Where the sidewalk ends: helping music majors connect with the musical community after graduation

American Music Teacher, April-May, 2003 by Linda Holzer

In fall 2002, Florida State University initiated two more Living-Learning Centers on campus, of five total, to maximize and personalize the learning experience for freshmen. Jane Clendinning, a faculty coordinator, spoke proudly of Cawthon Hall, the new Music Living-Learning Community, which houses 150 students--120 freshmen and thirty sophomores. The building features two fully equipped modern classrooms and a computer/group piano classroom that includes fourteen Clavinovas and twenty-four computers. "This came about because of a partnership between University Housing, the president's and provost's offices, and the School of Music," she says. "Cawthon Hall provides a peer setting for underclassmen, an environment that gives younger students the opportunity to meet and talk with distinguished professionals, and encourages younger students to speak up."

Florida State's Colloquium is a required course for all residents of Cawthon Hall and includes a Service Learning Activity as one component. Students are required to design a musical outreach project, complete it and write about it. One example occurred early one fall semester, when a sophomore organized a performance of several movements from the Mozart Requiem for a September 11 concert at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. "Faculty assistance for this project consisted of me reserving rehearsal space for the students. That was all. Everything else was handled by the students themselves, including arranging transportation to the concert site for freshmen who did not have cars." Clendinning pointed out, "Music students participate in these sorts of outreach activities in high school. Why not give them the opportunity to do it here?" The service learning project challenges students not only to draw on their performance skills, but their research, problem-solving and people skills as well.

Advising

The studio teacher is the first career adviser for performance majors. This can be as simple as asking the student periodically, "What are your goals? What are your plans for the long term?"

Students need to understand that in the real world, concertizing is not about playing for your relatives and classmates in a degree recital. They need to be exposed to the concepts of audience-building, marketing, innovative programming, commercial recording and more. In the real world, status as a successful teacher with a full studio does not happen overnight. It takes time to establish a reputation and recruit enough clients to become a full-time independent music teacher. In music, especially for those who are self-employed, career development takes years. There is no "instant career" upon receiving a diploma. Salaried positions have their own unique criteria and challenges. If no one ever asks them about their goals, students learn about these realities the hard way, after graduation.

"The five- to ten-year period following graduation is a crucial time," Beeching says. Between ages 22 and 32 alumni either find their niche in the field or leave it. Beeching is working in partnership with her colleagues at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music to secure funding to create an alumni career needs survey. The hope is that the survey can be adapted for use nationally with music alumni tracking, examining transition issues for recent graduates.