he typical day for a University of Utah student consists of tackling huge course loads and fulfilling commitments to a part-time (or full-time) job, all while trying to squeeze in some sort of social life-one that often includes a spouse and children. It's enough to drive anyone to the brink of madness. Now tack on nine hours of vocal or instrumental practice-welcome to life in the U's music department.

Fortunately, students enrolled in this program have a supportive, friendly community within the school-not always a given in competitive music environments.

Soprano Clara Hurtado-Lee, a vocal performance master's student, began her higher education at Brigham Young University. She transferred halfway through her undergraduate career and graduated from the U's department of music. She then continued her education at the U's School of Music. Hurtado-Lee found a more accepting environment at the U. At BYU, there are about 20 voice majors allowed into the program each year, about five of whom sing soprano, and about half of whom are cut throughout the year.

"The U isn't as competitive as some schools because it's a state school," Hurtado-Lee said.

Not only is the competition a bit less fierce at the U, but the faculty seem to get along better than at BYU, according to Hurtado-Lee.

At both BYU and the U, there are studios where a faculty member will give lessons to a small group of students. At BYU, the teachers of the studios "always talked bad about each other," she said, but it's not like that at the U.

One teacher will tell a student to go talk to another professor because he or she has a better understanding of a specific question.

"They're good about supporting each other. They're not always ripping on each other," she said.

Scott Hagen, director of the Wind Ensemble, also senses the strong community connections.

"The students are fairly supportive of each other. It's unlike the classroom situation because in Wind Ensemble, students need to work together to improve the quality, and they also socialize together," he said. "It's nice. It's kind of like a family."

That family atmosphere seems to pervade Libby Gardner Hall. It's common to see students hanging out and talking to each other in the student lounge or working together on an assignment in the music library.

The sense of community has helped make Hurtado-Lee's experience at the U more enjoyable.

"I have it so good at the U. It is really competitive, but people are really supportive. I have enough to worry about without colleagues criticizing me," she said.

"The students are fairly supportive of each other. It's unlike the classroom situation because in Wind Ensemble, students need to work together to improve the quality, and they also socialize together," he said. "It's nice. It's kind of like a family."
--Scott Hagen Director of the Wind Ensemble

Hurtado-Lee isn't the only one who is happy to have the supportive environment.

"There's always that competitiveness, that 'Ooh, I want to be better,' but there's actually a lot of camaraderie and a lot of congratulations given to one another," said Jenny Tuttle, a senior in vocal performance.

That support system is what makes Tuttle's schedule more bearable.

"I spend all of my time here, but luckily you do find friendships here. We see each other in the library or in the lounge. I don't really realize how different I am from the average student who gets to go home and watch TV," she said.

Tuttle isn't the only one who spends most of her waking hours at the school. In fact, she's more the rule than the exception.

Nearly every student in the school has spent numerous 18- hour days practicing, rehearsing and attending classes.

Elisabeth Nielson, a senior in violin performance, has grown accustomed to her schedule over the past four years.

On a typical day, she gets to school for her 7:30 a.m. class and gets home at about 11 p.m. She plays her violin for about nine hours a day in private practice, rehearsals and class, and works for a few hours off-campus.

"It's a pain to balance. I don't have a social life. There's always more you can do, you can always practice two more hours-which stinks," she said.

Brian Crosby, a senior in instrumental music performance, takes, on average, 19 or 20 credit hours a semester, teaches private lessons for about six hours a week and practices his clarinet and voice for about two hours a day.

"You get used to it, but it takes a lot of willpower and determination to get it done in four years," he said.

In order to graduate this May, Crosby has taken about 20 hours each Fall and Spring Semester, nine credit hours in the first half of Summer Semester and then worked until school started again in the fall.

Other students agree.

Nielson has found that the only way to actually learn the material in her general courses is to take them during the summer.

"I find I don't have time to put effort into my classes. I often get frustrated with the book learning I have to do in my performance classes as well," she said.

For Kayson Brown, a cello performance senior, the challenges are often in his skills-based classes.

"Imagine being graded on how well you perform a skill. For example, if you played basketball, it would be having to shoot 90 percent from the free-throw line and 80 percent from the three-point line. Some students can already do that, but some will never reach that point, especially by a set test date," he said.

Brown is one of the fortunate students who has a scholarship through the music school.

"I can't emphasize what a big difference a scholarship makes," he said. "An accountant can be in the bottom half of his class and still get a job as an accountant. For performance majors like myself, we can be in the top 1 or 2 percent and we aren't going to get the jobs we want," he said. "If I get a day job, my day job will turn into my career. I practice instead of work so I can become a good enough musician to continue after I graduate."

But his scholarship still isn't large enough to support him without working.

So, Brown plays gigs around town
Currently, he is playing in the pit for a three-hour musical, which runs eight times a week-which means the time he would spend with his wife is now eaten up even more by practice and performance time.

But he still loves it.

"I do it for the same reason every music major gets into it- because we love it. It's great to have your homework be 'Play this music' or 'Learn the history of what this composer went through.' If you love it as much as I do, then it's easy to keep going," he said.

And just about every music student who makes it through the program does love it as much as Brown does.

According to Hagen, his Wind Ensemble students show a huge amount of dedication to music.

"It's fairly typical that these students are working, and they are extremely busy, but time is what you make it, and these students know how to budget their time," he said.

It's not only performance majors who exhibit that kind of dedication.

Steve Roens, associate professor of music and associate dean of the College of Fine Arts, teaches composition. "These students have to be dedicated. They spend a lot of time practicing or writing, and internalizing a lot of information. I would definitely call them dedicated," he said.

Roger Miller, professor of musicology, says only about 10 students are musicology majors right now, but he gets some of the best students because of the small number.

"I think we've got people who are very dedicated and bright, and are interested in musicology," he said.

That dedication is even apparent late at night when worn-out muscles and sore throats can't weaken the students' camaraderie. Even though they have piles of sheet music to sift through and math equations to solve, they still manage to find time to chat.

But many aren't sure whether those connections will continue after college. The demanding schedule helps prepare students for the professional performance world, albeit less competitively.

"The school itself is competitive, but most students don't feel they're facing harsh competition. But the competition to get a job in the real world is overwhelming. Most of us have little or no hope of becoming professional," Brown said.

As harsh as it might sound, most music students quickly realize the statement's truth. Many students have a backup plan in case they don't land a job performing.
Crosby wants to be a university professor and ultimately conduct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He realizes that his high aspirations might be out of reach.

"If I need to, I'll teach at a high school, which is why I chose an education major," he said.

Tuttle is preparing to audition for graduate school, where she wants to focus on both vocal performance and teaching.

"A major doesn't guarantee you anything. It's up to the individual how much they are willing to give. I know people right now that know they want to go on the road and do opera for the rest of their lives, but that isn't as clear to me right now. I need to have other options, such as teaching, so I can have the skills to earn some money," she said.

For others, the competition in the professional world has redirected their paths.
Nielson hopes to teach private lessons after completing her education because of the stress inherent in the musical world.

"There was a time I wanted to perform, but the competitive nature takes away from the music for me. I would rather teach than stress out," she said.

Regardless of their plans for the future-or anxiety over the directions individual paths may take-U music students maintain a passion for art that transcends the drudgery of 18-hour days.
sheena@red-mag.com