RSCM Report: Advice to Young Musicians

Some of the young men and women of the Course intend to carry on the work of Musician as professionals. Mike will be starting a degree program in choral conducting and voice, Meara is studying voice with an eye toward music therapy, Kyle was the organ scholar this week and (I gather) now sings with a cathedral choir, one of the finest in the country. Many others who sang this week have the talent to walk this path: I think of Saul with his violin and fine tenor voice; Jacques with his obvious love of the piano that he exhibited with a talent show performance of a Beethoven sonata movement. There are others, and I do not mean to slight them. And there are still more in our parish choir at home, people like Paul and Yuhka and Claire and Caleigh and Greta and Issay.

I have done this work as best I can for close to forty years. What would I say to these young musicians?


Learn from the best – that begins with the course directors we have had. You will not find choral musicians any better than these men and women anywhere. Learn from the good musicians in every genre.

Learn from the bad musicians, too – When encountering Bad Music in a rehearsal or performance, figure out why it is not working. It can be most instructive.

You have many Teachers, including the Old Masters. Learn from them. If you are a music teacher or conductor, learn from your students, from your ensemble. Be grateful for good teachers; they are rare. You have one Teacher above all who will never give up on you.

Someone is always better; don't let that bother you. But:

Be the best that you can be. Music is hard work, and will remain so for the rest of your life. There is no way around it, and you owe it to yourself, to God, to the community to do the work, and be a shining light. Practice. Be prepared for rehearsals, for lessons, for performances, for church services. Be the musician on whom others in the choir or ensemble can rely.

The old books are best

Sometimes it will get ugly – You may have teachers who belittle you and tell you that you are worthless scum. Or conductors, or theatrical directors, or critics. And whenever you get in front of people to perform, the possibility is always there for epic failure. It will happen to you, probably more than once. Maybe a lot more than once. When it does, get up, dust yourself off, and move on. Most of all, forgive yourself. As for the teachers, conductors, and critics: learn from them if possible, but sometimes you must ignore them and press on. You will be stronger as a result.

You will have moments of surpassing splendor – you probably have already, in these Courses and elsewhere. Cherish these times, remember them. Be thankful for them; when it goes right, it is always a Gift and not entirely our doing.

Be kind. To yourself, to your fellow musicians, to your family and friends.

There is more to life than music. Live a full life. Spend time with friends, with family. Get outside: Beethoven would walk for hours in all kinds of weather.

You can do something else. Being a Musician is not an either-or choice. You can be a doctor, a schoolteacher, a mother with children at home, a sales clerk, a day laborer, and do the Music on the side. It is hard, but you will find that Music alone sometimes does not pay the bills. One of the finest of all bluegrass musicians, Lester Flatt, worked as a mill hand in a textile factory. The composer Charles Ives was an insurance executive, and a good one. You may find as much joy in your other work as you do in Music.

Cantare amantis est. This quote from St. Augustine is on my office door. It can be translated various ways; “Singing is born of love” might be one. I think it was Nadia Boulanger who said: “What is without love is nothing.” St. Paul had something to say about that, too (I Corinthians 13:1).


There is nothing that can equal a life in Music. If you choose this path, I expect that you will find it rewarding. And whether or not you walk the path, I wish for you every blessing and grace.

[See also this.]