Several recent stories in the news have revealed that, despite the long odds of making a living as a professional musician, many parents are encouraging their children to major in music in college.
These stories concern me because the encouragement is so often based on the students' desire to major in music, regardless of their actual level of talent. Believe me, I understand the desire part; when I was in high school, it was a desire I shared.
But these well-meaning parents and teachers may not know what the experience of majoring in music performance is actually like at a university or conservatory.
As a French horn performance major at Northwestern University, I spent most of my time in the company of people who were striving for one thing: Namely, careers as performing artists. We knew our odds of succeeding in such a competitive field were not high, but most of us thought we'd find a way to overcome those odds.
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