ABSTRACT

Investigations pertaining to career trajectories and vocational identities of professional classical Australian singers are uncharted and lack specific empirical evidence. Rarely do studies explain the professional singers’ experiences and the processes they undertook to reach goals, to comprehend their deep identification with the craft, and acknowledge the specific market conditions which drive their career. This research investigated the careers of Australian classical singers through a qualitative interview-based study and analysis, which outlines the trajectory of the professional singers’ careers as these became evident through their experiences. Extensive interviews were conducted with 13 retired professional singers’ and the subsequent thematic analysis found a trajectory of development and decline. Major career theories and empirical studies from elite dance and sportsperson were interrogated. An analysis of the singers’ experiences of their professional life was undertaken, and implications arising were related to career models from the film industry to discourses from cultural economics and sociology, to music training concepts and entrepreneurial approaches to working in the creative arts. The result was the identification of a distinct career typology comprising several stages: (1) pre career; (2) breaking in; (3) peak stage; (4) denouement; and (5) moving on. The study found there is a critical link between pre- and post-career stages that has implications for training. Other findings include that creativity and identity are tightly intertwined for the professional singers in the study, and when seeking new directions following the denouement stage, the majority of the singers attempted to remain attached to an artistic field. The findings suggest that training for artists’ in career planning, pedagogical practices, entrepreneurship and attention to issues of wellbeing have often been inadequate in this industry and it is only in the consideration of the lifecycle of a creative performance career that the critical link between pre- and post-career stages can be made.

摘要

有关职业古典澳大利亚歌手的职业轨迹和职业身份的调查尚不清楚，并且缺乏具体的经验证据。很少进行研究来解释专业歌手的经历和他们为达到目标所采取的过程，以了解他们对手艺的深入了解，并认识到推动其职业发展的特定市场条件。这项研究通过定性的基于访谈的研究和分析，对澳大利亚古典歌手的职业进行了调查，该研究概述了职业歌手的职业发展轨迹，这些经历通过他们的经历变得显而易见。与13名退休专业歌手进行了广泛的采访，随后的主题分析发现了发展和衰落的轨迹。来自精英舞蹈和运动员的主要职业理论和实证研究受到了质疑。对歌手的职业生涯经历进行了分析，其产生的影响涉及电影业的职业模式，文化经济学和社会学的论述，音乐培训概念和从事创意艺术工作的创业方法。结果是确定了一个独特的职业类型学，包括以下几个阶段：（1）事业前; （2）闯入；（3）高峰期；（4）结业；和（5）继续前进。研究发现，职业前和职业后阶段之间存在至关重要的联系，这对培训有影响。其他发现包括研究中专业歌手的创造力和身份认同紧密地交织在一起，在结业阶段之后寻求新的方向时，大多数歌手都试图与艺术领域保持联系。研究结果表明，在这个行业中，对艺术家进行职业生涯规划，教学实践，企业家精神以及关注健康问题的培训通常是不充分的，只有在考虑创意表演职业生涯的生命周期时， -可以进行职业后阶段。