Why You Should Attend
A note to high school students from Bruce Murray, Dean of the Brevard Music Center
Attending a summer music program requires an investment of time, money, and effort that may be considerable. To some non-musicians summer music study seems a luxury; "don't you work hard enough during the school year?" These may be the same people who assume that owning a fine instrument is a luxury or that practicing every day is overkill (or crazy).
College students and older students who have committed to music careers, at least provisionally, already understand the importance of summer study. Others should know that Brevard Music Center alumni are performing now in the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the National Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the New World Symphony, and more.
If you are in high school and are considering a career in music or considering whether to major in music in college, attending an immersive summer program can provide many benefits. Some benefits are obvious: ensemble experience, lessons, practice time. But there is more to it. Here are six other reasons to attend:
- Revealing the profession - The music profession does not operate the way other professions operate. Challenges appear on many levels. The large ensembles at Brevard work on the same schedule used in professional ensembles, with daily rehearsals and a rigorous schedule of performances. Students must master parts quickly. Students must improve their ensemble skills as the season progresses and the repertoire grows more ambitious.
- Repertoire - During the academic year few high school students will have the opportunity to prepare a full orchestral program in a week, but it happens at Brevard. Not only do students play a lot, they also hear a lot, including some music (e.g., solo, chamber, opera) that they may not hear at home. One of the singular issues that separates excellent music students from others is acquaintance with the whole repertoire of music.
- Contact with professionals - The music world is deeply interlinked. Brevard students work each day with successful, accomplished musicians. Such contact may yield immediate benefits in choosing a college, finding the right teacher, or applying for a job or a scholarship. The longer-term benefits may be just as tangible.
- Working with others - If you attend an arts high school, then you may have regular contact with other gifted music students. However, you will find more of them, as well as more advanced students, at the Brevard Music Center. If you do not attend an arts high school, then your contact with other gifted students may be limited, and Brevard will seem remarkable. Brevard's students forge friendships and professional associations that last a lifetime.
- Classes - Brevard's high school students take classes in music theory and literature. It's like college.
- Self-discovery - By design, Brevard provides a supportive environment for its students. Nevertheless, to succeed at Brevard, some students need to find new reserves of self-discipline. Many students will measure themselves against the performance of peers, not necessarily out of a competitive urge, but to decide whether they are right for the profession and whether the profession is right for them. Do you really want to be a musician? Brevard will help you find out.
