Creating Sustainable Performance Careers

This chapter reviews and distills the diverse literature on performance careers in music. It begins by exploring the issues and concepts involved in a performance career, examining the nature and shape of musicians’ work across the career lifespan. Next, factors that influence sustainability are discussed; these include initial and ongoing education, job-getting and the role of networks, place-making, mental and physical wellbeing, and musician identity. Drawing on these sources, the chapter examines likely influences on the creation of sustainable performance careers before turning to practical implications for the performing musician and for those who prepare and support them in their careers.