Becoming a musical performer: Conceptions of the classical musician promoted at university

Are higher education music programmes in the UK providing classical music students with the knowledge, skills and mindset they need to embrace the evolving roles and identities of the classical musician and build sustainable careers as ‘portfolio musicians’? Papageorgi et al. (2010a; 2010b) suggest that, in this respect, universities are providing students with the necessary support, particularly in comparison to the conservatoire sector: university music programmes are perceived as promoting wider understandings of what constitutes a musician and of the music profession thanks to the range of academic and practical modules they usually offer to their students.

My 6-year study of a classical musical performance ‘community of practice’ at a UK university, however, reveals a different state of affairs: the persistence of an educational model based on the narrow concept of the classical musician as concert performer. Using ethnographically-informed research methods within a social constructionist theoretical framework, my study teases out the values and beliefs surrounding the practices of a classical performance community and shows how these may inhibit a broader understanding of what it means to be a classical musician in the 21st century.

In my presentation, I share findings from this study and illustrate how participation in specific classical performance teaching/learning practices may contribute to a narrow understanding of classical performer and the music profession. I also suggest ways in which such practices, and the underlying narratives, might be changed so as to help students successfully face the demands of the 21st century professional music world.