Doublereed Archive - Posting 000092.txt from 2003/08

From: Barbara Trautwein <mzeztee@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Student needs advice from professionals
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 15:19:23 -0400

Dear Jacqui,

I had a similiar experience fifty years ago (!). I went into college all
fired up to teach band. Just let me do what I need to to get those
teaching credentials and then turn me loose! I did take a teaching job
when I graduated. . .and believe me, band jobs for women were very scarce!
I had been promised one by my high school teacher if I learned my
college's marching style and brought it back home. What "saved" me was
the fact that I was in a city with a major orchestra. I taught in a
suburban school all day working with kids from 4th grade thru 12th. In
the evenings, I PLAYED twice a week with two good orchestras and practiced
the other evenings . . .but on Saturday night, I HEARD the Cleveland
Orchestra every week.

I felt that this enabled me to keep things in perspective. When my
teaching colleagues would say that they didn't want to play in the local
groups because they had had enough music for the day, I knew that THEY had
lost their perspective.

Today presents different problems. Because there are SO many
well-trained wind players out there who DON'T have professional gigs, they
are now playing in the orchestras that in "my day" welcomed good amateurs.

Just to show the difference, in 1953 there were NO oboe majors at the
Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM)! I played first oboe there for about
six years until I moved out of town! Most of the other winds were from
Cleveland Heights High many of whom went on to play professionally: John
Rautenburg, Larry Trott, Marsha Heller among others. Times have changed!

Sigh. . . . . You might want to talk to bassoonists who have recently
graduated from "high powered" conservatories. Do they have decent playing
gigs? Are they earning a living? I would never discourage anyone who is
burning up to play but I always caution them that they must have their
eyes WIDE open. I know a bassoonist who has graduated from a major
conservatory and who is currently working on a masters degree at another
major conservatory. She knows that there is nothing in the repertoire
that she can NOT play. She has had great experience and is getting more.
I show her to you because you must become aware of the competition out
there before you make MAJOR changes in your direction.

BTW: I'd check the blue book that lists the music faculties at all the US
colleges and universities. I'll bet that you don't find too many who have
someone who teaches JUST bassoon. If you are interested in college
teaching, you probably need another discipline: music education (and it
would be good if have actually had experience teaching in the schools to
qualify for this), music history, music theory. . . for instance.

I know some young oboists who have double majored in college. . .usually
with computer science. . . .who earn their living in computers but the
nature of their jobs is such that they are able to do a lot of free lance
playing. . . again in large metropolitan areas.

It is a tough decision. No one can really tell you what to do
but going to this list is a good place to start to get ideas.

I eventually did do professional playing and could kick myself for not
having invested in the "bread and butter" technical preparation when I
switched from clarinet to oboe. From my perspective at the time, I was
asked to play oboe because they NEEDED one and it had been made clear to
me that my goal when I graduated was never to continue playing but to
produce good players that I would send TO my university to help perpetuate
ITS groups. But like you, I got hooked on playing . . .and playing
interesting orchestral repertoire. . .

I was very, very lucky!

BTW, I did my masters during the summers so I continued teaching
during the "school year". This was a music ed degree not a performance
degree. It enabled me to qualify to teach at the college level which I
have done for twenty years. Who knew? With the competition being what it
is, I probably would need a doctorate today, if I were just starting out.
My brother sits in a named chair at his college and has been chairman of
his department . . been there since 1966 with no doctorate. Times change.
. .

My husband, on the other hand, after playing professionally for ten years,
took time out and got a doctorate and then went BACK into professional
music and didn't use it for TWENTY years. When he wanted to go into
academic work, however, he had his special "union card" (the doctorate) in
his back pocket.

And so it goes. . . everyone's story is different and there is NO formula.
. . alas. . . .

Playing music is very seductive!

I wish you good luck and every success. . ..

Sincerely,

Barbara

Barbara Trautwein
Assistant Director of the Athletic Bands (don't ask. . . )
Wake Forest University

On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 EnglandWLa15@-----.com wrote:

> I am in my second year of school, receiving my bachelors in music education
> and bassoon performance. I went into college thinking that I wanted to be a
> high school music teacher and no one could tell me any different. Now, having
> done camps, and lessons and what not, I'm starting to see the other end. It was a
> lot of fun being a high school music STUDENT, but being the teacher isn't
> what I thought it would be, and I haven't even gotten the full expierience yet. I
> am wondering if I'll be able to go from practicing as much as I do, and
> playing the awesome music my college orchestra plays, and being surrounded by
> people with such a high musical understanding, back to high school. I've been back
> to visit my high school several times and I see the way that some students
> treat my director, and just don't know if I could do it. Also, it's so
> frusterating musically. Sometimes the kids just don't understand things that I find so
> simple.
>
> On the other hand, my high school music teacher changed my life, and the
> oppertunity to do that for kids and have music really effect them, is what made me
> want to teach music in the first place. I'm just wondering, if the
> frusteration, time away from your family, and putting up with students who just don't
> care about what you're trying to do for them, is worth the gratification of
> seeing a students who truely loves what they're doing, and appriciates you.
>
> Also, I am a pretty serious bassoonist. I don't want to give up playing. I
> don't see the point in putting SO much effort into playing well and learning so
> much about my instrument in college, just to turn around and have no time to
> play because I'm doing marching band, and jazz band and going on trips every
> weekend. I've considered two things, and this is the purpose of the e-mail, to
> get professional opinions on my ideas.
>
> 1.) Apply to graduate schools, go through my masters and doctorate degrees
> and find a university to teach bassoon at.
>
> 2.) Go directly to teaching HS and then, when it's time to get my masters
> (schools require you to after a period of time) just get my masters and my
> docterate and then teach at a university and see which I prefer. The problem with
> this is that teaching for the I believe 4 years that it is before I'd have to
> get my masters would mean 4 years of a lot less time to practice, and the type
> of grad schools I want to go to (I want to study with Frank Morelli) require a
> very high level of musicality. That would be 4 years out of playing with an
> orchestra, and without the constant help of an instructor (I actually live with
> her right now). When I graduate undergrad school, I will be at the peak level
> of musicianship and I just don't have the money to audition to the schools I
> want to go to multiple times.
>
> The reason I am asking now for advice is, I need to decide by next year what
> I am going to do, because I will obviousy need to start preparing for
> auditions, but also you have to apply to graduate schools earlier then I am allowed to
> do my student teaching. Otherwise, I would just student teach, see how I
> liked it, and then decide, but I'll have to decide before I get that expierience.
>
> Overall, I have a very strong love for music, and love for my instrument, but
> most of all, a very strong love for the power of music education, and I'm
> very confused about what I want my life to be (I suppose just like any other 19
> year old) and any advice that could be offered by someone who's already been
> through this is greatly appriciated. My apologies about the length.
>
> Sincerly,
> Jacqui Gorski
> Eastern Washington University
>