![]() “It’s a career of dedication, without a known outcome or end result. “You can’t succeed if it’s half-hearted, especially on the classical scene,” she says. ![]() Like Millar, Fisher knows that music takes an extraordinary amount of work and dedication. Instead, she reiterates what others have said: “It’s a career for those who can’t imagine doing something else.” As such, being classified a “prodigy” is hardly a qualification for going into music. Kimberly Fisher, principal second violin, The Philadelphia Orchestra and artistic director, The Philadelphia International Music Festival (PIMF), describes musical prodigies as a rare breed. You have hills to climb and you learn to love taking one step at a time and the relentlessness of it all.” He likes to quote legendary tennis player, Arthur Ashe, who said, “Start where you are. “If you don’t have huge success early on, you understand and learn how to get better. Millar refers to music as a “tough business.” As a result, “Music students need to be relentless…it’s more important than anything else.” As a non-prodigy, he felt he had to work harder than if he had been labeled a prodigy. He credits his undergraduate program, and not being surrounded by prodigies, with providing him the space “to grow and improve…to compete with myself…to become better tomorrow than today.” He switched to CU’s College of Music when music proved to be the only major that brought together his passion and interests. Millar started out in engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. “In music school, we’re learning how to learn and how to adapt in the world,” he says. Michael Millar, director of the Center for Community Engagement at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, is quick to describe himself as a “non prodigy.” He credits majoring in music with teaching him to be an achiever (he’s got a BM and an MA in Music Performance, and a DMA in Performance and Arts Administration). Their insights are invaluable for students, parents, music teachers, college guidance counselors, and current music majors as well. explored this subject with three musicians, each of whom is working in a distinctly different field of music.
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