The Smartest Career Choice for a String Player
A while back, I had a very enlightening conversation with a cellist who finished her undergrad degree in June ‘22 and is thinking about grad school in Fall ‘23. She’s freelancing in the area and planning on taking auditions this season. She wants to play in an orchestra someday, which is why she signed up to talk to me.
After I described my intensive audition program, she was so excited about it. When we talked about the price, she commented, "that's really expensive. I can't afford it." I thought to myself, "Oh, she hasn't done the math!"
The cost of school, and the cost of NOT having a job, hasn't really hit home for her. She doesn't realize how expensive it can be to spend a few years on the audition path. Here's what I wish I told her, to help her make an informed choice:
Graduate School
A master's degree at a renowned music school can cost between $38,000 and $100,000.
Most graduate programs don't teach audition skills. If you're lucky, you might have one or two excerpt preparation classes per year.
After you graduate, you can spend a few years mastering auditions before you actually get a job. Meanwhile, you're paying back undergraduate and graduate school loans on a private lesson teacher's salary.
Actively Auditioning
Big orchestras pay pretty well. But first, you have to win the job. For most people, it takes years and many auditions to climb their way into a top orchestra. Here's how much auditions cost:
Plane tickets for you and your cello = $600+
Hotel = $300+
Teaching or other work you have to miss = $200+
Incidentals like food, Uber, etc. = $200+
Let's say each audition averages $1200. If you don't work with an audition specialist, it could take you five to ten auditions just to master the process.
5 X $1200 = $6000. And 10 X $1200 is $12,000. And money isn't the only thing you'll lose--each audition that doesn't go well takes a toll on your confidence and self esteem.
What are you supposed to do with this information? Make smarter choices. Protect your time and your money by teaching yourself to be great at auditions. Don't wait for things to magically work out.
Does this mean you should go to grad school? Maybe, or maybe not. Grad school might make you a better musician, but it doesn't always lead to a job. The only way to get a job is to master the art of auditioning, and the fastest way to master auditions is to work with a specialist like me.
I estimate that my program cuts five to ten auditions off of the "normal" audition career path, and cuts one to four years off of the time it takes to get a job. Think about it--the right teacher can save you many thousands of dollars and several years of frustration. But I it's not something I can measure or promise (since I can't see the future). I will tell you that many of my past participants have won jobs after graduating my program, and started advancing to finals and semi-finals, and felt like they made huge leaps after our 16 weeks of work.
If you want to talk more about this, or hear about my group intensive, you need to click the link below so we can talk. My program was delayed a few weeks, so I can still add someone to my group. But even if we don't talk, believe what I'm saying--the sooner you start, the sooner you'll win.
In my next email, you'll hear about some of my client wins.
You can find a time to chat at the link below:
And you can always check out my program to learn more about audition skills by clicking this link.