduring value of music encouraging them at a critical moment in their lives.

"My parents were saying, 'Do what makes you happy;' they always encouraged me," said saxophonist Corbin Andrick, 19, a sophomore at DePaul, during a break in rehearsals with the school's jazz band.

Andrick fingered the keys on his horn while speaking, as if he couldn't wait to get back to work. As he spoke, riffs penned by Louis Prima and Phil Woods beckoned from inside the room.

"Yeah, it's a scary economic time, and a lot of my buddies who are graduating are freaked out about it," said Andrick. "But I have this mentality that I just have to do this thing."

Tribune reporter Jodi S. Cohen contributed to this report.

Thought in light of some of the discussions lately about the future of music that this was an interesting article.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I don't find this trend surprising at all. All those excellent performers that our universities crank out each year and can't find enough performance work have to do something, and many of them turn to higher education opportunities...many of those excellent players focus on that career goal from the start, as well.

These teachers have to recruit excellent players to fill their studios, even though they may realize that the prospects for students wishing to perform are quite grim. The cycle is, naturally, self-perpetuating, and the decrease in the popularity of live music events will force even more excellent players into teaching. Is there a breaking point? A critical mass that will eventually be reached?

This article merely reinforces the flawed attitude among many that college is equivalent to "job training" and that one can expect to find gainful employment in their major field if they just study hard enough and do well. Nonsense. Nearly everyone knows a story about some outstanding music performance graduate who sells insurance or fixes cars and is incessantly bothered by the proddings of well-meaning family and friends ("Why aren't you doing something with your music? You're so talented...it's such a shame.") This topic has been debated time and time again on the BBS, and the dichotomy between the opinions of old and young is always interesting.

"Follow your dream" = "waste your time"??? In many cases, perhaps, but it is nonetheless an effective recruitment tool.

[Steve Marcus]

It should be mentioned that this was the FRONT PAGE-TOP article in today's Chicago Tribune.

[Roger Lewis]

Another hidden aspect of the increase in enrollment at music schools is the invention of the beta blockers. The art used to cull itself, with those not being able to handle the performance stress leaving the business and looking elsewhere for their opportunities. Now with the advent of Inderol and the like, people are able to stay in the "business" and it is now becoming overcrowded.

In the orchestral world, especially for tuba, there is a 30 year or so cycle. In the late 60's and early 70's many of the big orchestras auditioned for new Principal Tuba chairs. Well, we are in the process of completing that cycle again, which means, fewer auditions with more applicants.

I try to teach survival skills to my students, i.e. what do you do if you can't land the job of your dreams? I feel that it is only fair to prepare them for the cold, hard slap of reality when they get that degree that says they can do it, yet never get the opportunity to PROVE they can do it.

Just my $0.02.
Roger

[Matt G]

It should be noted that while students of music often do get into programs to study business, law, or medicine, the Bachelor's degree with regards to music does not prepare them for that step. The article is a bit vague in that it sounds like students can jump right from one field into another, when that is just no the case. The skills required do help (ability to focus, study, perform) but they still do not replace the mathematics, philosophy, history, or chemistry coursework that you still need to have to pursue another field of study.

The issue, as I see it, is that degree programs are becoming more and more specialized. It is becoming more difficult to switch majors, and change career fields. Music majors end up taking more and more music-specific coursework with limited transferability.

Also, I find an issue with music student enrollment growing at that rate. Those numbers come from somewhere, and usually they come from technically oriented programs. I have seen plenty of working musicians with degrees in engineering. However, the converse does not apply, in that their aren't music education/performance students earning significant income as an electrical engineer (without having to go back to school). Students no longer want to take the hard (but ultimately more secure) path of getting a "hard" degree. Music is more "fun" (although getting through the degree isn't as fun as many students thought) but increases the risk of having a less-useful degree.

Unfortunately, this also keeps a lot of music students in the academic system, because the need for terminal degrees to earn a decent income is becoming more and more realized. With the right (non-music) four-year degree, you can earn 6 figures, even in this economy, within 5 years. However, most bachelor's in music will not win that lottery, let alone even get a chance to buy a ticket.

This also pushes a lot of students into the education field. The problem is that the education field is beginning to contract, and you will see the resources shifted (out of necessity) away from arts programs and toward academic rigor. I agree that music students often do well in academic courses, however, there are simply not enough resources being employed toward bringing the level of the average student, as-a-whole, to a higher level.

Finally, while enrollment is up, matriculation rates are ultimately far more telling. It seems like the drop-put rate for music students is often higher than the average. I've also seen a lot of music students realize music is not the best path for them, and choose another field of study.

[sloan]

The issue, as I see it, is that degree programs are becoming more and more specialized. It is becoming more difficult to switch majors, and change career fields. Music majors end up taking more and more music-specific coursework with limited transferability.

This is a major *advising* failure. My major gripe with *all* "training-oriented majors" is that they are not "majors" embedded in an otherwise general education. Music [performance | education] is a prime offender. So, of course, is engineering.

A student who goes through 4 years of a good college should (in my humble opinion) have:

*Differential Calculus
*Physics (perhaps "for dummies")
*1 year of a foreign language
*English composition + at least 1 course in Literature (Poetry, "the novel", ...)
*a decent smattering of history, philosophy, and the like
*computer literacy (not necessarily involving programming)
*ethics
*music literacy ("music appreciation", if you will)
*economics

That's about 1/3 of the total amount of coursework for a typical Bachelor's degree.

AFTER THAT, they can worry about EMPHASIZING some particular topic and turning it into a "major". My strong preference is that the "major" should take up no more than 1/2 of the coursework, which leaves a bit of room to explore a second "minor" interest.

THIS is what high school kids, and their parents, should be looking at when choosing schools.

Any "major" that has required coursework IN THE MAJOR that takes up more than 1/2 of the student's time is one that you cannot "transfer into". This is often the case for things like Engineering - if you don't take the right 3 courses in your first semester as a Freshman, then you simply can't do an Engineering degree. That, in my opinion, is a mistake on the part of the Engineers. I think they are trying to construct a focused professional training program that eliminates the possibility of the student receiving a proper college education. Some music programs seem to be going down this same path - or (worse) allowing students to construct schedules that look that way.

To be a successful musician (or engineer), you need technical skills and you have to master a certain vocabulary. But, you also need to know something about the rest of the world - and you need to HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY.

I'm both a producer AND a consumer of undergraduates. When they apply for grad school (I'm on the Admissions Committee), there is, of course, a certain minimum level of preparation required. But, beyond that, I am much more interested (and have had much more success over the years) with students who did SOMETHING OTHER THAN narrowly focusing their undergraduate years on one job-oriented major field. I can teach a biologist, or a poet, or a musician (with very basic CS training) to be an outstanding CS-type - but I can't take a kid who has done nothing but study CS for 4 years and make anything useful out of him at all.

We've heard this all before - musicians who are now working in the real world say over and over again that kids need to learn things like economics, marketing, and business management IN ADDITION to learning all the fingerings for every instrument in the middle-school band.

College is the *best* time to broaden your horizons and learn about stuff that WILL NOT be (immediately) relevant to the job you take right out of college. It's the stuff that will ensure that you move OUT of that entry-level position and do something truly interesting with your life. Don't waste college coursework slots on stuff that you will pick up on your own, or on the job (better, and faster). Take the BARE MINIMUM of courses in your "major" - and spend the rest of your time becoming educated.

The flip side is: if you really want "all music, all the time" - then there are those who preach that you shouldn't waste any time in college at all. Get out there and just do it - move to NYC, or Vegas, and start hustling gigs. That's the fastest route to a steady gig playing in a pit (and a sure way to make sure you never move beyond that job).

[Matt G]

A student who goes through 4 years of a good college should (in my humble opinion) have:

*Differential Calculus
*Physics (perhaps "for dummies")
*1 year of a foreign language
*English composition + at least 1 course in Literature (Poetry, "the novel", ...)
*a decent smattering of history, philosophy, and the like
*computer literacy (not necessarily involving programming)
*ethics
*music literacy ("music appreciation", if you will)
*economics

You're opinion is well-founded and concurrent with my thinking. I would tack a few other things on:

-"Logic and Proof for Dummies"
-Basics of the five business functions (Marketing, Finance, Operations, Accounting, Management/HR)
-General humanities
-One programming language, like Visual Basic, that is fairly easy

This would go much further for preparing students for real world issues than the rather extremely specific coursework that seems to becoming more commonplace.

[Slamson]

As a person who has made a living teaching students who "have the dream", I have always insisted on having "the talk" with every student who wants to major in performance.

First off, I remind them of the study that was done during the Reagan administration, after the government boasted that the unemployment rate for musicians was 9.7 percent (what a crock!). The study found that 7 out of 10 students who graduated with a performance degree went back to school to get a degree in something else. Of the other 30 percent, most found employment outside the performing field. It shocked me then, and I suspect if someone did a similar study today the results would be even more shocking.

Then I remind them that at any respectable institution, you should be able to pursue your artistic development regardless of the specific major you've chosen. There are many great musicians in our field, "deep brass" included, who studied while getting a degree in Music Business, Music Ed, or even a discipline outside of music - Peter McHugh, former concertmaster with the Louisville Orchestra, has a degree in engineering, for example.

the bottom line is that while I can't bring myself to say "don't do this!" I always feel obligated to point out the odds, and the probablity, as my old mentor Art Hicks used to say, that "you're going to live on baloney sandwiches for a while".

[tubatooter1940]

I left the Marine Corps with 36 months of G.I. Bill benefits.
I enrolled at the University of South Alabama and studied for 36 months.
No time to elect or declare a major. I took courses that would help a young man with a wife and two young ones understand the world and each other. This included business courses as well as science and psychology.
I left school after exactly 36 months and spent 24 years as a barroom band leader and 21 years as a postman.
No regrets.