Singers consider pursuing degrees beyond a master’s for a variety of reasons: as a fallback plan, to land a university teaching position, to further study an area they’re particularly passionate about, or simply to get further training. For the singer seriously pursuing a performance career, can a PhD or DMA actually be detrimental to that career track? I spoke with five general directors and one artist manager to find out.
What do you think of when you hear the terms DMA, PhD, or Professional Diploma?
James Caraher: I’ve known people who’ve come out of their first level of college hoping to go straight into a career, and then when nothing came along, they went for a master’s degree. And then when nothing happened after that, they decided, “Well, I’ll stay in school and get a doctorate.” Staying in school, to me, unless there’s a goal at the end that the doctoral degree is going to serve, it’s just prolonging the effort that’s needed to get into the performing world.
Kristin Cowdin: I have known plenty of singers with their degrees and they generally mean one (or more) of several things: the singer wanted more time to mature vocally before pursuing a full-time performance career, the singer wanted more guaranteed stage time, the singer enjoyed some of the more academic aspects of music, the singer possibly wanted to teach in the future and wanted a terminal degree, or the singer wasn’t ready to actually get out of the cocoon and liked the safety of academia. And of course, sometimes a singer stays and gets advanced degrees as a way of ignoring the reality that he or she might not have the natural talent/voice that a full time performing career requires.
Christopher McBeth: Regrettably, the general assumption is that if someone has or is working on a DMA, [then] they probably aren’t that good. Probably good for singing in their local area and community organizations, but for someone to have education beyond graduate degrees and be enjoying a professional career is more the exception than the rule. I know of a handful of “exceptions,” but far more that apply to the “rule.”
William Florescu: I have no bias either for or against. Some DMA programs are more academic (particularly if the school also has an advanced performance diploma), while others will be more performance oriented.
Timm Rolek: Advanced degrees are good if you plan to have an academic future at some time in your life, but they aren’t necessarily a stamp of approval for a performer. How you sing is the only question.
Darren K. Woods: I don’t think a singer who wants to perform needs or should have a DMA or PhD. These degrees are almost always focused on things other than performing. After a master’s program, singers should seek out professional training programs or studio programs with opera companies that offer specialized training that does not include academia. I will admit to a bias against people with DMAs, thinking that they have stayed in school too long—particularly if they do not have any performing experiences outside of their schooling.
Should singers with advanced degrees not list them on their résumés?
JC: No, I don’t think that you ever need to take things off. Here, I think it depends a little upon the person who’s reading the résumé. I get all that paperwork at the beginning of an audition, I don’t even look at that sort of thing until after I hear the person sing—and then if it’s interesting, I’ll go see where they learned to do what I just witnessed. And then I’ll notice what level of education is part of it.
KC: Some people might have a bias against those who hold advanced degrees (I don’t). That bias may actually not be related to the degree itself, but to the age that one generally associates with that degree. I suppose that if a singer was really worried about this, he or she could leave it off the résumé—but that might also mean leaving off some performance experience that’s related to that degree.
I do think that certain voice types, in many cases, are at a disadvantage if they wait too long to pursue a full-time career. A soubrette or light lyric coloratura that finishes an AD program might be 26-28 years old (or older, in the case of a PhD). That kind of voice is viewed by many as having a shelf life. Singers like Anna Christy and Sarah Coburn, for example, had already been actively performing full time with management by then. So, one must consider the voice type as well when considering if continued years of school and school obligations is the correct path for the singer.
WF: I think that one should always list them. The only negative will be if you have no corresponding performance experience to go with it. In that case, it is often read that one stayed in school because no performance opportunities happened.
CM: I would probably consider leaving it off the résumé. That stated, then we see the hole that is left, which then becomes something we think about during the audition (and often ask about).
DKW: My advice is if you have the DMA or PhD, do not put it on your résumé.
Assuming that singers who go for their doctorates are equally in love with music history and performing, what place do such individuals have within the music industry?
JC: I think there probably are people who cross over and find value in both. . . . I’m sure there are people like me who feel that if you want to be a performer, you perform. At a certain point, spending time in school takes away valuable time that I’ve always thought you need to become a performer. There’s a part of learning there that can’t be learned in a classroom, and the longer you put that off, the harder it is to break in.
KC: Depending upon the individual’s talent and voice type, he or she might find success and fulfillment working with certain conductors and ensembles that really stress period-specific performance practice. Within the baroque realm, there are many conductors that fit this description including Alan Curtis, Christophe Rousset, William Christie, John Eliot Gardiner, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Emmanuelle Haïm, Bernard Labadie, Jane Glover, and others. There are also various early music festivals, both in the U.S. and abroad, that might be interesting to a person who has both loves. And within the Bel Canto repertoire in America, someone might enjoy working with Will Crutchfield.
WF: Wow. Lots of possibilities: performing, directing, editing, teaching, writing, a combination of all of the above. I put myself in this category. I loved music history, and it has helped color my approach to stage directing.
CM: I think loving music history is a plus for any performer. [It] makes him or her more informed and allows greater ability to make choices when performing.
TR: I don’t think it’s possible to be a good performer without knowing something about music history. The depth of a performer is the result of their breadth of knowledge and experience.
DKW: Performing has to be your first choice if you want to perform. Any distraction will take you away from the demands on your time. If there is anything other than performing that you can do that will make you happy, then do it. Performing is for those who would rather do it than breathe.
What advice do you have for those who go into a graduate degree program in order to have a “fallback” in case performing doesn’t work out?
JC: When people say, “I’ve got a master’s, and things aren’t working out well; I think I’ll go get a doctorate,” I ask them what they think that’s going to accomplish. Quite often, one of the answers I get back is, “Well, I need something to fall back on.” To me, as a performer, I find that’s death as an answer. I mean, if you’re already looking for something to fall back on, you’re not going make it out in the world competing against people who are bloodthirsty.
KC: I am sure that many singers can recall teachers that they might have had that didn’t seem to love teaching or were (worse) quite bitter about performing careers that didn’t end up as they would have hoped. This isn’t to say that a performer can’t make a good teacher (and often people with substantial careers can bring great perspective on the business to students). However, teaching is a gift, and when molding voices, one hopes for a true pedagogue.
WF: I don’t love it, because many of these people wind up getting teaching jobs. We need teachers who are committed to teaching and love that and see it as a worthy profession—not as a paycheck till the singing thing works out. Work as a temp, or something else. You’ll be much fairer to the next generation of performers.
TR: Performing doesn’t work out forever for anyone. Classical music is a subset of the entertainment industry and is, like the industry, perpetually interested in the newest young thing. Just like Hollywood heroines who find the phone stops ringing at age 40 or the phones of NBA players stop ringing around age 35, the phones of soubrette sopranos will stop ringing in their early 30s. The question then becomes, “What will I do with this part of my life? Change my Fach or change course completely?”
DKW: I think it is a perfectly fine idea. If you intend to do that, then leave it off your résumé. When you have this on your résumé it says to me, “I intend to teach.” I think it would be much more beneficial to the entire field to make it possible for people to teach singing that do not have terminal degrees. Then people could have a fallback plan that doesn’t involve staying in school for too long. This is where our universities are letting us down.
Two singers audition for you. They both have “potential.” One is just out of a BA program, the other is just out of a doctoral program. They’re equal in all other factors. Is age a consideration (since the DMA/PhD holder is likely to be older)?
KC: Depending upon the voice type (let’s say it’s a lyric voice), the younger singer might be in a better place than the one just out of a doctoral program (and thus older), if they are indeed at the same level of “potential.” Age can definitely be a consideration in these cases. If it’s a budding dramatic, I’d be less concerned about age. I would tell both that they should be getting as much stage experience and exposure as possible through mainstage roles, YAPs, etc.
WF: In this case, I don’t even think about their degrees. I’m listening to the audition and will hire the person who, in my opinion, is most appropriate for my needs.
CM: While I tend to be attracted to younger talent, in the end it is who is best suited to the engagement—and age is often a factor when considering the character he or she is to play. Now, if it is for our Young Artist Program, I would probably be most interested in the younger of the two, since I generally see more potential in the younger ones.
DKW: If all things are equal, then the younger one [because] I would also have more chance to work with the younger singer and probably help shape the course of his or her career. If the doctoral student had a performing track record that was good, and all of the above attributes, then I would certainly consider them. Of course, I can think of very few early 20s people I would put in leading roles; they would be candidates for a Young Artist Program (although most of mine have had master’s degrees). The mid-30-year-old should be at a point where they are doing leading roles, and if they have no performing experience, then they most likely will not get the opportunity.
