The WTAMU School of Music will continue a long standing tradition this Thursday, January 31. This tradition is Music Career Day, which has happened on campus longer than anyone can remember.

The School of Music hosts Music Career Day every year to help high school students understand how the music program works, as well as the dedication that being a music major actually takes.

“Last semester, I was up from about nine a.m. to two in the morning every day,” Oren May, a freshman Music Education major, said. “It is pretty much just back to back classes all day, and then for tuba lessons I need to put in three to four hours a day, plus an hour for piano, so that is already four to five hours of practice time every day, plus homework, marching band and practice for other things.”

Students do not realize how much time and commitment being a music major requires until they actually begin to take all of the classes and put in the time.

“You hear people talk about how hard it all is, but you never really connect the dots,” Daniel Corkill, a sophomore Engineering major, and former Music Education major, said. “You never have really a clear picture until you are in the middle of it. I mean you have your different classes with homework, like theory, which is hard, then all of your ensembles and studios that you have to practice for. Once you progress, you have to learn how to play different instruments as well, and that is hard.”

This is why the School of Music puts on Music Career Day every year; to educate high school students who are considering a major in music when they get to college, as well as to show them the different choices there are when it comes to music.

“These students get to check out pretty much everything,” Dr. Nicholas Scales, Professor of Music and organizer of Music Career Day, said. “They will have a session with admissions, see some performing groups, go on tours, visit rehearsals and then finish off the day with auditions. They really get to see how everything works.”

In addition to getting to see all of these different things, the students will also learn about the different majors that are included in the School of Music, including Music Education and Music Therapy.

This year, Music Career Day will tie into the Faculty Grand Recital, which will be held later that evening at 7:30 p.m.

“We are going to tie it into the Faculty Grand Recital, which I am excited about,” Dr. Scales said. “This year one of my former professors here, David Murray, is going to join with us in the performance, so it should be very cool.”

In the past years, the average attendance for the event was 25 to 60 students, so there is generally good participation. This year, they are expecting about 30 students to attend the event, but are prepared in case more show up on the day of the event.

The School of Music is excited to continue the tradition of Music Career Day. They hope to be able to show these students the realities of majoring in music, as well as the different choices there are when it comes to a career in music.