What should I major in?

It is hard to make a living as a musician, so I would either do a dual major in education AND music or if thats too expensive, major in education and get a minor in music. that way you can be either a classroom teacher or a music teacher while still pursuing your true passion which is to do music on your own i would assume.

that's what regina spektor did. she's a singer who taught as a teacher in new york while working on her craft. now she is famous and can support herself singing, so she no longer teaches.

well from what you said in your question, since you have only just learned clarinet and flute, a performance major on those is probably not wise. There are performance opportunities for sax, especially in Jazz, but you are correct symphonic jobs for sax don't exist (save the 2 sax parts in Bolero) So you could actually major in saxaphone performance and have job opportunities, not easy ones though. If you are scared about job opportunities then education would be a more secure route, and you could easily be a sax major and do music education, it doesn't matter what you play as an educator, just that you are good at it. I can't help but notice that two of your schools are in PA...if you want to go to school in PA check out Messiah College (near Harrisburg), they have a great music education program, and wonderful faculty. Their most recent Wind Ensemble CD is available on Amazon.

Hope that helps!

It is an interesting time for any sort of instrumentalist/vocalist/whathaveyou these days, not just alto sax players. Have you considered doing a double major in both music ed and performance?

However, you already seem to be heading the music ed route with your interest in multiple instruments.

You don't need a degree in performance to perform. People go to school for these degrees to hone their skills and form connections. And of course, the fancy schools do tend to look pretty on a resume. Yet, groups will hire you regardless of what the piece of paper says (but you are correct, I would not hold out hope for an opening in your instrument with orchestra).

Nowadays more than ever, there are three fundamental keys to success for any musician:

Networking.

Attitude.

Entrepreneurism.

If positions for the sax are not to be found in pre-existing groups, form your own. Strive for excellence on the sax and SELL YOURSELF. Hold recitals. Busk on street corners with your information handy in case you catch the attention of prospective students or future band members. Remember, holding a day job or unrelated part time profession to help make ends meet is far from shameful.

Even if you go solely music ed, you can still have a rich performing life outside of the classroom if it really means that much to you.

May I also add, that NO career in music is "easy". Even landing a k-12 gig is difficult and you'll likely need to get a masters to be competitive.

Work hard, don't settle for anything less than pure saxophone excellence, and most importantly...follow your heart. Some bitter professionals already deep in the field will be quick to shoo you off with gorey tales of failure and hardship (but hey, just about EVERY career field in this country is currently struggling to some degree...music is not unique in this, so what is the point of scaring off newbies anyway...if only I could regail you with the woes of my nursing, law and engineering school comrades).

But! now more than ever the music industry needs passionate, dedicated people to keep it alive. Likewise, only the truly passionate and dedicated will succeed.

Good luck.

My ex husband is a musician and has always been in a band. Their band has a sax player in it and its awesome! Brass is great in bands and hard to find. You probably won't make enough money in a band to live on so teaching is good while playing in a band on the weekends. My grandfather was an awesome musician and wrote music and had a music store, but he had to be a music teacher to support his family until the music store did well enough. He never did make enough money on his written music to support his family even though his music is well known and is played all over the world. (religious music). He had his doctorate from the music school of Chicago. Besides, teaching is great! You get to make an impact on so many. I think its great that you are thinking ahead and looking for a way to combine what you love with your profession!

Why not check with the colleges in which you're interested. Also the orchestras.