Becoming an ”Ordinary” Musician

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationships to work of “ordinary” classical musicians teaching in provincial French music academies (conservatories). The first section examines their training and reasons for pursuing an artistic career. It identifies mechanisms of construction of artistic vocations in ordinary classical musicians. I show that the vocational sense is rooted in two fundamental principles: predestination, approached in terms of gift, and ascetic behaviour. The processes by which these two principles are instilled are uncovered by looking at the objective conditions as well as at agents and institutions involved in this appropriation—while allowing to conceal it: in particular, families and the education system. The second section then examines how teaching daily in a low-level conservatory affects this vocational sense. Various redefinitions of this practice are highlighted: teaching affiliated to art for art’s sake; a focus on putting young people to work; and a perception aiming at democratizing access to music, with undertones of activism.