By Emma Reinberg
Staff Writer
For many students at Northwood, music is the center of their lives. It helps them release their emotions and cleanse their minds. Some of those students would like to major in music in college and are devoted to their work.
“[Playing the clarinet] is the only thing that I do in my life that I really enjoy a lot,” senior Kelsey O’Daniel said, a member of the symphonic and marching band. “I practice about six times a week at home for about an hour every day.”
“People don’t recognize how much work [musicians] put into playing music. It takes a lot of work; we don’t just magically know how to play a piece of music. It takes a lot of practice and effort,” O’Daniel said.
Junior Emily Huneycutt is also a musician at Northwood, but instead of pursuing a major in music performance, she would like to study a different field in music.
“I want to get a degree in music education. My grandmother was a teacher and I’ve just always been inspired by teachers. I have a lot of respect for them,” Huneycutt said. “I’d like to be a college professor. I definitely want to get my masters in music education and go back to school to get my PhD in musicology.”
Sophomore Tommy Lorbacher also hopes to pursue a career in music education.
“[Music] is something that I enjoy every day, and I really want to be a mentor to other people and help them find joy in it as much as I do,” Lorbacher said.
Matthew Hanson, the guitar and vocals teacher at Northwood, shared some insight on majoring in music education.
“I chose to major in music education to have an opportunity to share the wonderful gifts that music gave me with students. I had many inspirational teachers growing up from private piano lessons and being in the school band,” Hanson said. “I started out in music performance and got a degree in that. I began teaching private les- sons after that, and that’s where I really fell in love with teaching.”
Band director, Eugene Cottrell, gave his advice on majoring in a music field.
“It takes a lot of hard work. [Musicians] dedicate more of their time to perfecting their craft more than other students will seem like they’re doing to get their bachelor degrees,” Cottrell said. “When you have to practice eight to 10 hours a day, it gets pretty difficult.”
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumnus Andrew Anagnost majored in music performance and graduated in 2009.
“I didn’t realize that I really wanted to major in music and do this for the rest of my life until about my sophomore year [of college]. I didn’t take practicing serious until then either,” Anagnost said. “I’m glad I majored in music, because I was able to join [Lost in the Trees] and tour all over the world with the band. It was a great experience.”
Many people do not pursue music as a major because they believe musicians are not paid enough money for the amount of work they put into their jobs.
“I understand that I’m not going to get paid a lot, especially going into teaching. I don’t agree with it, but I understand where people are coming from,” Huneycutt said. “I know that people don’t have money to pay musicians like they used to and it’s not as important.”
Lorbacher is not worried about economic problems either.
“I’m not really concerned about financial issues. If I’m doing what I love doing for a job, I’ll be happy, and I think everything will work out,” Lorbacher said.