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Advice from a Senior: Start a Library

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By Annmarie Errico
There is a new series I'd like to start. As a senior who is graduating in May of this year, I'd like to pass on assorted pearls of wisdom I've picked up during my time here.
The first is: Start a library.
Last Wednesday, ACSM had its annual book sale. Carts upon carts of hard- and soft-cover books, scores, journals, and CDs were wheeled into the big, open atrium. Big bins of pop and single charts sat on the table on either side of the librarian-turned-cashier for the day. Sun streamed in from the glass roof overhead, from 10:30 in the afternoon until 4:30 in the afternoon.
The annual book sale is a glorious day - like Christmas for musicians. Many go way overboard and buy far too much. Many gasp when they find something that they want or need. At around lunchtime, when everybody has some free time, the carts get quite messy and disorganized, like department store clothing racks on a weekend. But messiness means that people were looking and combing through and reading and trying everything out. A good sign.
This year, my haul was small, but exactly what I needed:
Inside Bluebeard's Castle: Music and Drama in Bela Bartok's Opera by Carl S. Leafstedt
(I'm a little too obsessed with this opera. I really hope to perform it one day. Now I have 246 pages to make me a real expert on it!)
The Electronic Musician's Dictionary by Craig Andterton
(Because this semester I have officially entered the world of midi, mixing, and music production software.)
50 Art Songs from the Modern Repertoire, compiled by G. Schirmer
(One can never know enough art songs.)
Modern Russian Songs, Volume II: Moussorgsky to Wihtol, for Low Voice, compiled by the Oliver Ditson Company
(Time to conquer the other white meat of the standard languages for opera and art song - Russian!)
and, for a friend, Lennon and McCartney: Solos for Tenor Sax, published by Hal Leonard.
(I'd keep it for myself if I could only play tenor sax.)
In the past, I've been one of those people who bought way too much to carry. But one day a year of an achy back, neck and arms has given me now a wonderful reference of books and scores that otherwise would have cost me so much more. I'm not even done reading and listening to everything yet. But I have a foundation of knowledge on which I can stand as I move my career forward. If I need to write a libretto, I have some opera librettos in my library now for reference.
I haven't heard of an opera? I have two opera encyclopedias to solve the mystery.
If I ever dabble in ballet or set design, I've got some books on it too. And the list goes on!
Having a library might not be on the very top of the list of things that contribute to a glowing career, but trust me - you'll be surprised how much it helps. As many professors have told me, there is no way that [reading/listening to music/writing essays] can make you worse off as a musician.

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