Symphony orchestra musicians have characterized their careers as stressful, boring, and lacking in artistic integrity. In addition, they typically do not score high on job satisfaction inventories. This study describes how symphony orchestra members seek professional fulfillment through participating in school-based programs. Forty-seven musicians from two US orchestras who were participating in their orchestra's education program were interviewed and observed in schools working with children. The interview transcriptions and classroom observation field notes and summaries were analyzed and coded for emergent themes. The results indicated that the musicians valued four major outcomes of their work in classrooms: the opportunity to express their creativity that the development of their presentations provided, the relationships forged with schools and children, the impact they could have on individual students' lives, and the opportunity to serve the community. Orchestra musicians' perspectives of their career paths appear to be enhanced by providing opportunities for them to work closely with students, particularly in under-resourced schools in their communities.Achieving and sustaining a position as a member of a symphony orchestra is widely looked upon with considerable admiration (Brodsky, 2006), as landing a contract with a top-level professional symphony-which requires many years of preparation, competitive auditions, and considerable perseverance-is a goal that is difficult to achieve. Indeed, in a study of instrumentalists' contemplations about their own potential performing careers, Drapkin (2008)

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