Abstract
This chapter discusses empirical research that employed "lifespan" perspective theory — specifically, selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) theory — to understand musicians' work in early, mid-, and late-career. Musicians' career decisions and identities were self-affirming in terms of career success, adaptability, and self-integrity, yet musicians also experienced significant identity struggles. The chapter describes a subset of data from ten classically-trained musicians to enable comparison between the practice of classical and other musicians. Most musicians had completed formal university-level education. There were no differences between the educational levels of classically-trained and other musicians; however, classically-trained musicians were more satisfied with their education, rating it 9.3 out of 10, compared with 7.2 overall. Classically-trained musicians reported working more hours in music-related activities, were six times less likely to work in the community sector, and 20% more likely to work in commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Classical Music Industry |
Editors | Chris Dromey, Julia Haferkorn |
Place of Publication | New York |
Publisher | Routledge |
Chapter | 8 |
Pages | 112-125 |
Number of pages | 14 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781315471099 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781138203693 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |