[Jenn]

In article ,
MiNe 109 wrote:

In article

et,
Jenn wrote:

And doctorates are the baseline in higher ed. In the performing arts,
this really became reality about 8 years ago. In 1995, I left teaching
for 4 years to deal with sick family members and my own medical issues.
At that time, it wasn't uncommon for conductors (including myself) with
"just" Masters degrees to get hired at 4-year schools. Now, that's
almost impossible. Just about every job has a doctorate as basic
requirements. Leonard Bernstein coudln't get hired at a University of
California or State University now.

I can second this! There are so many candidates for university jobs that
the degree bar can be set high. Unfortunately, this can make music an
academic pyramid scheme that undervalues real-world experience and
requirements. On the other hand, there will be fewer music profs like
the ones who fell into their jobs forty years ago when the field was
wide open.

Stephen

Half of the faculty at the UT School of Music couldn't teach in the CA
higher ed system, above the community college level! Including my
wonderful friend Jerry Judkin, one of the best conductors in the country.

My favorite story about such things involves the horn and percussion
teacher at Cal State Fullerton. He was hired to teach those studios
many years ago, but can't get tenured because of no doctorate. So every
three years, they have to advertise his job, even though he has been
there for well over 20 years and does great work. They put on the job
announcement "Must be a professional quality performer on both French
Horn and Orchestral Percussion". lol There IS no one else like that,
so he and the department are safe.

One day I went to a concert by the LA Chamber Orchestra in the afternoon
and the LA Phil in the evening. Todd was playing tympani in the LACO
and Wagner Tuba in the LAPO. What a guy!