Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable, and how should it be defined?

For the majority of undergraduate classical music performance students, 'musotopia' isa place where performance ambitions are realised with an international performancecareer. However, given that so few musicians achieve this ambition, should this ideal beredefined? This paper investigates...

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Main Author: Bennett, Dawn
Format: Journal Article
Published: Cambridge University Press 2007
Online Access:http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=BME
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25503
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author Bennett, Dawn
author_facet Bennett, Dawn
author_sort Bennett, Dawn
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description For the majority of undergraduate classical music performance students, 'musotopia' isa place where performance ambitions are realised with an international performancecareer. However, given that so few musicians achieve this ambition, should this ideal beredefined? This paper investigates instrumental musicians' careers by exploring therealities of professional practice. Findings reveal the multiplicity of roles in which most musicians engage in order to sustain their careers, and question the concept of amusician as a performer: positing that a musician is rather someone who practiseswithin the profession of music within one or more specialist fields. The diversity ofroles pursued by practising musicians is not considered by the majority of conservatories, thus the enormous potential for the transfer of music graduate skills into the broad cultural industries setting remains largely unrealised. Acceptance of, andpreparation for a more holistic career will enable many more graduates to find their ownmusotopia.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-255032017-09-13T15:52:04Z Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable, and how should it be defined? Bennett, Dawn For the majority of undergraduate classical music performance students, 'musotopia' isa place where performance ambitions are realised with an international performancecareer. However, given that so few musicians achieve this ambition, should this ideal beredefined? This paper investigates instrumental musicians' careers by exploring therealities of professional practice. Findings reveal the multiplicity of roles in which most musicians engage in order to sustain their careers, and question the concept of amusician as a performer: positing that a musician is rather someone who practiseswithin the profession of music within one or more specialist fields. The diversity ofroles pursued by practising musicians is not considered by the majority of conservatories, thus the enormous potential for the transfer of music graduate skills into the broad cultural industries setting remains largely unrealised. Acceptance of, andpreparation for a more holistic career will enable many more graduates to find their ownmusotopia. 2007 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25503 10.1017/S0265051707007383 http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=BME Cambridge University Press fulltext
spellingShingle Bennett, Dawn
Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable, and how should it be defined?
title Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable, and how should it be defined?
title_full Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable, and how should it be defined?
title_fullStr Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable, and how should it be defined?
title_full_unstemmed Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable, and how should it be defined?
title_short Utopia for music performance graduates. Is it achievable, and how should it be defined?
title_sort utopia for music performance graduates. is it achievable, and how should it be defined?
url http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=BME
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/25503