Careers and Professional Development
The Eastman School supports the professional development of its students through the Office of Careers and Professional Development, which provides comprehensive career resources, opportunities, and advising for the entire Eastman community. The Office of Careers and Professional Development offers a series of seminars on issues affecting musicians, coordinates local auditions for outside musical organizations, works closely with the Arts Leadership Program to place students in pre- and post-graduation internships, provides competition information, and provides a Gig Referral Service for numerous local musical opportunities. (The referral service as well as detailed placement information, is available online through the Careers and Professional Development web page.) International students may take advantage of career-related opportunities as appropriate, in conjunction with the procedures and policies established by the International Student Office.
The Office of Careers and Professional Development assists students and alumni in the process of securing full and part-time employment: a biweekly newsletter is published with extensive listings of job openings in music, particularly in academia, K-12 education, arts administration, and in performing ensembles, and the office maintains credentials files for students and alumni throughout their careers. The office also coordinates on-campus employment opportunities for current students. Alumni moving to new locations frequently use the Office of Careers and Professional Development to form contacts with Eastman alumni already established in that location. The Office of Careers and Professional Development is a member of NETMCDO (the Network of Music Career Development Offices) and RACDA (the Rochester Area Career Development Association).
On-campus auditions that take place each year at Eastman include representatives from leading orchestras, festivals, and other musical organizations, who come to Eastman to recruit and audition students. For many of these groups, Eastman is one of just a small number of audition sites in the United States. These visits frequently result in summer and/or full-time employment for Eastman students. Recent recruiting organizations include the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Aspen Music Festival, Brevard Music Festival, Ohio Light Opera, American Russian Youth Orchestra, Chautauqua Institution, New World Symphony, American Jazz Philharmonic/Henry Mancini Jazz Institute, Schleswig-Holstein Festival, National Orchestral Institute, American Institute of Musical Studies, Roundtop Music Festival, and National Repertory Orchestra. These groups hold their auditions at Eastman knowing that the high caliber of our students guarantees that they will find the musicians they need for their organizations.