Dear Musician,

When I was in high school, I exuded the typical “pre-music major” persona: I was in all of the plays and musicals, sang in the choir and an acapella group, played clarinet in the Symphony Band and Full Orchestra and Pep Band, and even sported the title of Drama Club President during my senior year. And yet, here I am, a little over halfway into my sophomore year of undergrad, majoring in Marketing with Sales, and minoring in Finance.

By now you’re probably thinking, “What happened? Did you get lost on the way to the Music Building?”

I have to be completely honest, majoring in music crossed my mind more than a few times when I was getting ready for college. Before I got into business, I wanted to be a teacher, so doing music education seemed to make sense. I admired my choir and band directors in high school, but I could never quite see myself in their shoes, and I didn’t know why. I told myself that I’d try to get involved in music as much as I could in college.

Before I had even attended my freshman orientation session, I auditioned into Concert Choir, which is one of the SATB (co-ed) choirs in the music program. Out of everything I did with music in high school, I knew that choir had to be the thing I stuck with; taking time out of my school day to sing was a luxury I was not willing to give up. Now I’ve spent almost four semesters in choir, two of which only attending two days a week rather than the typical four, and I couldn’t be more pleased with my decision. There’s something the closet music nerds need to hear:

Not majoring in music does not mean you have to give it up.

There’s a huge chunk of my choir that doesn’t major in music: we have business, pre-med, graphic arts, general education, and many more. When my business-major friends ask me why I’m in choir, I usually respond with, “it’s the class that keeps me sane.” If anything, I think I appreciate singing in choir more now than I did in high school, when almost all of my free-time was dedicated to performing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, music majors are freaking awesome. I am in infinite awe of their dedication and talent. But the fact that I’ve chosen to major in business over music doesn’t invalidate my love for performing, nor has it ever limited my opportunities to get involved with music on campus.

So, my advice to you is: STOP MAKING EXCUSES.

If you want to join choir but plan on being a doctor, do it. If you want to audition for your university band but you're on track to be a statistician, just do it. 80 percent of campus music groups are welcoming to all majors, the only one who’s stopping you from getting involved is you. Will it advance you in your career or go on your resume? Probably not. Will it bring you new friends, a fun way to release some stress, and possibly a super sexy (not really) choir dress? Absolutely, positively, definitely. Speaking from experience, you won’t regret taking those few hours out of your week to do something that makes you genuinely happy.

Much love,

That Business Major In The Alto Section