Monday, April 21, 2008

Dr. Richards, I presume?

For those of you unable to read between the lines of my last two blog posts (which encompass 6 months of my life and contain very little real information), I thought I would announce that I've decided to attend the University of Utah in the fall for a Doctor of Musical Arts program. This was a long and arduous decision for me to make (as anyone who had to listen to me blab about myself and my brain during that time would know) but I'm feeling better and better about it day by day.

If you look in my blog archive to November-ish 2006 you'll see that I decided to bag music as a career and be a librarian. This is hardly news to most of you. In the year since my graduation from the U of Michigan I've been working two jobs: one as a data-entry-type robot at a library company and the other at the Springville Public Library. These two jobs have helped me figure out what I want and what I definitely DON'T want. I've really enjoyed working at the Springville Library. That is one of the few things I will be sorry to leave when I go to SLC.

I've also had a few opportunities to sub with the Utah Symphony, which I've been very grateful for. It's helped with my perception of the music world in a couple of ways: 1.) It makes me feel more like it's possible that I could be competent in that world, and 2.) It takes a little bit of the feeling of impossibility away from the thought of being able to make it as a musician. It's also fun! And it pays well!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want it all. I don't think I'd be satisfied just being a librarian for the rest of my life nor would I feel content with just being a musician, or at least being a musician the way I had previously gone about it. So I'm looking for ways to mix it all together, and I think they are two areas that can be very complementary. My future professor(s) at the U seem to think so as well and are very supportive of my interest in both areas, which is a major reason why I chose to go ahead with the program. My plan as of now is the do the DMA and a Master of Library science program at the same time, meaning that when I'm done with school I will have two masters degrees and one doctoral degree. Slightly pathetic. But as the judge said in the film What's Up Doc?, being a doctor in music doesn't mean anything if you can't fix a HiFi.

4 comments:

jennybhill said...

Hey Les,
That's awesome, good for you. I didn't know you were thinking about this but am glad to hear your news. This is a nice reward for continuing to check your blog :)
I'm also glad we'll still get to see you when we travel to Utah!

P.S. And I know you can fix anything.

Melinda said...

Lester, I'm glad that you've come to a decision that you feel good about, and I bet you'll really enjoy the DMA program.
This means, though, that I now have to get out of my double-master comfort zone and start a doctoral program to keep up with you! Aarghh!

Jody said...

If I hadn't just sent in my master's thesis for its official publication TODAY (yea!!!), I could have stayed here to finish my PhD to keep up with you ambitious sisters. Maybe I'll just move to Japan instead. Well, Les, it is nice to hear that you are finally coming to terms with what I've been telling you since...forever, it seems...you totally have what it takes to make it as a pro.

DTR said...

I wish we could have had you back here for library school, but I'm super happy that you're doing the DMA. I can't wait to get comp tickets to one of your concerts when we're out there. For the record, I have one masters degree and one doctoral degree.