Building a future in music. The professional project in the shared space of tertiary training in France and French-speaking Switzerland – PROMUS

The professional integration of graduates from higher music education institutions is a major issue in a context where the music economy and job market are changing rapidly. While access to "traditional" professions, e.g., soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician, composer, conductor, or instrumental or vocal teacher, is increasingly difficult (López-Íñiguez & Bennett, 2021), new careers in music and sound are opening up interesting prospects and outlets (Gaunt et al., 2021). The decline in linear career opportunities encourages the development of multi-activity and self-managed careers (Bennett, 2009; Latukefu & Pollard, 2022; Tolmie, 2017). In this context, the question of the links among initial musical training, the sometimes-romanticised aspirations of student musicians, and these new forms of professional activity becomes central. Preparing the future generation of musicians to enter the profession involves helping them during their studies to develop a professional project that takes account of both their dreams and the realities of the field.
This kind of support requires detailed knowledge of the factors that contribute to the development of career plans. Various theoretical models conceptualise their construction (e.g., Dubar, 1991; McCowan et al., 2023; Yang, 2022), but none of them deal specifically with the field of music, and to date there has been little large-scale or even multi-centre quantitative research challenging them.
On the basis of these findings from both the professional field and the scientific literature, the main objectives of the proposed research are: (a) to map and compare the support systems for the development of students' professional projects offered by higher music education institutions in France and the French-speaking part of Switzerland; (b) to gain a better understanding of the process of building and developing a professional project as a musician, and identify factors contributing to this development; (c) to develop and test a 'future making' workshop in collaboration with all institutions of the shared space of higher music education in France and French-speaking Switzerland; (d) to draw up recommendations to encourage innovative approaches to support student musicians' career plans.
To meet these objectives, a synchronic study, a diachronic study and a research-intervention study are planned. The research will be multicentric and collaborative. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected within a partnership of the four higher music education institutions of France and French-speaking Switzerland to find out what self-identity, image of the profession and professional projects students have when beginning their vocational training; whether differences linked to individual predictors, or biographical and first professional socialisation are discernible; how these elements evolve during the years of study; and which contextual or institutional factors seem to play which role in this evolution. Finally, an offer of a support system/course designed to support the elaboration/development of the professional project of student musicians will be developed and tested.
The planned scientific outputs are presentations at international conferences, scientific articles and the organisation of an interdisciplinary and international colloquium bringing together professionals and researchers. The planned professional outputs are presentations at professional meetings in the French, English and German-speaking world, contributions in professional journals, the elaboration of a tutorial (i.e., video clips and downloadable material available on a dedicated website) for teaching professionals, and the setting up of continuing training courses. The collaborative and participatory dimension of the research process is expected to raise awareness within partner institutions of the issues and importance of the professional project.