Klarinet Archive - Posting 000761.txt from 1997/07

From: sue <ssipos@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Major decisions
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 09:12:59 -0400

On Wed, 23 Jul 1997, Sarah B. Horney wrote:

> I want to apologize for the quantity (not to mention the quality)
> of my mail to this list. If you can stand it, I have another question.
> I want to be a high school band director when I get out of
> school, and have some questions regarding not only specific major
> options, but also general decisions. I have received many suggestions of
> what my major should be. My Music Theory (and choir) teacher says that
> "Performance is the way to go." My own band directors seem to have
> differences of opinion- some say performance, some others say music
> education (another says that I should forget music altogether and go for
> the political science degree, only half-jokingly). I was just wondering
> if anyone had any suggestions. Also, if there are specific schools that
> you would recommend, I would be open to anything. I live near Fort
> Worth, Texas, so University of North Texas is sounding nice, but I am
> just so confused now.
> Thank you so much for your time.
>
> Have fun!
>
> Sarah
> benevolent1@-----.com
>

Sarah,

What do YOU really want to do? I'm an undergrad now and realized after
four years of college, I should have listened to what my mind was telling
me. I realized I wanted to be in performance. I'm so
much more happier now. Which one feels more comfortable? Does either one
seem like you would enjoy it more? Do what you have fun with. Even if
you do ed., that doesn't mean you can't stop playing. I'm from Illinois
and there's tons of Community bands and orchestras, and many have a great
reputation and good players. It's a big decision. If you still have a
hard time deciding once applying to schools or even when you get there,
start off music Education and you could always decide to switch and it's
easier to switch to Performance then education with all the state
requirements that teachers need to take, you may end up in school longer.
But really, do what feels right to you.

Sue Sipos
Illinois Wesleyan University

P.S. Have you looked into Rice University?