Double majoring as a grad student. Bad idea?

[Gorilla Tuba]

There are very few places where you would teach tuba and not teach in another area. For example, I teach tuba/ euph, bands, and occasional methods classes and a course in Rock and Roll history. Many other tubists teach their studio and some theory or music appreciation classes. In short, to work as a tenure track professor at most universities you'll need a strong secondary area.

From my experience I would recommend that you get at least one graduate degree in performance. The question is do you want to be hired as a Theory/ Comp person who can teach tuba or do you want to be a Tuba teacher who can teach theory. Generally, your terminal degree (PhD or DMA) will be the one people consider to be your primary area of expertise.

Now specifically to your question, should you double major? Most Masters degrees have a lot of overlapping coursework and most require 30-35 credit hours. Further, most can be finished in 3 semesters. With the overlap in courses in mind, a second masters degree can often be completed in just one additional semester. At the university where I teach, most people who get music ed masters will also pursue a conducting or performance degree.

In the long run, to teach tuba you really should have completed a doctorate. It generally doesn't matter what the area of emphasis is as long as one of your graduate degrees is in tuba performance. It also helps if you play well. Whatever you choose, keep taking private lessons on your instrument.