Life After Music School: What Young Musicians Should Know

What should young musicians understand before pursuing college-level music study?  We spoke with Music Institute of Chicago cello faculty member Anita Graef about redefining success, approaching college music school with clarity, and developing the real-world skills that sustain a meaningful, long-term life in music. Drawing from her experience as a performer, educator, and mentor, Anita offers thoughtful guidance for students navigating the modern musical landscape.

Many young musicians grow up with a very specific idea of what a “successful” music career looks like. Today, a music career can take many forms. While some musicians follow traditional performance paths, many build rich, fulfilling lives that combine performing, teaching, collaborating, and contributing to their communities in different ways.

“It is absolutely necessary, especially when reaching a juncture that may lead to you pursuing college level music study, to design your own personal rubric for what ‘success’ in your life means for you,” stresses Anita. “This needs to be flexible enough to grow and change with you, but also needs to reflect your individual values.”

For students whose exposure to professional music-making is limited, success could feel narrowly defined. It can show up as internal benchmarks like I am a good musician only if I win a major international competition or I will be successful when I join a Top 5 Orchestra. While achievements and accolades are wonderful, Anita encourages students to widen their perspectives. “You can and should reach as high as you possibly can with your art, but you must live with a sense of grace for yourself and others,” she says. “To define success for yourself also means clearly outlining your purpose in becoming a musician: what is it about music that compels you to devote your life to it?”

That sense of purpose, she emphasizes, allows room for evolution over time. “For myself, the understanding that the performance of music brings me both inner peace and a greater ability to connect with others, coupled with the ability to pay forward my knowledge through teaching, allows me to feel successful in that I have both an inner purpose and an outer ability to be of service to others,” she shares. “As long as those elements are present in my life, I can rest assured that I am following my own design for success.”

Anita reassures students that “there is a place for you in music if you want it, but remain open to new possibilities as to where exactly the journey may take you.”

Before committing to conservatory or college-level music study, Anita encourages students to take an active role in understanding what comes next.

“I would love to see students who are considering going to music school do some practical research into what paths are available to them after completing their degrees,” she says. “There are so many avenues one could pursue, and I think it would benefit students enormously to have a clear-eyed and comprehensive view of what options are possible.”

One of the advantages of studying music before college, whether through a private teacher or at a community music school, is access to a wide range of professional perspectives. Anita notes that being connected to musicians working in different areas can broaden a student’s understanding of the field. These conversations might include:

• Chamber musicians
• Orchestra players
• Private teachers
• Freelancers
• Arts administrators
• Touring soloists
• College professors
• Grant writers
• Anyone working in music

“Find out how they got started, what they love about their job, what their schedule looks like, how many time commitments they have, how they make a living doing what they do, and what skills they needed to cultivate,” she encourages.

Technical training is foundational, but long-term success in music depends on a broader set of skills and habits. Anita shared seven essential areas young musicians should actively work to develop:

Pursue experiences outside of the practice room:
 “You should absolutely spend a lot of time in the practice room during your years in school and as you get started building your musical career. It is a gift to have this time that is mostly free of other obligations to focus on improving your technical skills. At the same time, if you expect your art to have real depth, direction and a point of view, you need to live a life that gives you stories to tell. Nurture a hobby, go into nature, see new places, take an interest in other people. All of this will guide you towards a more deeply felt artistic voice.”

Read everything:
“This advice comes naturally to me as someone who has been a lifelong reader, but it is such an incredible gift to give yourself and others. Your role as an artist requires you to think to your highest abilities. To think more critically, with more empathy and incisiveness, I suggest you read everything you can get your hands on. Not only will you cultivate ideas, knowledge and imagination that will inform your artistic practice, but you can crystallize your ability to focus and to be still in a world that is constantly grasping for your attention.”

Study your music and art history:
“This is somewhat related to the point above. In order to be an effective musician, it is crucial to know the context in which the musical works you'll explore were created. Technical mastery is only the beginning of your work. The more that you engage with history, the more layers you can add to your interpretation or creation of music, which makes you a more persuasive communicator. However, don't worry about all of this coming to you at once! Music is a lifelong pursuit in which to deepen your understanding and your ability to connect.”

Practice your public speaking skills:
“Proactivity and self-advocacy will be some of your most useful tools as a musician. It is a big world, with many, many talented artists in it. To forge a path for yourself, you will need to be able to articulate why people should give their time to your work. It helps to be observant when you hear other effective communicators: ask yourself what you take away from their speaking that resonates with you. Just like you practice your instrument, practice speaking from the stage. Over the course of your career in music, you will need to be able to speak effectively in performances, lectures, interviews, meetings and more. Start to build this skill early and take notice of what positive attributes make your voice unique. This will always serve you well.”

Take care of your physical health:
“Being a musician, like being an athlete, is a physical pursuit, albeit one that you will hopefully be able to carry with you into old age. To that effect, it is an investment in your future as a musician to look after your body well before you could meet age-related limitations. Much of the longevity of your career will rely on your ability to physically execute what your instrument requires. The act of playing almost any given instrument for hours a day can produce wear and tear on your body that only appears later in life, so I would encourage you to think of yourself more akin to an athlete who must crosstrain for their sport. I would suggest you find an exercise activity (or activities) that you can maintain for decades to come. Not only will it aid your ability to play an instrument well into your later years, but the mental health benefits of regular exercise will help keep you balanced in an incredibly demanding profession.”

Build your tenacity:
“There is no doubt that this is a selective and competitive field. We all face our fair share of rejection, but I would urge young students to internalize the idea that facing a rejection is not a referendum on their capabilities. Take what you can learn from a setback and use it to adjust your approach moving forward. You will receive many ‘no’s, but your path will be easier if you can mitigate your tendency to take that feedback personally. What will end up mattering are the ‘yes’s you will get (which also do not define your abilities). Additionally, so much of what comes your way will be determined by luck that you cannot take it all to heart. Your belief in yourself must be so loud, so unwavering, that it will not bend in the face of the inevitable ups and downs that your life in music will accrue. With hard work and creativity, the right path for you will find you.”

Cultivate your capacity for generosity:
“Finally, I would advise any student to banish comparison and competitiveness (against others) from their mindset. Music school is without a doubt an intense and demanding environment, as is the career you can build afterwards, but you will weather the challenges of life, both personal and professional, much better as part of a community, rather than as an island. Each artist is on their own path, and will get where they are going at different times and in different ways. No one else has your artistic voice, just as you are not a mimic of anyone else's. Therefore, I urge you to view yourself as your only competition, not others. Work to be the best artist, family member, friend and citizen that you can be. Our mindset often creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we choose to view musical opportunities as scarce and cutthroat, we will contribute to creating that very paucity of inspired artistry. However, if you choose to reach out a helping hand, support the projects and dreams of other musicians, and offer your work in service to others, you will have played a part in creating a more abundant, fulfilling and welcoming musical landscape for everyone. Not only does this aid others on their journeys, but your participation in a wider community will help sustain your artistic practice, challenge you to reach the top of your game, and support your overall health and wellbeing for life.”

Preparing for college-level music study is about more than practice hours. Anita’s reflections highlight the value of preparation, self-awareness, and community as students move toward college-level study. With these tools in place, musicians are better equipped to navigate their education and build careers that are both sustainable and personally rewarding.

At the Music Institute of Chicago, our faculty work with musicians of all ages and levels, meeting each student where they are and helping them grow in a healthy, sustainable way. Whether you’re returning to music or refining your technique, music lessons at the Music Institute of Chicago provide the support and expertise to help you move forward.

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