Career Development & Entrepreneurship
The Career You Never Knew You Wanted:
A lecture/workshop for college students
OVERVIEW
“I’m going to be a music major!”
“Great. What are you going to do after you graduate?”
“.........”
A career in music rarely follows a single straight path. Even students with a very specific goal—winning an orchestral position, building a private studio, performing chamber music, teaching, or pursuing graduate study—will usually find themselves drawing on a much broader set of skills than they expected.
The good news is that musicians are already developing many of those skills every day.
Are you an expert practicer? Then you have learned how to diagnose problems, create strategies, and teach yourself effectively—skills at the heart of good teaching.
Do you thrive in chamber music because you enjoy working closely with others? You may already have the communication, collaboration, and leadership skills needed to build and manage creative projects or organizations.
Are you especially good at shaping a musical idea and communicating it to an audience? That same ability to craft and present an idea is fundamental to marketing, advocacy, fundraising, and entrepreneurship.
A sustainable career in music can require us to be performers, teachers, collaborators, organizers, communicators, marketers, and creative problem-solvers—often several of those things at once. The goal is not to abandon the career you originally imagined, but to recognize the additional strengths you already possess and the possibilities they can create.
I learned this myself. As an undergraduate at the New England Conservatory, I had virtually no interest in chamber music. Had someone told me then that it would eventually become a central part of my professional life—and that I would later direct a serious chamber music program for advanced students—I would have laughed.
Careers evolve. Interests change. Sometimes the work we never imagined doing becomes the work we cannot imagine living without.
PRESENTATION
This interactive lecture/workshop encourages students to think beyond a single career path, identify strengths they may not yet recognize, and understand that professional development begins long before graduation.
The session runs approximately 100 minutes, followed by up to 20 minutes for questions and discussion; it can also be condensed into a 50 to 60-minute session.
For more information or scheduling, please contact me.
A lecture/workshop for college students
OVERVIEW
“I’m going to be a music major!”
“Great. What are you going to do after you graduate?”
“.........”
A career in music rarely follows a single straight path. Even students with a very specific goal—winning an orchestral position, building a private studio, performing chamber music, teaching, or pursuing graduate study—will usually find themselves drawing on a much broader set of skills than they expected.
The good news is that musicians are already developing many of those skills every day.
Are you an expert practicer? Then you have learned how to diagnose problems, create strategies, and teach yourself effectively—skills at the heart of good teaching.
Do you thrive in chamber music because you enjoy working closely with others? You may already have the communication, collaboration, and leadership skills needed to build and manage creative projects or organizations.
Are you especially good at shaping a musical idea and communicating it to an audience? That same ability to craft and present an idea is fundamental to marketing, advocacy, fundraising, and entrepreneurship.
A sustainable career in music can require us to be performers, teachers, collaborators, organizers, communicators, marketers, and creative problem-solvers—often several of those things at once. The goal is not to abandon the career you originally imagined, but to recognize the additional strengths you already possess and the possibilities they can create.
I learned this myself. As an undergraduate at the New England Conservatory, I had virtually no interest in chamber music. Had someone told me then that it would eventually become a central part of my professional life—and that I would later direct a serious chamber music program for advanced students—I would have laughed.
Careers evolve. Interests change. Sometimes the work we never imagined doing becomes the work we cannot imagine living without.
PRESENTATION
This interactive lecture/workshop encourages students to think beyond a single career path, identify strengths they may not yet recognize, and understand that professional development begins long before graduation.
The session runs approximately 100 minutes, followed by up to 20 minutes for questions and discussion; it can also be condensed into a 50 to 60-minute session.
For more information or scheduling, please contact me.