Why I Resigned from My Jobs at the Opera and Ballet
My fingers hovered over the keys. I paused for a moment, took a deep breath, then clicked send, resigning from my positions with both the Houston Ballet and the Houston Grand Opera orchestras. After over a decade performing with the Opera and Ballet, the pit at the Wortham Theater felt almost like a second home. I’d grown close with my friends in the orchestra, and I felt honored to play with orchestras that performed at such a high level. Sending my resignation email felt bittersweet. But I knew in my heart it was the right choice for me.
Had I not chosen to take a step back and consciously design my own career, I might still be stuck in a career path that looked prestigious from the outside, but that was becoming more and more stifling the longer I did it. I teach my career coaching clients that a balanced career portfolio should be fulfilling in these 3 areas:
Artistry
Finances
Personal Life and Health
I was in a career that was no longer fulfilling for me. It was time to do for myself what I now do for my clients in my career coaching business.
I took an audit of my life and health. The results surprised me.
I was less satisfied artistically.
I will always respect the exceptional skill and professionalism of my colleagues at the Opera and Ballet. However, after eleven years of playing the viola part to ballets and operas, my job was less creatively satisfying than it once was. I longed to expand my musical palette. I wanted to play more solo and chamber music and to take on more section leader roles.
My finances were constantly in jeopardy.
While a position performing in a professional orchestra might seem enviable, the salary doesn’t often live up to the prestige. Even after winning two professional auditions, I was only earning about $20-25K per orchestra. Then the pandemic hit. The majority of my income evaporated almost overnight. With plans for my future on hold and a disabled mother to help out, I could no longer afford my feast or famine lifestyle.
My health suffered, and I felt disconnected from my reason for pursuing a musical career in the first place.
Playing viola for hours a day while dealing with a chronic illness was wearing my body down. After a 5 hour opera, everything ached. In addition, being in the pit made me feel disconnected from the people I wanted to share my love of music with. I literally could not see the audience I had hoped to reach.
After some soul searching, I discovered my why. What makes me happiest and most fulfilled as a musician and as a person is transforming the lives of those around me. I wanted to bring about positive change in the people I cared about most: my family, my friends, and my colleagues in the music world. And to do that, I needed to change my own life first.
I connected with my why.
Then I designed my career around it. Letting go of the positions I had worked so hard to earn felt counterintuitive. I was veering away from the traditional career path I had followed for so long—the path my teachers and mentors had always told me would bring me success and happiness. And even though making changes felt scary at first, I’ve never been more fulfilled in my career and life as I am now. Now I’m in a position to help others connect with their why and design their careers around their needs and personality.
I’m giving back to the community with a free class.
To give back to the community that has become my chosen family, I’m presenting a free Musicians’ Life Hack Lab on Saturday July 1st at 1pm on Career Design. I want to share how I’ve transformed my own life so you can transform yours, too.
We all deserve the type of career that fulfills us artistically, financially, and personally. And if we take that first step of connecting with our why, each and every one of us is capable of designing a career we love.