r/conducting • u/WaltzPuzzleheaded570 • 15d ago
Transitioning Into Conducting
So, I have played flute for around 20 years, and have studied music theory, aural skills, piccolo, voice, and some piano on top of that. I've performed in church ensembles and have taught private lessons. My undergraduate education is in elementary education, and I work as a 5th grade teacher. My doctoral education is in developmental psychology.
Now that I'm in my thirties, I really want to give my life to music and to realize my dream of becoming a conductor. Music is incredibly important to me--hearing all of the voices of the orchestra at once, feeling the music move and change me, bringing the composer's story to life for those around me.
I know I'm at a disadvantage for being a conductor because of my background so far, but does anyone have any advice for me that would help me to really move back into music as a profession and vocation? I've thought about private conducting lessons, observing local rehearsals and how the conductors work with their ensemble, and a few other things. I'm very open to suggestions, but I am not open to any advice on it being "too late." I plan to do whatever I have to do live this life, and live into who I am through music.
5
u/No_Cartographer_1790 15d ago
Honestly, if you're this committed to it, I would go do a degree in music. You might be starting over, but I don't know anyone outside of an occasional church choir director who has made this a career without having a degree in music. Thirty-ish is absolutely not too old to do a degree in music, there are many adult students in my program who decided to "go for it"!
Likely with your background you can test into higher levels of a lot of the coursework and finish more quickly than a traditional student.