0:00 Ujjawal Madan has been playing the trumpet for nearly six years. Since he was enrolled at Earl Haig secondary school, he has had the dream of becoming a professional trumpet player. 0:21 When I was in grade 12, I was deciding what career I wanted to pursue and I knew I wanted to be a professional musician. I was really inspired by my teacher Andrew at the time and he was the principal of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and I worked very, very hard in my grade 12 year. In the end, it ended up working out I got into the Juilliard School in New York. And although I did not attend, I did not end up attending the school. For me, that was a big achievement and assign that perhaps I can make it as a professional musician. 0:52 Ujjawal's teacher Andrew McCandless served almost as a father figure to him throughout his four year degree at the clinical school. Although he was one of the youngest students, when he first enrolled at the post secondary institution, he excelled at first, comfortably finding his place among his fellow musicians. 1:09 So when I entered the Glen Gould school, I was very excited. It was a, it was the perfect place for me. That's how I felt at the time, the environment, the people, my teacher, I was so excited, and I was very energized and looking forward to being in this field. And that, you know, my first year was a bit tough, but it ended up getting better. My second year was, I had adjusted to the school and adjusted to what was going on. And I had a better grip on things and I really excelled. And my teacher had said so as well. Entering third and fourth year, that was a bit more difficult. I had, I had injuries that came up and you know, the reality starts to sink in that even though I was progressing at a rate that I was happy with. It just was not fast enough and that was really hard to bear and a tough reality to deal with. 2:03 Going into his final year, Ujjawal was already uncertain about his prospects in the industry. But still, his peers and his mentor kept encouraging him, especially towards his final year. However, at this point, he began to struggle both physically with his playing and psychologically and emotionally with what he wants to do in the future. 2:23 My fourth year was extremely difficult. I've had a lot of anxiety and was going through a bit of a depression and the reality of what awaited me after I was done school, it was starting to sink in. Which was that although I play the trumpet really well, I don't have any other marketable skills. And quite frankly, I just was not at the level I needed to be to win a professional position. It was then that I start to consider perhaps other options, including arts administration, fundraising, and I was encouraged to seek out help from some people at some people at my school and at the Royal Conservatory of Music. In the end, I decided that that would perhaps be the best choice for me going forward after I was done school. 3:12 Now that Ujjawal has graduated from the Glenn Gould school. He has spent some time volunteering at the fundraising department at the Royal Conservatory of Music. As an unpaid intern. He's found himself doing a lot of grunt work, such as filing and taking calls. I had the opportunity recently to speak to Albert Chan, who performed alongside Ujjawal a few years ago with Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. Here's Albert's impression of the position that Ujjawal finds himself in right now. He didn't seem to be too optimistic on the outlook. Maybe it's because he just started this new job. But from my perspective, I believe that he's coming up from maybe a dark horde, maybe a depression, depressive stance from his previous career as a musician and going into this new industry, that outlook seems to be quite uncertain. 4:04 So when he was conveying his career path to me, I seem to be quite skeptical. I don't know much about the fundraising industry. But all I would say is just that he should continue working hard towards his goal and just try his hardest. 4:22 it was a difficult decision for Ujjawal to switch career paths from music performance to fundraising. Ultimately, the decision came down to multiple factors, including injuries to his lips and lungs, the changing I was playing, I'm sure, and his overall disillusionment with the music industry. There were also issues regarding salary. As a professional musician, you are only paid on the contract basis, if you happen to be employed in the first place. And as such, fundraising seems to be a much steadier source of income in both the short and long run. However, his first experience in the industry hasn't gone exactly as he's expected. 5:01 It's been a mixed experience. It's a, it's a real pleasure to be fundraising for the institution that I've had such a long history with, including not just my undergraduate education, but my piano exams and piano training and my other musical education. Unfortunately, four or five months into the position, I've realized that perhaps this is not meant for me is not something I can see myself doing long term and I just don't see myself pursuing arts administration going forward. I'm weighing my options right now for what I want to be doing. And it's been a bit tough, leaving music behind and, you know, perhaps, looking at other things. I'm considering going back to university and I think it's been a bit difficult for my family as well. But, you know, I think you you really don't know the reality of things until you try them and I, I'm still grateful for having that opportunity to try to be a musician and try arts administration. 6:10 Although fundraising and arts administration may not be the right path for Ujjawal moving forward, he's still open to other options, such as returning to school to pursue another degree, perhaps in engineering, or finance. As a former professional musician, myself, having attended Humber College's jazz program on full scholarship for a year, I can most definitely relate to the challenges Ujjawal is currently facing. After dropping out of Humber College, it took me a year to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I tried different things such as real estate and working on a cruise ship, but ultimately decided to return to school and pursue journalism. It's a choice I don't regret making. And I'm sure Ujjawal will be able to carve out the right path for himself in the coming years, just as I was able to do for myself.