CHALLENGES OF EMERGING UNDERGRADUATE MUSIC COMPOSERS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC, NWAFOR ORIZU COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, NSUGBE, ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

Despite an increasing interest in music composition and music careers among emerging young students, numerous challenges hinder their creative and skills development, which, if left unchecked and unaddressed, may impede the success of their professional music careers. Existing literature provides limited empirical insights into this research sphere, particularly in the context of undergraduate students in higher education and from a less developed country perspective. In other words, there is an under-exploration of research on the issues that aspiring young music composers encounter, especially from less developed countries, which is very essential, given that there may be cultural and contextual differences in the challenges such aspiring youth face, of which extant literature has overlooked and failed to account for. Because we wanted to bring this topic home, focusing on our unique struggles, this study aimed to investigate the challenges faced by emerging undergraduate music composers within the context of higher education in a less developed country, specifically, in the Department of Music at Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, Anambra State, Nigeria. Drawing from the literature review, a questionnaire was developed and electronically distributed, from which survey data were collected from undergraduate students at the mentioned higher education institution. Following careful statistical, specifically descriptive, analysis, our key findings revealed that the major challenges faced by emerging young music composers in the studied context, in no order of importance, include; lack of inspiration from where musical ideas are drawn, limited time to focus on developing this side of them, not to mention the lack of creative and technical skills, inadequate educational support and insufficient or poorly developed academic curriculum, which leaves them feeling under-prepared for future career, financial instability, and poor emotional wellbeing and mental health. These key findings revealed a significant gap that warrants attention from all stakeholders involved. As a result, this study also made some recommendations, which include that addressing such challenges requires a holistic approach to develop an appropriate educational environment for aspiring young music composers to grow their skills, including the need for mentorship, access to psychological support, financial support, and even exposure to opportunities.